Does This Need To Be Said?

What does it look like to love someone who has hurt us? In this sermon, we explore one of Jesus' most practical and challenging teachings on conflict resolution, drawn from Matthew 18. Jesus lays out a four-step process for addressing wrongdoing within a community, and the very first step cuts against the grain of how we naturally respond to being hurt. Rather than ghosting, blocking, or letting resentment quietly take root, Jesus calls us to bring the issue into the light, privately and directly, with the other person. The original Greek word used in this passage carries the sense of turning on a light in a dark room so that both people can see clearly together. This is not about scolding or shaming. It is about honesty in service of relationship. We are invited to ask ourselves where we might be carrying pain that has never been spoken aloud, and whether the time has come to say something.