Living together in Christ

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.”

Music Meditations

“We Are One Body” (John Michael Talbot) [YouTube]
“The Servant Song” (sung by Maranatha! Vocal Band) [YouTube]
“O God Beyond All Praising” (Melody by Gustav Holst, sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) [YouTube]

Opening Prayer

Lord, help me to deal with those with whom I do not agree about some things I really feel are wrong. Help me to see that excluding others, unless they are a threat to my physical or emotional safety, is counter to your spirit. Teach me the way of forgiveness and reconciliation, and give me courage to speak up when I must.

Companions for the Journey

From “First Impressions” by Father Jude Siciliano, O.P.:

We are in a section of Matthew’s gospel in which Jesus is doing community building. So, today’s passage must be seen in the light of its larger context. (Nothing new here for preachers since we are always checking out the context of a scriptural passage.) Ever since chapter 14, Jesus has been instructing his disciples. In chapter 18, his teaching emphasizes and focuses on the community of believers, the church.

At the time Matthew wrote, the church was on its own, no longer a part of the Jewish community and so no longer observing the daily norms and customs of that religious tradition. The community needed guidelines for its life together and in chapter 18 Matthew emphasizes what the important ones are. Faith in Jesus and his teachings are the basis for this new community; believers will have to live in a way that reflects their founder. Since Jesus revealed a forgiving and compassionate God, the life of the community must do the same, if they are to witness to Jesus resurrected and living in their midst. Forgiveness must be the hallmark of the church. (Next week Peter will ask, “...how often must I forgive?” Jesus’ response—in effect, a limitless number of times.)

When someone offends us, we can say, “It’s a big world, I’ll just go my own way and ignore him or her.” The early church was a very small community surrounded by non-believers. Members of the assemblies were easily recognizable and so was how they behaved towards one another. It’s something like a family in a small town, the neighbors quickly learn when there is conflict among family members. So too in the tiny early church; people within and outside the community would know of divisions among the believers. Conflicting members could not go their own way, the whole community would know and suffer the consequences of their behavior. The injuries had to be dealt with through forgiveness and, if it that were done, all would benefit. Outsiders would also notice the community’s behavior and be drawn to it. Today our larger communities might make it possible for conflict to continue, or be ignored, without too much fuss. But an unseen wound is a wound nevertheless and the unity and life of the believers are affected by offenses done by members against one another.

The teaching in today’s gospel sets out a rather elaborate and specific process for how forgiveness and reconciliation are to happen. At first just two people are involved, “If your brother [or sisters] sins against you go and tell....” Notice that the one sinned against must attempt a personal exchange with the offending party. At this stage of the process the privacy of the two is being respected. The directions don’t include explicit formulas or directions on how the conversation is to go. It is hoped the parties can converse reasonably and members can be trusted to know how to behave and what to say. But life doesn’t always work out according to ideals.

If the first step fails, the conversation is to include just one or two more people. We might jump ahead at this point to the closing verse of today’s passage. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” We most commonly apply this passage to two or more believers praying together—Jesus will be in their midst. True enough. But back to the context. The verse is in the setting of reconciliation in the community, when “two or three” come together to settle an offense against a member. When a believing community works to settle disputes, Christ is in our midst working to achieve the same goal. That is what makes this teaching more than an “ideal” and keeps it from being dismissed as not practical in “the real world.”

Or, put it another way. Where shall we find the true presence of Christ? In today’s example, he is in our midst when we work together to right wrongs. Forgiveness and justice should characterize the community; if it does, others will recognize something unique about the church and might even recognize Christ alive and active in our midst doing what isn’t “do-able” without him. We believe he is truly with us at this Eucharistic celebration. We reflect on divisions in our local and universal church, as well as the between churches, resulting from offenses and misunderstandings done over the centuries. We invite Christ to be with us as we consciously and deliberately set about righting both large and small wrongs.

Jesus’ instructions continue. If the offender is hardened and refuses to acknowledge the wrong the process moves to another level. “If he/she refuses to listen to them, tell the church.” Here Jesus gives the whole community the power to “bind and loosen”; the power to welcome back a repentant member, but also to discipline an unrepentant offender. The latter is an unfortunate but, it seems, necessary move. Actually, it isn’t so much that the church excludes someone from the community, but that the person guilty of sin against a member has turned his/her back on the community. Since they are obstinate in their sin, they have sentenced themselves to exclusion. If they won’t mend the breach they have caused, the community is forced to state the obvious. The offender must be treated as “a Gentile or a tax collector”—a catch-all phrase used at that time by the Jewish community to mean anyone considered unclean and outside the faith. But remember that Jesus welcomed Gentiles and tax collectors into his company and offered them God’s forgiveness and acceptance. I think that leaves his comment ambiguous.

We sense from this passage and all of chapter 18, that the unity and faithful adherence to Jesus’ teachings are important values for Matthew. Christians are not to live as individuals, but as members of a witnessing and supportive community. When a member has been “sinned” against, others are there for support and to see that rights are wronged.

