23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Fraternal Correction
Many of us are reluctant to correct the faults of others. Especially for us Filipinos, we don’t want to point the wrong doings of others lest the other would think that we are maligning their dignity as a human being. Thus, even if there are wrong things happening with our neighbour like child abuse or spouse abuse, we close our ears, our eyes, our mouth because we don’t want to hurt them. Likewise, in an authority-centered culture, we Filipinos are also driven by fear and timidity, especially if the one who is doing wrong is in high authority. Perhaps this is the reason why in spite of the spike of the killings because of the government’s war on drugs, many remain silent and indifferent.
The readings of today’s 23rd Sunday in ordinary time highlight the importance of fraternal correction in the living of our faith as individual Christians and as a community. To correct a person is not to destroy his/her dignity but to help him/her improve and become a better person and Christian.
In the First Reading, God appoints Ezekiel as a watchman for his people. God gave Ezekiel the responsibility to save his brothers and sisters in sin,
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.
St. Paul in the Second Reading however, tells us that basis for the courage to correct one another when our brother or sister errs is love. Love is the motive and the spirit of all the commandments. “Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.”
The Gospel passage today deals with mutual relations within the Christian community and, especially, what to do when divisions arise, as must inevitably happen. We are communities of sinners trying to be saints and there are many pitfalls on the way. In today’s passage we see first of all a three-stage procedure for dealing with a community member who has done “something wrong”.
The whole thrust of the passage is that we should all work towards reconciliation rather than exclusion and punishment.
The gospel passage concludes with Jesus’ assurance:
“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 [even] two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.”
Wherever we meet together in the midst of conflict or peace, whether it be for prayer, study, or collective action, Jesus is present and Jesus speaks and acts. This is both a tremendous gift and also a great responsibility.
Our world is besieged with so many problems: Violence, killings, war, immigrants, drug addiction, discrimination, starvation, trafficking of humans, global warming, homelessness … What can we possibly do? We do not further the witness of a loving community when we, in false “charity”, ignore these problems. We are called to watch out for each one of God’s people. However big the burdens that our neighbors bear on us, they aren’t heavy—because they are our brothers and sisters.
Christ, lord of love, let us not think twice. Let us trust in your words. Let us come together, act and pray as one.
I am passionate about the intersection between new media and technology. I continue to research and apply new media in theology and vice-versa. I am also a fan of Our Mother of Perpetual Help and her continuing relevance in today's digital world.
View all posts by Baclaran Phenomenon
