23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
07 September 2008
First Reading : Ezekiel 33:7 - 9
Son of man, I have appointed you as sentry to the House of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, warn them in my name. If I say to a wicked man: Wicked wretch, you are to die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked man to renounce his ways, then he shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death. If, however, you do warn a wicked man to renounce his ways and repent, and he does not repent, then he shall die for his sin, but you yourself will have saved your life.
Psalm or canticle: Psalm 94
Second Reading: Romans 13:8 - 10
Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.
Gospel: Matthew 18:15 - 20
Jesus said, ‘If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, is between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.
‘I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.
‘I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’
Reflection
By Pietro S. Albano
What is your first response when you see someone commit a mistake? More often than not, we tell it to someone else. We make sumbong to parents, managers, parish priest, etc. rather than telling it straightaway to the one concerned. Jesus offers us a step-wise approach to fraternal correction.
To make sumbong, according to the Lord, can be the last resort if we have been unsuccessful in confronting our erring loved one one-on-one and with a witness.
Families, places of work, parishes have all been adversely affected because at some point some of their members have failed to sort things out when the error is still easy to handle. Who knows, your brother/sister/colleague might change for the better, not because he/she got reprimanded by a higher authority, but because of your own admonition.
Spare someone the embarrassment if you can trouble-shoot an issue between yourselves.
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