Can't We All Get Along?

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  September 6, 2026

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Read Matthew 18:15-20 (NIV)
 
When it is time for a minister or church leader to prepare a sermon for any particular Sunday, there are several options.  They can select a text that has particular meaning for them at the given time… or it could be that the the text is one that has been selected as a theme for a special event… or as the case is today… the text could be one of the suggested texts found in the Lectionary.
 
But regardless of how a text is chosen… whenever we read the Scriptures, a key question should arise… what does this particular passage of Scripture say to us as the church today?  
 
Now, I will be the first to admit that there are times when the Lectionary text is somewhat challenging in terms of crafting a sermon that will speak to the hearts of the people who will hear it. 
 
And today’s text was one of the more challenging ones.
 
After all, who wants to listen to the preacher stand up here and talk about correcting someone who sins?  After all, this can’t have any practical application for us here today, can it?  I mean, we don’t consort with people who sin, do we?
 
Surely, when Jesus taught this lesson way back when, He did not mean that it would still be relevant to us as the church in 2026…  Or did He?
 
Well, truth be told… He did… because the fact of the matter is that we all sin and we all have fallen short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23).  And lest we think this does not apply to us… over in 1 John 1:8 we read, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 
 
So, yes… Jesus meant this lesson for us today.
 
And I dare say that He was not alone in thinking that this was an important lesson that needed to be taught. 
 
Looking at Galatians 6 (1 – 2), we find these words that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Galatia:

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.  Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Or, as it reads in the Message Paraphrase:

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law.

And in James 5 (19-20), we find:

My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Or as that passage reads in the Message:

My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.

I think it is fairly safe to say that Jesus and the other biblical writers wanted us to understand that we have a responsibility to one another because we are all in this together… or put another way, we really are our brother and our sister’s keeper.
 
Now, according to the scriptures… if we see that one of our brothers or sisters is traveling down a wrong road… we have been given the responsibility to help them find their way back to the right road.  And that is not a responsibility that we can afford to take lightly.
 
Looking at our text for the morning, Jesus said if our brother or sister sins… we ought to go to the person in private first and point out their offense.  Just take them over to the side somewhere and whisper in their ear.  And if they listen, then all is well. 
 
But as I am sure we can all attest… sometimes things don’t quite go as planned.  So, Jesus provided a backup plan. 
 
He said if the person doesn’t listen to us the first time… we are to go back with one or two other people.  That way there is more than one witness to support what is being said (after all, they do say there is strength in numbers). 
 
However, if the backup plan doesn’t go as planned… Jesus provides us with a backup to the backup.  Jesus said if the person won’t listen to you when you talk to them alone… and if they still don’t listen when you go back with one or two other people… then it is time to tell the church.
 
And if they don’t listen to what the church says… the text says we ought to treat them as a pagan or a tax collector. 
 
Now to be perfectly honest, one of the challenges this text presents beyond simply calling out someone for his or her sin… is that if that doesn’t work… Jesus, in essence, says we should stage an intervention with a few more folks… and then, if all else fails, we should tell the church about it… not exactly the easiest or most comfortable thing to do.
 
Now, a key to all of this is recognizing that the person Jesus is referring to as our “brother or sister” is someone who is probably part of our church family… not necessarily our biological family… although they could be part of both.
 
Then, after we work through that challenge… there is another challenging part of this text… which is understanding what it means for the church to possibly treat the person as a pagan or a tax collector… or as some versions of the Bible say, to treat the person as a Gentile or a tax collector.
 
Now, if we think back to the time when this text was originally written… the Gentiles were not the most sought-after companions by the Jews.  And that is to say nothing of tax collectors who were probably one of the most hated groups of people that there were.
 
Interestingly enough… if you were to do a search through the Bible for the term “tax collectors” …you will find that it is most often paired with the word sinners.  Although, on occasion you will also find tax collectors paired with prostitutes. 
 
Suffice it to say, back in biblical times, tax collectors were not considered as a highly respected or well thought of group.  And, as quiet as its kept, not all that much has changed when it comes to tax collectors to this day…
 
But why does Jesus say that the church should treat the one who does not repent of their sin as a pagan or Gentile or a tax collector?  Exactly what kind of treatment does He intend for us to show them?
 
Let me assure you, He does not mean that we should treat them like outcasts or scoundrels.  We are not to treat them like the lowest of the low… as criminals or someone unworthy of our association. In fact, He means just the opposite…
 
Jesus is encouraging us to bring them back into the fold by showing them love and forgiveness.  In fact, He would encourage us to see them through His eyes of love and ask ourselves the question… CAN’T WE ALL GET ALONG?
 
And if there is any doubt that at its core, this is all about forgiveness… just look at the verses that immediately follow our text. 
 
Peter makes it personal… and he asks Jesus how many times he should forgive a brother or sister who has sinned against him.  Now, Peter thought he was being generous and suggested that perhaps seven times would be sufficient… but Jesus said not seven times but seventy times seven. 
 
And why should we show this person so much love and forgiveness? 
 
