Weekly Greeting - September 11, 2026

I don’t know that I’ll use this whole quote in next Sunday’s sermon, but you’ll likely hear at least part of it. It comes from Dr. Stanley P. Saunders, a New Testament scholar. In his commentary on this week’s text, Matthew 18: 21-35, he says 

“.…limitless forgiveness cannot be sustained by individuals alone, nor even by a collection of individuals, but requires the sustained attention of a disciplined community that will not gloss over conflicts and differences, or settle for words rather than transformed relationships.” (Stanley P. Saunders, Preaching the Gospel of Matthew) 

Most of us don’t automatically think, “disciplined community” when we think of church, and yet that is exactly what the church is. We are a community of disciples who participate in spiritual practices (worship is just one of those) so that we become more like Jesus and represent Jesus in the world. 

One of those practices is reconciliation. This means that when we hurt one another or cause offense, we fix it. We don’t ignore it. We fix it. We repair the broken relationship. 

Why? 

Because Jesus gave his own life to fix our relationship with God that was broken because of our sin. When we refuse to fix our broken relationships — or at least give it our best shot — we ignore the power of God to transform relationships. 

 “Forgiveness is the defining discipline of the community of disciples,” Saunders says. 

I hope that as you prepare your heart for worship you will read Matthew 18: 21-35 and consider the power of forgiveness in your own life, and in the life of the church. 

Grateful for grace,

Mary Beth