Reflection on Today’s Gospel – Mt 18:15-20
Undoubtedly, today's Gospel passage is one of the most difficult, both in terms of its interpretation and its implementation. Jesus says that it is up to you and me to rebuke " if your brother sins against you." Let us dwell on this sentence for a moment. Matthew, writing about a brother, means a specific, well-known person, a member of the same community, and not some abstract man, representing a wider group. How can we be sure? Because before the noun "brother" in Greek ἀδελφός (adelfos) appears the so-called definite article ὁ (ho)- (the brother).
Why is this such an important detail? Because probably each of us, catechized, participating in the Holy Mass, maybe belonging to a group or community, when asked whether all people should be loved, the answer will be yes. But such an answer is easy to give and it passes through our throats without any problems, because when it comes to everyone, you do not really know who exactly it is. However, if you ask us: do you love a difficult colleague or superior at work, a neighbor who constantly throws obstacles at your feet, a lady who loves gossiping, who tells incredible stories about you, the matter becomes complicated. In such a situation, there is no question about everything, about everyone, but we are faced with a very specific person from whom we could have suffered a lot of harm. Can we then quickly answer: yes, I love him? This is precisely the situation that God gives us for consideration today. Loving someone far away is no problem. The real staircase and the test of our faith begins when we are to love and admonish those next to us.
How are we to admonish them? Jesus gives us very specific directions. First, we should meet this person face-to-face and immediately confess our harm to him. There is nothing worse than leaving the wound to ourselves because it will take root ever deeper in our heart. The longer we wait to announce our wounds aloud, the more difficult it will be to deal with them later. Very often, the mere articulation of the suffered harm is liberating, because it allows you to "throw them out".
If a one-on-one meeting with the wrongdoer does not bring results, then Jesus advises to go to that person again, but this time taking one or two people with him. This procedure has been known to Jews for centuries. In Dt 19:15 we read: “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.” But we must be aware that taking others with us is not intended to confirm our version of events. Their role is primarily to objectively assess the entire situation. If they are sane and wise people, full of God's light, then they will make a good discernment. However, here a certain danger awaits the one who puts them in a difficult situation, because they may come to the conclusion that the emphasis in the dispute is different. It is the wronged (according to his judgment) who caused the pain, and the alleged wrongdoer suffers. But this is only one of the possibilities. I am not saying the most likely.
What if, even after the words of a few witnesses, our brother's attitude does not change? Jesus commands "to report to the Church" because only such a community is able to properly judge disputes when the Spirit of Christ is present. Any instances that rely solely on what the world teaches, and what it believes is righteous and what is wrong, can make wrong judgments. A judgment over an erring person should be carried out in an atmosphere of prayer and concern, not in public lynching. If a sinner sees that he is accepted and his sin is condemned rather than himself, then it will be easier for him to enter the path of confession and conversion. Without love, we have no right to come to another because we will hurt him.
Is this the end? Even if the voice of the Church is not enough, are we to turn our backs on such a person? This is probably the first reaction to the words of Jesus, " If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector." I have approached them like this for many years, but my thinking started to change as I thought of how our Savior treated " Gentile or a tax collector." After all, He was still fighting for them! He went to visit two tax collectors, Matthew and Zacchaeus. He also did not avoid lands inhabited by pagans, to mention, for example, a Samaritan woman or a possessed from the Gerasenes country.
Even repeated rejection of our fraternal admonition does not absolve us from the obligation to fight for this particular man we know until the end. This is what Jesus did, and that is what his disciples are to do.
Therefore, at the beginning, I wrote that today's passage is difficult to put into practice, because constantly fighting for someone who hurts is extremely difficult and it cannot be done without a personal relationship with Jesus, without dwelling in His word and without immersion in the sacraments of the Church .
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
These words of the Lord Jesus were wonderfully commented by Saint Ignatius of Antioch in about 108, more than 1,900 years ago. “Our Lord said, that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is among them. So great is the power to pray together! So, think, brethren, how powerful the power of this prayer must be, when not two or three, but the whole Church gathers for the Eucharist!”
It is difficult to imagine anything more intimate than faith, but at the same time faith, by its very nature, requires community. Faith is giving oneself to a God who loves. It is discovering again and again that I am a child of God. Then one realizes by necessity that I am not the only child of God, that God has billions of His children.
Let us look from another angle, at this need of community in faith. We receive many gifts from God directly, but also many gifts God wants to give us in such a way that we, His children, give each other. This is because God cares that we, His children, are bound by mutual love. Single faith is like a spark that flew out of a fire - it is rather certain that it will go out. We need a community of faith so that we can share one another and bestow the light of faith, inspire each other to fervent faith, to be faithful to God's commandments, etc.
But these words, " For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them." are especially true of the Christian family. As you know, a family built on the sacrament of marriage is a small Church. What does it mean? The Church is, first of all, a place of God's saving presence among people, a place where one can meet God particularly closely and receive from him light, strength and grace. My family is a small Church if all of us - or at least those who understand it - are concerned that prayer and faith really shine in our family life.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george