September 6, 2026 - sermon - Michael Anthony Howard

Sermon Text...

Rev. Michael Anthony Howard

September 6, 2026

"Christ Among Us"

Matthew 18:15–20

 “If your brother or sister sins against you,[a] go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If you are listened to, you have regained that one. 16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If that person refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church, and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

1. The Two-Fold Messianic Imagination — WHO? / WHAT?

A few weeks ago, Jesus gave Peter the keys. You remember this? Jesus asks,
“Who do you say that I am?” Peter gets it right. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus says, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”

The keys!

And I keep imagining the disciples saying, “Okay, Jesus. When are you going to fix all of this? When are you going to make the world right?” And Jesus starts patting his pockets.
“That’s strange. I could have sworn I gave somebody the keys.”

I’ve been listening lately to a series of lectures by a Jewish historian named David Solomon on the history of the messianic idea. And one thing I find helpful is that the messianic imagination
is bigger than the expectation of a person.

There is the question: Who? Who is the Messiah?

But there is another question: What? What does the world look like when God sets things right? What does peace look like? Justice? What kind of world are we waiting for?

A few weeks ago, Peter answered who. “You are the Messiah.”  And then, almost immediately, Peter showed us he had no idea what that meant.

Jesus starts talking about suffering. Rejection. Giving his life away. Peter says, “No, no, no. That’s not how this works.” And Jesus says, “Get behind me, Satan.”

Peter recognizes the Messiah— but he does not yet possess a messianic imagination. He knows who. Jesus is teaching him what.

2. The Messiah Gives Messianic Agency — TO YOU

And notice what happens. Peter says, “You are the Messiah. Jesus doesn’t say, “Excellent. Now sit down and watch what I can do.” He says: “I will build my ekklesia.”

Remember that word? We translate it “church.” But an ekklesia is an assembly. People gathered
to deliberate, to decide, to act.

The Messiah doesn’t gather an audience. The Messiah creates a people. First Jesus gives Peter the keys: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.”

Now, two chapters later, Jesus gives that work to the community.

 Someone hurts you? Go to them. Talk to them. If that doesn’t work, take one or two others. If that doesn’t work, bring it to the ekklesia. And again: “Whatever you all bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever y’all loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

The Messiah shares messianic agency. The people waiting for God to act are invited to participate in the action of God.

Federated, that is a radically incarnational claim. God’s purposes do not remain somewhere out there. They take flesh. Human hands. Human voices. Human choices. Human relationships.

An ekklesia. Christ—active in the world.

3. “Come Behind Me” — The Invitation

And listen to the direction: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.”

Because our religious imagination usually runs the other way. Heaven → Earth. God is up there. We are down here. Waiting for God to act. Waiting for God to fix things. Waiting for heaven to do something about earth.

Jesus reverses the direction: “Whatever you bind— on earth— will be bound— in heaven.” Earth. Heaven. Maybe the direction has changed. Or maybe— the distance has disappeared.

Maybe this is exactly what incarnation does. The life of God takes flesh here. And suddenly the decisions we make here matter. Not only the enormous things. Maybe especially the little things. A card. A phone call. A ride to the doctor. A meal. “I was wrong.” “I’m sorry.” “Tell me what happened.” “Let’s try again.”

We think these things are small. Jesus seems to think they have the weight of heaven.

4. In-Corporation — BODY

There’s a word for this. Incorporation. We usually think of businesses. But listen to the word.
In-corporation. Corpus. Body. To incorporate something is to give it— a body.

Compassion is an idea until somebody picks up the phone. Then compassion has a voice.

Hospitality is an idea  until somebody pulls out a chair. Then hospitality takes up space.

Care is an idea until somebody carries dinner to someone’s door. Then care has feet.

Reconciliation is an idea until two people who have hurt one another sit down, tell the truth,
listen, and try again. Then reconciliation has a body.

Something that existed as possibility has become— incarnate. But it works the other way too. Resentment can get a body. Someone hurts me. Instead of going to them, I tell somebody else.
They tell somebody else. Someone says, “You know, she did something like that to me once.”
And before long, a wound between two people has become a story carried by ten. Nobody  decided to create it. Nobody took a vote. But there it is. We gave it a body.  Gossip can be incorporated. Fear can be incorporated. Contempt can be incorporated. Violence can be incorporated.

And eventually, the thing we created together begins shaping us. Which is why Jesus is doing more here than giving us a church conflict policy. “If someone sins against you, go and speak to them.” Jesus is teaching his people how to tend the body they are becoming.

Deal with the wound before the wound becomes the body.

Speak the truth before resentment becomes the body.

Seek reconciliation before division becomes the body.

Because— we are always giving something a body. And then Jesus says: “Where two or three
are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” We sometimes use that verse when not enough people show up. “Well... Jesus said wherever two or three are gathered...”
And, sure. But look at these two or three. They’re listening.  Telling the truth. Discerning. Repairing. Binding. Loosing.

And Jesus says: There. Do you see it? There I am.

Where is the Messiah? There.

Where does heaven touch earth? There.

Where does the world-to-come begin? There.

When mercy gets hands. When compassion gets feet. When reconciliation gets voices. When love takes up space. When the Word— becomes flesh.

5. Conclusion — WHAT WILL WE GIVE A BODY?

Maybe that’s what Jesus has been trying to teach them.They found the Messiah. The Messiah created an ekklesia. A people. A body.  A community through whom the world God dreams about could begin to take flesh.  Every card. Every call. Every ride. Every meal. Every apology.
Every time somebody says, “I’ll go.” “I’ll help.” “I’ll listen.” “I’ll stay.”

Something that once existed only as possibility becomes flesh  among us.  This is the messianic imagination.

Not only: Who is the Messiah?
But: What kind of world comes into being where the Messiah is present?

And Jesus says: “Where two or three gather in my name— I am there.”

What we bind on earth has the weight of heaven. Federated Church— we have been given the keys. Christ is among us. What will we give a body? —Amen