If Your Brother Sins against You
Introduction: May you continue to follow the lead of the
Master-Teacher and imitate His loving concern for all.
A Catholic school chose a theme for the whole year “What
would Jesus do?” (WWJD) It means much more than just avoiding doing wrong. It demands
that those who are disciples (“disciplined learners”) must, as St. Paul says,
put on “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2: 16). We must “know” Jesus from
reading the Gospels and then model our lives on His. He showed compassion,
love, mercy, and forgiveness, while at the same time challenging those who
needed it, especially those who were in the roles of authority and who were
leading people astray. Jesus’ mind was always on what was best for the other
person, even if it meant more work for Him. As we go through our daily lives,
we must put on the mind of Christ and try to do as Jesus did and still does –
we must love one another.
The pendulum of responsibility swings back and forth. At
times it seems to be on the side of community responsibility and community
guilt and group consciousness of God’s presence. At other times it swings all
the way to the other side, stressing individual accountability and personal
relationship with God. The readings remind us that our relationship with God is
actually a combination of both. The prophet Ezekiel knows that he, as an
individual, must do all he can to bring the wayward individual back to God. The
psalm reminds the whole community to be attentive to the voice of God speaking
to them. St. Paul says that each individual is responsible for fulfilling the
law – the law of love for all. In the Gospel, Jesus presents a process of
bringing an errant member of the community back into a holy relationship. It
involves personal and communal actions.
First Reading, Ezekiel 33:7-9: ‘If you do not speak to
warn the wicked, his blood I will require at your hand.’
Commentary: Why
did the church choose this passage, about the prophet warning sinners, to pair
with a gospel-reading about reconciliation? Partly because every person’s sin
or failure affects the whole Church. If I fail in my duty to my brother or
sister or spouse or child or other dependent, this harms the holiness of the
whole Church. I can’t shrug it off as no concern of mine: ‘I can’t be
bothered’, ‘too busy, ‘nothing to do with me, anyway’. Of course it is all very
well for the prophet Ezekiel to point out other people’s faults: that is the
job of a prophet, to show others how God sees them. Heaven forbid that I should
go round telling people their faults! On the other hand, just occasionally I
can learn some home-truths about myself when someone flies off the handle; that
is the time to listen and learn! Jesus did not denounce sinners: he dined with
them. For myself, there are countless people and occasions where a healing
word, a healing touch can begin the process of growth over the scar-tissue. But
it must be a healing in love, and unless there is real, overflowing love, keep
clear!
Responsorial Psalm 95:1-2. 6-7b. 7c-9: O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
The psalm is a familiar one that praises God and also
challenges the faithful to be attentive to the voice of God speaking to them.
God speaks to the those who are open to the divine message. The message can
come either directly from God or indirectly from a prophetic individual, a
fellow believer, a group gathered in faith, or from the community as a whole.
The warning and prayer of the psalm is that when God’s Word is heard, it should
motivate the listeners to respond to it, both individually and communally.
Second Reading Romans 13:8-10: ‘Love is the fulfilling of
the law.’
Commentary: Paul
has described the process of salvation, won for us by Christ’s loving obedience
to his Father. Now he gives his instructions how we should live as Christians;
he merely slips into the basic command of Judaism: love your neighbour as
yourself. Each of these negative commandments he mentions contains a clutch of
positive values. If I really love and bond with my spouse, it will never come
to adultery. ‘You shall not kill’ implies also the values of furthering life in
all the ways we can. ‘You shall not steal’ involves also the respect for the
property and well-being of others. The only debt I owe to anyone is love. It is
easy to kid ourselves that we are practising love, when in fact it is
self-interest, self-justification. It is easy enough to be loving to our
friends (most of the time!), but that is not what Paul means. In his earlier
letter to the Corinthians he gave us that searching test for true love, ‘Love is
always patient, never jealous, not boastful or conceited, never rude, never
seeks its own advantage,’ and so on. I can’t look many of those qualities in
the face without some embarrassment.
Gospel Matthew 18:15-20: ‘If he listens to you, you have
gained your brother.’
