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| “Christ” by El Greco 1590-95 |
Reading 1: Ezekiel 33:7-9
Thus says the Lord:
You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel
when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.
If I tell the wicked, “O wicked one, you shall surely die, ”
and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way,
the wicked shall die for his guilt,
but I will hold you responsible for his death.
But if you warn the wicked,
trying to turn him from his way,
and he refuses to turn from his way,
he shall die for his guilt,
but you shall save yourself.
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Commentary on Ez 33:7-9
This selection is part of the Prophet’s call to holiness. Here the oracle of Ezekiel recalls God’s
instructions; that he is to correct those who are identified to him as behaving
in ways that will result in their death.
Failure to warn them prophetically would constitute a rejection of God’s
call and the punishment meted out for the sinner would also be applied to the
prophet who failed (“…but I will hold you
responsible for his death.”). In a
covenant-like formula, God also says if the warning is unheeded no punishment
shall fall to Ezekiel.
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Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm 95:1-2,
6-7, 8-9
R. (8) If today you hear his
voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
let us acclaim the rock of our
salvation.
Let us come into his presence with
thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the Lord who made
us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the
flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my
works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
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Commentary on Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
This part of
Psalm 95, commonly used as the invitatory psalm for the Liturgy of the Hours,
is a song of thanks giving. In these strophes the incident at Meribah is
remembered (Exodus 17:3-7) and God’s un-deserved mercy proclaimed. The
community is rejoicing that the Lord is God and that he has brought us
salvation in spite of our forbearer’s obstinacy. We are encouraged to listen to
the Lord, even if what we are asked to do is difficult.
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Reading II: Romans 13:8-10
Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, ”
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.
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Commentary on Rom 13:8-10
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Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20
Jesus
said to his disciples:
“If
your brother sins against you,
go
and tell him his fault between you and him alone.
If
he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If
he does not listen,
take
one or two others along with you,
so
that ‘every fact may be established
on
the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
If
he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.
If
he refuses to listen even to the church,
then
treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen,
I say to you,
whatever
you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and
whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again,
amen, I say to you,
if
two of you agree on earth
about
anything for which they are to pray,
it
shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For
where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there
am I in the midst of them.”
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Commentary on Mt 18:15-20
St. Matthew relates the Lord's
instructions to his disciples (and to the Christian Community at large). “Passing
from the duty of Christian disciples toward those who have strayed from their
number, the discourse now turns to how they are to deal with one who sins and
yet remains within the community. First there is to be private correction; if
this is unsuccessful, further correction before two or three witnesses; if this
fails, the matter is to be brought before the assembled community (the church),
and if the sinner refuses to attend to the correction of the church, he is to
be expelled. The church's judgment will be ratified in heaven, i.e., by God.
The section ends with a saying about the favorable response of God to prayer,
even to that of a very small number, for Jesus is in the midst of any gathering
of his disciples, however small. “[4]
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Homily:
There are some among our
faith community who look to the Mass each day or week for a “sound bite”; a
short phrase or sentence that they can use that sums up the message they take
away from their time gathered for the Eucharistic Celebration. If there any of you are looking for something
to take away today, Sacred Scripture provides a few great possibilities.
One might be from the first
reading from Ezekiel. The prophet is
told by God that he is called to warn the wicked that their sins will bring
them death. We heard Jeremiah cry out in
a similar way, that he wished he had never been born because he was called to
correct the wicked and tell them of the doom that awaited them if they did not
repent (“I did not sit celebrating in the
circle of merrymakers; Under the weight of your hand I sat alone because you
filled me with indignation.” Jeremiah 15:17). In a matter-of-fact way, Ezekiel understands
the Lord to tell him that he is to be compelled to correct those on the wrong
path. If he does not; if he shirks his
duty to correct the sinful, he will be responsible for the fate they suffer.
The sound bit we might take
from Ezekiel could be: “You, child of
God, have been appointed as a guardian of your brothers and sisters.”
We can also look at the
second reading - St. Paul St. Paul
Since Ezekiel started talking
about correcting those who are headed down wrong paths, we can consider how we
would want to be corrected ourselves if we were the ones in error. Would we want someone to shout our sins from
the root-tops? Would we want to be
chastised in front of our friends, co-workers, or family? Wouldn’t we rather be lovingly taken aside
and chided privately. Wouldn’t we rather
be given the opportunity to correct our own behavior without public
humiliation? That is how “Love your
neighbor as yourself” must be applied as “Guardian of your brothers and
sisters.’
Not surprisingly, that is
also what Jesus says to his disciples in the reading from St. Matthew’s
Gospel. Because his disciples are
leaders of those who follow the Lord, and because of the depth of his love for
all people everywhere, he gives his friends more authoritative instructions on
how to correct those who are in danger of giving up peace in this life and
eternal life with him in the next.
Although it may seem odd to
us, it is clear that Jesus knows that not everyone will choose a path that
leads to him. Notice how he makes
provision for people who, even after being confronted by the whole community of
faith, refuse to correct their behavior.
He tells the disciples to “…him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” In Jesus’ time a Gentile was excluded or
excommunicated from the community. They
were to be told they were not welcome in the community of believers until such
time as their they conformed to the commandments.
The
Holy Church St.
Paul
Let’s
set a scenario to demonstrate. Let’s say
a very close friend, perhaps our best friend, decides to start taking illegal
drugs; what does our faith require us to do.
First, we know from Ezekiel’s words that we are our friend’s guardian,
whether we want to be or not. It is
clear that the answer to Cain’s question “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9) when God asked
him about Abel in the Book of Genesis is – Yes we are. So sitting by and doing nothing is not an
option for us.
But
how do we try to correct our friend? Do
we call the police and have him arrested? No – that is not the first step Jesus
commanded. We should approach our friend
directly and privately (because that is how we would hope another would treat
us if fortunes were reversed). We should
lovingly point out his error and try to correct him. We should explain that he or she is
destroying the temple of their body which God so lovingly gave them.
If
our friend refused to listen, then we get other friends and perhaps family
member to confront them a second time, again – out of love, without
condescension, without anger, allowing our friend their human dignity. If that still does not work, perhaps it is
best to forgo our friendship with that person or perhaps encourage the friends
family to get that person the help they need.
So,
for those who look for those sound bites to take away, today we have a rich
trove of them. It could be “I am my brother’s keeper” or “You, child
of God, have been appointed as a guardian of your brothers and sisters.” There
is the quote from St. Paul - “Love your
neighbor as yourself” But perhaps most
important is the idea that loving one another as Christ teaches is not simply
feeling affection, it is doing the hard things that true Christians must do for
one another, out of love.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture used is “Christ” by El Greco 1590-95
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]
See NAB Footnote on Matthew 18:15-20
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