By the Rev. Matthew D. O’Rear
Revised Common Lectionary reflection for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 18, Year A
September 6, 2026
Key verse: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another” – Romans 13:8
One of the most demanding forms of stewardship has nothing to do with money.
It is the stewardship of relationship.
Most of us know what to do when a roof leaks or a furnace breaks. We call someone. We assess the damage. We make a plan. We know that ignoring the problem usually makes it worse.
Relationships are harder. When trust is damaged, feelings are hurt, or someone has caused harm, our instincts often move in one of two directions. We avoid the conflict and hope it disappears, or we tell everyone except the person involved.
Matthew 18 offers another way. “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone.” (Matthew 18:15) Jesus begins with direct conversation. Not public embarrassment. Not gossip. Not pretending nothing happened.
Jesus says, go to the person.
That may sound simple, but anyone who has lived in a family, worked on a church staff, served on a council, or tried to share life in community knows otherwise. Honest conversation requires courage. It also requires enough love for the relationship to risk discomfort for the sake of repair.
That is stewardship. We are stewards not only of buildings, budgets, and programs, but of the relationships that make community possible.
In repairing relationships, Jesus’ instructions widen the circle when necessary. First one person. Then a few others. Finally the gathered community. The purpose is not punishment for its own sake. Even the language about treating someone “as a gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:17) carries a surprising possibility in Matthew’s Gospel. Gentiles and tax collectors are not beyond the reach of Jesus. They are precisely among the people toward whom the Gospel continues to move.
The goal is restoration. Ezekiel gives the same responsibility but with sharper edges. The watchman cannot simply see danger and remain silent. Love sometimes requires warning. Silence may feel polite, but there are moments when silence abandons a neighbor to harm.
Paul’s letter to the Romans puts the whole matter plainly: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” (Romans 13:8) Love is the debt we never finish paying. And biblical love is not simply being nice.
Love tells the truth. Love listens. Love seeks repair. Love protects the vulnerable. Love refuses to confuse reconciliation with pretending nothing happened.
Love also recognizes that some relationships cannot be restored immediately, and some boundaries are necessary for safety and healing.
This makes Matthew 18 particularly important in congregational life. Churches are communities of real people, which means conflict is inevitable. The question is not whether disagreement will happen. The question is what kind of stewards we will be when it does.
Will we protect our pride, or tend the relationship? Will we recruit allies, or seek understanding? Will we use power to win, or use it to create conditions where truth and grace can meet?
Jesus ends this teaching with a familiar promise: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:20)
We often use those words when attendance is small. But in Matthew, Jesus speaks to them in the middle of conflict. That changes the promise.
Christ is present not only when the sanctuary is full and everyone is singing beautifully.
Christ is present in the difficult conversation. At the table where someone finally tells the truth. In the silence after an apology. In the slow work of rebuilding trust.
Perhaps the stewardship question this week is not, “How well are we avoiding conflict?”
Perhaps it is: “How faithfully are we caring for one another when conflict comes?”
In Worship
Consider shaping worship around the language of repair and reconciliation.
The confession and forgiveness may carry particular weight this week. Allow enough silence for worshipers to consider not only individual wrongdoing but relationships that need attention. Avoid implying that every broken relationship can or should be restored immediately. Pray for wisdom to know when reconciliation is possible, when boundaries are necessary, and when courage is needed to speak truth.
In the prayers of intercession, name communities fractured by conflict, families carrying unresolved hurt, congregations experiencing division, and people harmed by words or actions.
A simple visual could be placed near the font or altar: a cracked ceramic vessel that has been carefully repaired. The visible cracks need not be hidden. They can witness to the truth that healing does not erase what happened.
During the offering, invite worshipers to consider the relationships entrusted to their care alongside their financial gifts.
Worship with Youth
Give each young person a sheet of paper and ask them to crumple it tightly.
Then ask them to smooth it out again. The paper can still be used, but the marks remain. Use this as a starting point for talking about words, conflict, and repair.
Ask: What makes an apology feel real? What is the difference between talking to someone and talking about someone? Why can it be difficult to tell the truth directly?
Read Matthew 18:15 and notice that Jesus begins with a private conversation rather than public humiliation.
Invite youth to develop a short list of practices for healthier conflict in their group. These might include listening before responding, refusing to share someone else’s private story, apologizing without excuses, and asking for help when a conflict feels too large to handle alone.
Remind them that stewardship includes how we care for friendships, trust, words, and one another.
Worship with Children
Bring a small plant and ask the children what it needs in order to grow.
They may name water, sunlight, good soil, and care.
Ask what happens if we notice the plant is drooping but ignore it.
Explain that friendships and communities need attention too.
Sometimes someone hurts our feelings. Sometimes we hurt someone else. Jesus teaches that when something is wrong, we should not simply ignore it or tell everyone else about it. We can try to talk to the person kindly and honestly.
Give the children a simple phrase they can practice:
“When you did that, I felt hurt. Can we talk about it?”
Explain that saying what is wrong can be one way of caring for a relationship.
End by reminding them that Jesus promises to be with us even when conversations are difficult.
Caring for one another is one of the gifts God places in our hands.
Previously published reflections for Proper 18, Year A:
2023 – Messy discipleship
2020 – Listen up!
2014 – A debt of love and loving covenant
