GOOD RECIPE? Lyn G. Brakeman, Spiritual Lemons, blog post, 9/10/23

I’m sure you’re thinking I will offer you the next greatest recipe for the next greatest whatever. NOT SO. I’m not a foody or a cook. Nor am I fussy about food prep. I do rejoice in eating, however. And writing, but not formatting.

What I care most about is the “recipe” that is written in the Bible, the Christian testament to be exact. It’s the advice of a very wise Jew named Jesus (Yeshua) who gives his followers a spiritual recipe by which they can settle complaints and disputes and grievances in five easy steps. (Well, they aren’t “easy” to act on, even if they are easy to understand.) Here they are: Matthew 18:15-20, The Inclusive Bible.

IF YOUR SISTER OR YOUR BROTHER SHOULD COMMIT SOME WRONG AGAINST YOU, GO AND POINT OUT THE ERROR BUT KEEP IT BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU. 

Are you kidding? What if she or he doesn’t agree? What if a gun is involved? What if my own fear allows me to downplay the offense, deny it?  What if my own anger allows me to overplay the offense?  What if he or she denies it altogether? What if I exaggerate? 

IF SHE OR HE LISTENS TO YOU, YOU HAVE WON A LOVED ONE BACK. IF NOT, TRY AGAIN BUT TAKE ONE OR TWO    OTHERS WITH YOU SO THAT EVERY CASE MAY STAND ON THE WORD OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES. 

Great!  But was the process worth it? I could have just swallowed my pride—minimized the whole thing. Besides, who would I pick for my witnesses? Best friends? People who think as I do? Kin? 

IF YOUR SISTER OR BROTHER REFUSES TO LISTEN TO YOU REFER THE MATTER TO THE CHURCH. 

Even worse! The Synagogue? Any denomination or religion?  My own parish?  Whose rules and regs? Which authority? 

IF SHE OR HE IGNORES EVEN THE CHURCH THEN TREAT THAT SISTER OR BROTHER AS YOU WOULD A GENTILE OR A TAX COLLECTOR. 

And how would that be? In Jesus’s day Gentiles and Tax collectors weren’t exactly buddies with Jewish Temple authorities.  Is this about making sure everyone obeys the same rules, listens to the same centralized authority?

THE TRUTH IS, WHATEVER YOU DECLARE BOUND ON EARTH WILL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN, AND WHATEVER YOU        DECLARE LOOSED ON EARTH WILL BE LOOSED IN HEAVEN.  

Whoa! That sounds as if heaven and earth are one. How can that be?  Still, we’ve used all the ingredients and followed the process to a tee. And that’s it? 

AGAIN, I TELL YOU IF TWO ON EARTH JOIN IN AGREEMENT TO PRAY FOR ANYTHING WHATSOEVER IT WILL BE        GRANTED TO YOU BY MY ABBA GOD IN HEAVEN.  

Oh, there is one new word now. What?  PRAY. Consciously include God: We cannot make all this happen alone. Apparently, neither does God.  

WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED IN MY NAME, I AM THERE IN THEIR MIDST. 

Oh, we must ground our differences IN God. This means we trust the Immanence of God’s Presence, close with and within us as we settle differences. Yes, it is about forgiveness. It is also about deep emotional honesty— telling the truth to ourselves, God, and our neighbors. 

*  *  *  * 

But all this is ancient. It’s in the Bible. Not relevant now. Really? Consider the amazing process of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) chaired in 1996 by South African Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  

Can a country that has long lived under the tyranny of apartheid—systemic racial discrimination at all levels— reconcile itself to itself once the warring is over? Tutu used the biblical recipe above as the model for the commission’s process, called restorative justice. They pursued forgiveness over retribution. 

Was it forgiving enough? YES. Was it free of error and resentment? NO. Did it work perfectly? NO. Did they pray enough?  YES. Was God present? YES.

The recipe works and worked—and never stops working. That’s called HOPE, not perfection.