But what’s the spirit of today’s gospel? Is Jesus just talking about individual offenses and sins? Suppose a race is sinned against, what are we to do? Suppose the poor on the other side of town are being ignored, or deprived of their needs and rights? Suppose a group in our parish is treated as second class members just because they are new arrivals? Suppose women’s voices are ignored? Or the elderly patronized? Suppose young people never hear their lives or issues mentioned in the preaching and public worship? Well...you get the idea.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am in the midst of them.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

When I experience family conflict, how do I resolve it?
When my friends and I are in conflict, how do I resolve it?
When some members of my church community and I are in conflict, how do I resolve it?
In my mind, are any of these “conflicts” truly only solved when people come around to my point of view?
Do we sometimes forget that to belong to the Church is to belong to a community of brothers and sisters in Christ? Why is this so?
No one says reconciliation is easy, especially when groups and individuals in the community have been at loggerheads for a long time. If we try to be less confrontational and more guided in prayer, Jesus promises to be with us to bring about reconciliation. What divisions exist in my parish community?
How can I be an instrument to help a healing process?
Do we believe that our relationship to Christ depends intimately on how we relate to each other?
To what extent do we believe that our behavior as individuals reflects on the overall witness that we as a community are called to give?
Do I feel that as a community we are responsible for each other’s well-being?
What are some of the difficulties in achieving this?
Is there a difference between pointing out and working to correct serious moral failures and being the “correctness police” monitoring lapses in manners, irritating habits, or even liturgical practices?
Have I ever set myself up as the “correctness police” constantly pointing out the mistakes and failures of others?
Are there people in my family or church community who do so?
Do I ever shirk my responsibility to speak up when I know something is morally wrong?
When I confront a wrong or injustice do I approach the other in anger or in charity?
What are the effects of living in a culture that promotes gossip, scandal, and contemptuous dismissal of those with whom we do not agree?
What are the effects of living in a culture that relies on legal arguments or intellectual evaluations—that focuses on winning rather than on relationship?
How difficult is to become involved in another’s life when we see them engage in cruel or self-destructive behaviors?
Why, however, are some people all too ready to tell people what is the right way to do things or how to behave?
How do we find the middle ground?
What is the role of personal prayer in dealing with problematic people?
Have I ever been part of a church community or another group that developed divisions over some issue or another?
How did it get resolved?
To what extent have I sought consensus, or did I work to make sure that my opinion carried the day?
What is the role of punishment in this passage?
What is the role of reconciliation?
How do I feel about Excommunication?
What is the possible danger of putting someone out of the community who does not agree with me? (think self-righteousness, vindictiveness, the cruelty of isolation, for example)
Which of the 4-part instruction on dealing with another’s behavior toward me did I have a problem with?
What are some of the inherent dangers involved in taking others along to reprimand someone?
What is the value of having others to pray with?
In the letter of St Paul to the Romans in today’s reading he writes: “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another, for the one who loves one another has fulfilled the law.” How does this apply to today’s gospel?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions

Adapted from “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits.

Let us do an examination of conscience on love today.
Love is patient. Am I?
Love is kind. Am I?
Love is not boastful. Am I?
Love is not resentful. Am I?
Love does not harbor grudges. Do I?
Love does not judge. Do I?
Love does not rejoice in what is wrong. How do I understand this? Live it?
Love rejoices in the truth. Do I?
Love rejoices in the good fortune of others? Do I?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

From First Impressions, a Service of the Southern Dominican Province:

But what’s the spirit of today’s gospel? Is Jesus just talking about individual offenses and sins? Suppose a race is sinned against, what are we to do? Suppose the poor on the other side of town are being ignored or deprived of their needs and rights? Suppose a group in our parish is treated as second class members just because they are new arrivals? Suppose women’s voices are ignored? Or, the elderly patronized? Suppose young people never hear their lives or issues mentioned in the preaching and public worship? What can you do about it? And when will you start?

Poetic Reflection:

Have you ever met a person in your church who could be described the way Mary Oliver describes someone she knows in the following excerpt from a poem in her collection Thirst?

“On thy Wondrous Works I Will Meditate”

7.
I know a man of such
mildness and kindness, it is trying to
change my life. He does not
preach, teach, but simply is. It is
astonishing, for he is Christ’s ambassador
truly, by rule and act. But, more,

he is kind with the sort of kindness that shines
out, but is resolute, not fooled. He has
eaten the dark hours and could also, I think,
soldier for God, riding out
under the storm clouds, against the world’s pride and unkindness
with both unassailable sweetness and consoling word.

Closing Prayer

Taken from The Eucharistic Prayer II for Masses of Reconciliation; quoted on A Poster for Peace in Memory of September 11, 2001, Liturgy Training Publications

Your Spirit changes our hearts:
enemies begin to speak to one another,
those who were estranged join hands in friendship,
and nations seek the way of peace together.
Your Spirit is at work
when understanding puts an end to strife,
when hatred is quenched by mercy,
and vengeance gives way to forgiveness.

Weekly Reflections

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 10, 2023