Twenty-third Sunday in
Ordinary Time
September 7, 2014 Cycle A
by Rev. Jose Maria Cortes, F.S.C.B.
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In the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today’s readings talk about fraternal correction. They remind us that we have a responsibility toward our neighbors’ spiritual health and cannot be indifferent to their ultimate destiny. This is a very important reminder. Many times we do not think too much about the eternal salvation of the people around us. In the 2012 message for Lent, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote: “Today, in general, we are very sensitive to the idea of charity and caring about the physical and material well-being of others, but almost completely silent about our spiritual responsibility towards our brothers and sisters. This was not the case in the early Church or in those communities that are truly mature in faith, those which are concerned not only for the physical health of their brothers and sisters, but also for their spiritual health and ultimate destiny.”
In the first reading, God tells the prophet Ezekiel to be a watchman for the people of Israel and warn the wicked in His name. God is clearly telling us that we have a responsibility toward the eternal salvation of our neighbor. No one is a stranger to us because we are our brothers’ keepers. Our own salvation depends on how we exercise this responsibility: “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.” We must not remain silent before evil. Nowadays, proponents of false tolerance and compassion insist that we have to accept everyone as they are, without saying anything, lest we interfere with another’s freedom. However, such ostensible tolerance is actually a form of callous indifference. In the Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul says that we cannot separate love from the truth: “Living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ” (Eph 4:15). If we love someone, we must tell the truth, even if what we have to say is not nice.
In my life, I am very grateful to the people who have corrected me. I am thinking of my parents, educators, superiors, brother priests, friends, parishioners etc. Of course we do not like being corrected but afterwards we understand that it is for our own good. I am reminded of a passage in the Book of Proverbs: “Rebuke the wise and he will love you for it. Be open with the wise, he grows wiser still, teach the upright, he will gain yet more” (Prov 9:8).
In the second reading, Saint Paul tells us to love each other: “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another.” He says that all the commandments can be summed up in one: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Fraternal correction has to do with love for our neighbor. Thus, Christian admonishment can never be motivated by a spirit of accusation or recrimination. The act of correction has to be an act of mercy. In fact, to admonish sinners is one of the seven spiritual works of mercy.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about fraternal correction in detail, even giving us concrete advice on how to proceed when we have to admonish someone. At the end of the Gospel, Christ says: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” In this way, Jesus establishes a connection between fraternal correction and his presence among us.
Why should we correct someone or accept correction? We do so not on our own behalf but in the name of Christ. When we perform fraternal correction, we are Christ’s instruments. Through the brother or sister who corrects us, Jesus helps us grow in our spiritual life.
Let us ask for the gift of sensitivity toward our neighbors’ spiritual health. Let us pray that we may be diligent in the practice of fraternal correction. Let us ask for the grace of the courage to correct and the humility to accept being corrected.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.