23rd Sunday of the Year (A)
Mt 18: 15 – 20
About fraternal correction
Dear brothers and sisters:
Today´s
gospel (Mt 18: 15 – 20) talks to us
about “fraternal correction”: «If your brother
sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he
listen to you, you have gained your brother» (Mt 18:15).
Certainly
we are always ready to correct or signal the faults of the people around us;
but is that fraternal correction or a simple critic that arises not from love
but from envy? How to make the distinction?
«O that today you would listen to his voice!»
We
should look at the first reading –taken from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel-;
there we will find the key to distinguish real fraternal correction from mere
critic or envy.
According
to the text, the Prophet has received the following order form God: «Wherever you hear a word from my mouth, you
shall give them warning from me» (Ez 33:7);
that means that the first one to correct us is God himself. Therefore in order
to correct a brother we have to listen to the word of God first; only then are
we capable of truly correct our brothers and sisters. And this is so because
the correction arises not from our envy or critics; not from our own ideas or thoughts;
but from the word of God.
Each one of us should make a personal examination: “When
I correct a brother or a sister; from where does that correction arise? Does it
arise from my envy or from the word of God?”
And now we understand why today´s psalm says: «O that today you would listen to his voice!
Harden not your hearts» (Psalm 95:
7 – 8). Only a heart filled by the word of God can truly correct with love and
out of love.
«If your brother sins against you»
Now we are ready to understand and to put into practice
Jesus’ words regarding fraternal correction.
Firstly,
He teaches us to look for personal dialogue: «If you brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between
you and him alone» (Mt 18:15). Certainly,
this is a very simple and wise advice; but very difficult to put into practice.
Sadly, it is very common to see how people criticize each other without looking
for personal, mature and direct dialogue. It seems we prefer gossip to
dialogue; confrontation to reconciliation. That is not the way of the Lord. He
invites us always to grown in fraternal love and mutual responsibility through
mature and sincere dialogue.
If
personal dialogue does not work; our Lord advices us: «Take one or two along with you, that every word may be confirmed by
the evidence of two or three witnesses» (Mt 18:16). That means that we need to ask for help when personal
dialogue does not work. This allows us to realize that the point of view of
another person can complement our own point of view and enrich the dialogue in
a constructive way.
And
finally, if this does not work, the matter should be taken to the community, to
the Church. Why does the Lord advices this to us? Because if we really belong
to a community, it means that we are subjected to his customs, laws and style
of life. The belonging to our community should express itself in our attitude and
in our concrete way of life. Therefore the community has the right and the responsibility
to advice us and to correct us if necessary.
«For where two or three are gathered in my name»
 |
| Crowning of the Virgin Mary. San Zeno di Montagna, Italy. June 2013. |
Therefore
if the community wants to correct its members, she too has to put herself in
the presence of the Lord and listen to his words. A community that continually
listens to the Word of God is a community that will have the ability to educate
its members according to God´s wishes and in a Christian style of life; the
style that Saint Paul proposes to us in the letter to the Romans: «Owe nothing to anyone,
except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the
fulfillment of the law» (Rom
13: 8. 10).
Let
us ask our Blessed Mother, Regina Caeli –
Queen of Heaven, that she may educate each and every one of us as a
community that reflects the presence of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, both,
in attitude and action; we do so praying:
“Mother, let Christ shine in us more brightly
and join us together in holy community,
always ready for the sacrifices
our holy mission may demand of us”[1]. Amen.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario