Breaking Open the Word
September 6
Introduction
Ezekiel 33:7-9
Romans 13: 8-10
Matthew 18: 15-20
Introduction
Today’s readings deal with the difficult part of Christian love – confronting sin in others. In Ezekiel, the role of the prophet is as a “watchman” responsible for warning sinners of the danger of sin. Paul teaches that love is the true fulfillment of God’s law. Jesus teaches believers how to deal with sin when encountered in the Christian community. Together, these passages teach a challenging aspect of Christian love. Love is not merely tolerance. It also includes concern for the salvation of others, which requires courage to speak truth
In the Old Testament reading from Ezekiel, we get an insight into the role of the prophet as watchman. He is charged with the responsibility to call out the sin of others. In fact, his responsibility runs to personal accountability in that if he fails to warn the sinner, God will hold HIM responsible for the destruction of the sinner. Similarly, if he warns the sinner who nonetheless fails to turn from his sin, then he is not held responsible for his sin. The prophet is not being held accountable for the sin of the sinner, but to his vocation as prophet. It’s his job to communicate God’s will. God will hold him accountable if he fails in doing this.
Charity means that the Christian cannot remain silent when another person’s action are destructive.
The responsorial Psalm “if today you hear his voice harden not your hearts” reinforces this message by pointing out that the greatest danger is not just in committing sin, it’s in getting to the point where we no longer listen for God’s voice. We are to not just be willing to speak God’s truth, we are to be just as willing to actively listen for it.
In the reading from Romans, Paul takes this message further by putting in in the context of love. Christians must always act from a place of love. He sums all of the commandments into the commandment “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. This does not reduce love to mere sentimentality. The definition of love is “willing the good of the other”. We must genuinely do that in truth, which is sometimes quite difficult. Telling someone the truth about sinful behavior can be an act of love, if it really is motivated only by a truthful concern for their salvation. That said, it can easily spill over to self-righteous pride. It must never turn into public humiliation or condemnation wrongly justified as a desire to be truthful. It must always come from self-less love.
Gospel Explained
In today’s gospel, Jesus teaches us a practical, methodical way to deal with confronting sinful behavior in others. First, we are to privately confront the situation. This step of course is often skipped in reality, because as sinners, we generally love to gossip about the sins of others without doing what love demands – private discussion. This of course turns us away from love – which is willing the good of the other. This is willing the harm of the other and is of course sinful – potentially as bad as whatever sin we might be “confronting”.
Jesus then offers a second step – to bring witnesses, and should even that fail, to bring it before the church. This progressive approach means that the hope and intent is repentance and restoration, not self-righteous vindictiveness. Jesus also points out the role of the apostles (and by extension, the Church), to “bind” and “loosen”. Clearly, the Church has the power to teach, correct, reconcile and discipline.
This gospel passage ends in the familiar “Where two or more are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them”. It’s interesting to note that this is typically generalized to mean that Jesus is present in any gathering, but the context in which it appears is the difficult work in this gospel passage – the Church exercising her authority to seek God’s will and restore what is broken.
Today's Theme
Today’s readings challenge two equal but opposite errors. First, indifference. This is strongly associated with today’s rampant moral relativism. The only sin is to judge anything as sinful in anyone else. That view is completely rejected by the first reading from Ezekiel. If we truly love our neighbor, we cannot ignore seriously destructive behavior when we have a responsibility to intervene.
The opposite error is of course, self-righteousness. It’s VERY easy to see criticizing others as a chance to validate our own behavior and fall into self-perceived moral superiority. Jesus rejects this as well, as evident in the process he teaches of private discussion, patience, witness and most importantly, reconciliation.
It is also important to note the strong connection between the first and second readings. Ezekiel teaches that we have a responsibility for the spiritual welfare of others. Paul teaches that this must always be ruled by the demands of love. This has strong implications in our lives. When we feel that we have been wronged, Jesus does not imply that we should simply retreat. Nor should we immediately go out and gossip to all of our friends. We should pursue true healing & reconciliation. That is what love demands - and it takes courage.
Theme in our Life Today
These readings point to a deep truth – God desires neither condemnation nor indifference. He desires conversion and restoration/communion. The image of the watchman in Ezekiel comes from God’s desire that we choose life in him rather than death in sin. Paul synthesizes the law into love, which properly contextualizes reconciliation and restoration. Jesus reinforces both in his process to pull back the sinner from their sin and restore them to God’s family of love. The Church is in the position to always listen intently for God’s word, act on when needed but always focused on the infinite value of the person - always striving for reconciliation and restoration.
Prepare for Sunday
Questions for Reflection:
Have I ever felt that I needed to confront sin in someone else? How did I handle it?
Are there insights from today’s readings that might have improved the outcome?