CATHOLIC HOMILY OF 19TH WEDNESDAY ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
“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.”
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Venerable Fulton Sheen, said, “America, it is said, is suffering from intolerance — it is not. It is suffering from tolerance. Tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos. Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded.”
This is one of the major reasons why evil is pervasive in almost all societies in the world. Nobody wants to talk about the evil of sin for fear of being branded as bigot, intolerant, judgmental and uncharitable. So, evil is tolerated, sin is justified, and consciences are dulled. Hence, the erring person continues with his wrongdoing, and gradually loses the sense of sin.
But is it really uncharitable to correct a person who is obviously doing wrong? According to St. Thomas Aquinas, it is not. In fact, correcting the wrongdoer is an “act of charity” (cf. Summ. Theol., II-II:33:1). This is not only an act of charity to the erring person, but also to the entire community. Not to do something to correct him is clearly a sin of omission.
Through the Prophet Ezekiel, God gives a stern warning against the sin of omission: “When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked, you must die,’ and you do not speak up to warn the wicked about their ways, they shall die in their sins, but I will hold you responsible for their blood” (Ez 33:8).
As a loving Father, God corrects His erring children: “For whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges” (Heb 12:6). Everyone needs corrections owing to our human weakness. And this correction is the responsibility of everyone towards one another as brothers and sisters. This is called fraternal correction.
In the Gospel today, Jesus lays down the three steps involved in fraternal correction. It must be noted that its main objectives are conversion and reconciliation, not punishment. Hence, utmost care and compassion should prevail all the time.
The first step is to talk to the person concerned in private. It looks easy, but is actually difficult, mainly due to human respect, and the fear of being misinterpreted and taken negatively. That is why many of us, instead of talking to the erring person, tell others about him. Thus, gossip spreads, and severe injustice is done to the person who has no more chance to explain and defend himself.
However, if the wrongdoer does not listen, then one or two companions who are also aware of the offense can be brought along, “so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’” The Book of Deuteronomy stipulates: “One witness alone shall not stand against someone in regard to any crime or any offense that may have been committed; a charge shall stand only on the testimony of two or three witnesses” (19:15).
If the wrongdoer remains recalcitrant in the face of evidence, then the matter is to be presented to the whole community, or the ‘church’. (Matthew uses the term ‘qahal’ in Hebrew, or ‘ekklesia’ in Greek, which refers to the gathering of a Christian community.) But if he ignores even the church and there is still no sign of repentance, then he is to be expelled from the community, treating him like “a Gentile or a tax collector” – as a total outsider.
Jesus gives to the church the clear mandate to do this by proclaiming: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” He further points out the authority of the community: “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.”
The Gospel today highlights the important role and value of the sacrament of Confession. Through the priest, who represents both God and the Church, the penitent is reconciled to God and the community. May we rediscover the beauty and invaluable grace of this sacrament in our journey towards holiness and salvation.
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