Commentary: Matthew
is a realist. Despite the presence of Christ in the Christian community there
are going to be disagreements and misunderstandings in every community and
every family. The vital thing is to sort them out and not to let them fester.
So here we are given a safe process. Interestingly, it is the same process as
is laid down in the Community Rule of the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran; did
Matthew take it from them, or was it widespread at the time? One might complain
that it is not very Christian of Matthew to abandon the offending brother or
sister to be as a hated tax-collector, even after the failure of attempts at
reconciliation. But note that just afterwards, this process of attempted
reconciliation is supplemented by Jesus’ teaching that we have to forgive not
just seven times (the perfect number) but seventy-seven times. That means again
and again and again, without limit – even if the attempts at
reconciliation have failed.
We also get the reminder that Christ is present always in
his community. The same promise is given at beginning (the name Emmanuel means
‘God with us’) and end of the gospel (‘I am with you to the end of time’).
Therefore the strength of the community both to reconcile grievances and to
make further requests of the Father lies in the presence of Christ within it.
It is especially striking that the same promise is here given to the Church as
had earlier been given to Peter himself. There is the same assumption as within
Judaism, that the Lord is present in the assembled community; in Judaism this
is expressed as the presence of the awesome divine presence, the Shekinah;
within Christianity it is normally expressed as the presence of the Spirit of
Christ.
Reflection: What's
the best way to repair a damaged relationship? Jesus offers his disciples
spiritual freedom and power for restoring broken or injured relationships.
Don't brood over an offense -
speak directly and privately: What can we learn from Jesus'
instructions about how to mend a damaged relationship (Matthew 18:15-20)? If
you feel you have been wronged by someone, Jesus says the first step is to
speak directly but privately to the individual who has done the harm. One of
the worst things we can do is brood over our grievance. This can poison our
mind and heart and make it more difficult to go directly to the person who
caused the damage.
Seek the help of wise
Christians: If we truly want to settle a difference with someone, we
need to do it face to face. If this fails in its purpose, then the second step
is to bring another person or persons, someone who is wise and gracious rather
than someone who is hot-tempered or judgmental. The goal is not so much to put
the offender on trial, but to persuade the offender to see the wrong and to be
reconciled. And if this fails, then we must still not give up, but seek the
help of the Christian community. Note the emphasis here is on restoring a
broken relationship by seeking the help of other Christians who hopefully will
pray and seek a solution for reconciliation based on Christian love and wisdom,
rather than relying on coercive force or threat of legal action, such as a
lawsuit.
Pray for the offender - for
healing and reconciliation: Lastly, if even the Christian community
fails to bring about reconciliation, what must we do? Jesus seems to say that
we have the right to abandon stubborn and obdurate offenders and treat them
like social outcasts. The tax-collectors and Gentiles were regarded as
"unclean" by the religious-minded Jews and they resorted to shunning
them. However we know from the Gospel accounts that Jesus often had fellowship
with tax-collectors (as well as other public sinners), ate with them, and even
praised them at times! Jesus refuses no one who is open to receive pardon,
healing, and restoration.
Set no obstacle in seeking to
heal your brother's wound: When you are offended, are you willing to
put aside your own grievance and injury in order to help your brother's wound?
The Lord Jesus wants to set us free from resentment, ill-will, and an
unwillingness to forgive. The love of Christ both purifies and sets us free to
do good to all - even those who cause us grief. The call to accountability for
what we have done and have failed to do is inevitable and we can't escape it,
both in this life and at the day of judgment when the Lord Jesus will return.
But while we have the opportunity today, we must not give up on praying for
those who cause us offense. With God's help we must seek to make every effort
to win them with the grace and power of God's healing love and wisdom. Do you
tolerate broken relationships or do you seek to repair them as God gives you
the opportunity to mend and restore what is broken?
Lord Jesus, make me an instrument of your healing love and
peace. Give me wisdom and courage to bring your healing love and saving truth
to those in need of healing and restoration.