Well, as Paul suggested in his letter to the Galatians, if we aren’t careful, there may be a time or two (or twelve) when we will find ourselves as the ones in need of forgiveness… so, we need to give what we may one day need to get.
 
If we are being honest, there are going to be times when we say or do something that offends someone else.  Probably not intentionally… but the reality is that sometimes we say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and it causes hurt feelings.  And yes, that happens… even in the church. 
 
And while, it would appear that Jesus was primarily speaking to members of the church… I dare say this concept of showing love and forgiveness to those who have wronged us should translate to our families, our friends and others in our circle… that is why, we should carefully consider the question of the day: CAN’T WE ALL GET ALONG? 
 
Now, perhaps when you saw the title of the sermon for this morning, you thought back to Rodney King… who back in 1991, at the age of 26, led police on a high-speed chase while driving after he had been drinking.  He initially resisted arrest and was severely beaten by police officers… with what could be described as extremely excessive force… all of which was caught on video by a bystander.
 
The situation highlighted what was seen as a part of a wider problem of police brutality associated with the Los Angeles police department.  The officers involved in beating King were tried for assault and the use of excessive force… but in April of 1992, a jury found all of the officers not guilty.
 
It was on day three of the riots in Los Angeles that were ignited by the verdict… that Rodney King called for peace… issuing his now famous plea, “Can we all get along?”  And it was on the day after that, authorities were finally able to get things back under control.
 
In 1993, in a federal trial, two of the officers were found guilty and sentenced to 30 months in prison… and Mr. King was awarded $3.8 million in a civil case. 
 
Now, I wish I could say that all of this led to Mr. King being able to live happily ever after… but sadly, the remainder of his life was plagued by issues with drug and alcohol addiction until his death in 2012 at the age of 47.
 
I shared this about Rodney King because in spite of everything that happened to him… he did not advocate for violence or hate against police in general… or call for physical retaliation against the officers that harmed him… in fact, he said some people mocked him for calling for an end to the destruction during the riots… as if he was a fool for believing in peace. 
 
But his infamous question, “Can we all get along?” …a question that called for peace in the midst of chaos… literally followed him to the grave… it was embroidered in the lid of his coffin… and in the remarks that he gave at his funeral, the Rev. Al Sharpton described King as someone who had risen above his mistakes and who should be remembered as a symbol of forgiveness.
 
Forgiving those who have sinned against us… that is what Jesus is calling us to do… it’s right here in today’s text.
 
And as we continue considering the text and ponder the question: CAN’T WE ALL GET ALONG?   We come to another verse that can be somewhat challenging.  In verse 18 we read, “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.”
 
This verse is speaking to the decisions made by the church in times of conflict.  Keep in mind that in this text, the person who has committed the sin and those who have brought the offense to his/her attention are all members of the church. 
 
And in situations where the sinner has refused to repent and the matter has come to the church for resolution… the church should be looking to God and His Word for guidance in resolving the conflict.
 
It’s not about personalities or titles, it’s all about seeking God through His Word to handle the situation in a godly manner and in such a way as to bring healing and restoration to all the parties involved… so we really can all get along.
 
Handling problems and conflicts God’s way… in accordance with God’s will and found in God’s Word will have an impact both now and for eternity.
 
And in the last verses of our text for the morning, we see the benefit of all this.  Jesus says that if two, just two, agree on earth about anything they ask, God the Father will do it.  He goes on to say that is because when two or three are gathered in His name, He is there among them.
 
I really like the way these last verses read in the Message:

When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.

Add to that what James (5:16) said, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective,”  and we can see why it is so important for us to pray with and pray for one another. 
 
It’s why we lift up our Joys and Concerns during our time together in worship and why we use our “Thankful Tuesday” email blast to share those joys and concerns to the wider church… so that we can be intentional in our prayers for each other.
 
We are all in this together… and we need to get along… because none of us can do it all alone.  The English poet, John Donne, wrote, “No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.”
 
The Apostle Paul said it a little differently.  He wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:12, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”  And in verse 18 he wrote, “But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”
 
We can’t do church in a vacuum… and we can’t be the church that God has called us to be if we are content with sitting in the privacy of our own homes on Sunday morning watching services on TV or streaming on the Internet.
 
Hebrews 10:25 says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing…”
 
Simply put, we cannot be the church by ourselves.  It takes all of us working together and doing whatever it takes for us to all get along.
 
And what a wonderful world it would be if we could just figure out how to do that… if we could take out all the partisanship and divisions and usher in a time of peace and respect for one another… if we could look at people and see them the way Jesus does… through eyes of love for everyone… and not as “others” or “foreigners” or “those people” that we should fear rather than embrace.
 
Let me suggest that as the church… the body of believers… we do have a responsibility to one another but more importantly… we have a responsibility to Jesus… the One who gave His life for us… the One who told us and showed us that the greatest command we have been given is to love… to love God and to love the people of God.
 
So, the question for us remains… as we seek to live as Christ commanded us to live… CAN’T WE ALL GET ALONG?
 
And if you have a desire to live in a world where we can and do all get along, I want to invite you to stand and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: O for a World #683.

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