Thursday, March 08, 2012

Don't squeak your shoes or use my taco sauce. I'll be invigorated and offended , and excommunicate you. WWJD?

It's amazing how often people think Matthew 18 says "If a bother or sister offends you.."

It clearly reads, "If a bother or sister sins against you.."

Maybe we have assumed the word "offense" in verse 9 also fits here.

Maybe we need to be; even worship, being offended.
("Whatever commands your ultimate attention is your god.")

There has been much church discipline shed because of a church member offending someone..even if it was a prophetic offense."

We can make "feeling offended" the ultimate offense and unpardonable sin.

“Feeling offended is invigorating. Feeling offended is a reassuring sensation. It's easier than asking ourselves if the redeeming love of God is evident in the way we communicate with people.”
― David Dark, The Sacredness of Questioning Everything

See Miguel's post,which includes some guidelines by Frank Viola:

Just because you feel Offended, doesn’t mean you’ve been Offended.

And:

"Becoming Unoffendable" by Francis Frangipane

---
This award-winning video ...should clear things up (:

More videos on this sqeaky offense:

Speaking of Matthew 18..

Check out this outline of Matthew 18 , which suggests structurally that the annoying, offensive...nah, sinning and unrepentanat brother or sister actually makes Jesus' list of :Who is great?:

,Matthew 18 Outline

(by Greg Camp/Laura Roberts, Fresno Pacific FACULTY, BIB 436 syllabus):

1 Question #1: Who is Greatest?

2-17 Responses (each are counter proposals):

2-10 Response #1: Children

2-4 Counter Proposal: Accept children

5-9 Threat: If cause scandal

10 Show of force: Angels protect

12-14 Response #2: Sheep

12-14 Counter Proposal: Search for the 1 of 100 who is lost

15-17 Response #3: Brother who sins (counter proposal)

15a Hypothetical situation: If sin

15-17 Answer: Attempt to get brother to be reconciled

17b If fail: Put him out and start over

18-20 Statement: What you bind or loose

21-22 Question #2: How far do we go in forgiveness?

23-35 Response #1: Parable of the forgiving king/unforgiving servant

Read verses 15-17 and then ask yourself:

"What did it mean in their historical world to treat people like"tax collectors and sinners?"

Two answers

1)Don't allow them in your bounded set.

2)How did Jesus treat tax collectors and sinners? In a centered set way. Tony Jones writes:

but because anyone, including Trucker Frank, can speak freely in this church, my seminary-trained eyes were opened to find a truth in the Bible that had previously eluded me.”...That truth emerged in a discussion of Matthew 18's "treat the unrepentant brother like a tax collector or sinner.":

"And how did Jesus treat tax collectors and pagans?" Frank asked aloud, pausing, "as of for a punchline he'd been waiting all his life to deliver,"....., "He welcomed them!""