Daily Quote from the Early
Church Fathers: If someone has
done you injury, by Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD)
"If someone has done you injury and you have suffered,
what should be done? You have heard the answer already in today's scripture:
'If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and
him alone.' If you fail to do so, you are worse than he is. He has done someone
harm, and by doing harm he has stricken himself with a grievous wound. Will you
then completely disregard your brother's wound? Will you simply watch him
stumble and fall down? Will you disregard his predicament? If so, you are worse
in your silence than he in his abuse. Therefore, when any one sins against us,
let us take great care, but not merely for ourselves. For it is a glorious
thing to forget injuries. Just set aside your own injury, but do not neglect
your brother's wound. Therefore 'go and tell him his fault, between you and him
alone,' intent upon his amendment but sparing his sense of shame. For it might
happen that through defensiveness he will begin to justify his sin, and so you
will have inadvertently nudged him still closer toward the very behavior you
desire to amend. Therefore 'tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he
listens to you, you have gained your brother,' because he might have been lost,
had you not spoken with him. " (excerpt from Sermon 82.7)
the highest standards for
unity: “If your brother should commit some wrong against you, go and
point out his fault.” —Matthew 18:15
Jesus prays that His Church would be one as He and His
Father are one (Jn 17:21). Jesus has exceptionally high standards for unity in
His Church so that the world would believe that the Father sent Jesus (Jn
17:21). This may come as a surprise to us, for our experience in our local
churches may be that of denominational and factional disunity. Yet Jesus never
changes His standards. He insists on His Church reflecting the unity of the
Trinity.
To prevent disunity, dispel disunity, and build unity, the Holy Spirit works in the following ways. He gives us: the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the responsibility and wisdom to correct our brothers and sisters in Christ (see Ez 33:8; Mt 18:15), the charity and discipline to keep our differences with another brother or sister between the two of us (see Mt 18:15), the deeper presence of Jesus and the power of prayer when Christians gather in unity in Jesus’ name (see Mt 18:19-20), submission to the authority of the leaders of our church (see Mt 18:17), and redemptive suffering (see Jn 11:51-52).
The Holy Spirit enables us never to have to settle for less
than the best unity in the Church. However, we must be docile to the Holy
Spirit and follow His ways of reconciliation and unity exactly and
sacrificially. Come, Holy Spirit of unity! (see 1 Cor 12:13; Eph 4:3) Come and
give us a new Pentecost of unity!
Prayer: Father,
help Your Church to always reflect the unity of the Trinity. “Owe no debt to
anyone except the debt that binds us to love one another. He who loves his
neighbor has fulfilled the law.” —Rm 13:8. Praise Jesus, Who constantly taught
us to forgive, even when hanging from His cross. Praise You, Lord of mercy and
forgiveness!
The personal action for
today: How have I experienced the
loving forgiveness of God for my sins? What does it mean to me to practice the
law of love? What is my reaction when someone offends me or acts against the
law of love in relationship to me? Am I willing to go through a process to
lovingly bring the individual back into proper relationship with me and others
in the community of faith, and with God? How can I better reflect the example
of Jesus, the Master-Teacher, in my dealings with others?
Blessed Claudio Granzotto: Born
in Santa Lucia del Piave near Venice, Claudio was the youngest of nine children
and was accustomed to hard work in the fields. At the age of 9, he lost his
father. Six years later, he was drafted into the Italian army, where he served
more than three years.
Blessed Claudio Granzotto’s artistic abilities, especially
in sculpture, led to studies at Venice’s Academy of Fine Arts, which awarded
him a diploma with the highest marks in 1929. Even then he was especially
interested in religious art. When Claudio entered the Friars Minor four years
later, his parish priest wrote, “The Order is receiving not only an artist but
a saint.” Prayer, charity to the poor, and artistic work characterized his life
which was cut short by a brain tumor. He died on the feast of the Assumption,
August 15, 1947, and was beatified in 1994. Blessed Claudio Granzotto’s
liturgical feast is celebrated on March 23.
Claudio developed into such an excellent sculptor that his
work still turns people toward God. No stranger to adversity, he met every
obstacle courageously, reflecting the generosity, faith, and joy that he
learned from Francis of Assisi.
