23rd Sunday - "Do all with love"

"Where two or three are gathered together in my name, 

there am I in the midst of them."

Ez 33: 7-9

Rm 13: 8-10

Mt 18: 15-20

The Word for Sunday: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091017.cfm

Nature has been very unforgiving these past few weeks:  two massive hurricanes inflicting floods and damage on densely populated areas of this Country in Texas and now in Florida as I speak, forest fires and hot dry temperatures here in the Northwest with air quality in the hazardous zone not just for one day but generally for the last two months as the smoke has caused unprecedented discomfort for everyone.  The vast area of the Country that has been affected has been not limited to simply one City or one State but to several around parts of his Country. We may assume that for whatever reason, nature seems very angry at us. 

Well, we know that weather has no emotions or reason.  But we do and with that a God given power called free will and we can inflict great harm or we can produce much good.  While human psychology is not an exact science we are not as unpredictable as the weather. Likewise, our recent angry weather has brought out the best in many people through acts of kindness, generosity, charity, self-sacrifice for the sake of those who have suffered.  It really is an inspiration to see this great out pour of generosity.  Rather than responding to this formidable force with more of the same, we have responded with the power of charity. Do all with love must be our guide.

In a similar way, our Gospel this Sunday lays out for us a most practical example of how Christians of the early Church communities addressed problems they found between themselves.  How did these early communities, “home churches” really, deal with the difficulties and human tensions that naturally rise between people? What is at stake here is not just the end of an argument.  But how to deal with a divided community and how to address problems that may potentially cause scandal and bring further conflict.

In the early first century of the Christian faith those who followed the new way proposed by Jesus and his followers found themselves having to establish a certain independence from their own past history.  The Temple of Jerusalem had been destroyed, Jews were dispersed around the ancient world and the Christian believers had been shunned from the Jewish communities.  With the new Gentile converts to Christianity they established themselves as a distinct and new community. No longer pure Jews who now embraced the known “unclean” world. 

While many Jewish traditions were still adopted, a new understanding of God and a new level of acceptance and inclusiveness settled on them.  Now it was the new law of love which bound them together and lessened the distinctions between people. It was to think with the mind of Christ. This was more than just a new community built upon a rich and ancient history but now a new way, a new direction based in the belief of Jesus as the anointed One of God – the Messiah – which had opened its doors to the world around it.  And many other contrary forces entered. 

But because we are sinners trying to be saints it was inevitable that conflict and division would arise in these communities.  There may have been issues of scandal or disagreements over matters of behavior and pastoral care for the members.  Rather than seek equal justice, “an eye for an eye” as it were, the good of the whole and Jesus’ own command to love needed to be applied through practical behavior and the moral principle of forgiveness.

Fraternal correction is one way to describe our responsibility not to police each other but to assist one another in the Christian way of life.  We have a certain responsibility to support one another to stay on the mark, to avoid sin, and as a community to be constantly open to receive and live the message of the Christian way. In short, the Bible reminds us that we are not isolated individuals sort of just plodding along by ourselves.

So the Gospel reveals what the early Church had established for the sake of the spiritual health of the whole Christian community.  The model of correction begins at the bottom and works its way to the top if necessary. This is very similar to the way grievances are handled in our Schools for example.  If a parent has a concern about their child, they begin with the teacher.  If not satisfied they may go to the Principal.  If not satisfied there, then the Pastor can be called in. 

So the first approach is that of reconciliation between two offended members.  “If your brother (sister) sins against you go and tell him his fault.”  With love and forgiveness and respect for the other person, we seek reconciliation rather than retribution. It’s not about eyes and teeth but about building bridges between people.  The successive levels of awareness end with treating the unreconciled one as a “Gentile or tax collector.”

While this may sound harsh, let’s remember whose Gospel we are reading today – that of the tax collector Matthew.  Matthew was called by Jesus to his own inner circle and the gentiles were ultimately treated with acceptance and included in the early Church with charity. What is best for the common good and what is a danger to division?  How can we seek healing with love? 

This call to fraternal correction is not a permit for gossip or being nosey or for spending our days interfering in my neighbor’s business. Rather, it is an act of love for the sake of each other’s good. To help and guide one another to stay on the mark, to avoid sin, and to collectively live the often demanding moral standards of our Christian way of life.

While the Gospel seems to emphasize verbal communication I think that as important as that is, if we ourselves are not good examples to one another and to the world in which we live, how can we ever expect to be included or forgiven ourselves?

For us Catholic Christians there is no better moment to experience this principle of unity than during our Eucharist celebrations.  We are one, all walking on the same road, seeking the mercy of God and expressing our concern for our neighbor we know and for the larger world around us.  Only by our courageous witness to the Gospel will Jesus become present in the culture today.

The love which Jesus seeks is based in a unity of persons – “agape” a group united in a common fellowship.  In the case of Christian communities, we are united by our common baptism and our shared faith in the Lord Jesus.  How can we be an inspiration to one another?  How can we best care for the neediest in our midst?

The practical ways in which we live out the Beatitudes and the Commandments of God are presented I the readings.  When disagreements rise or the behavior of someone in a particular group is disruptive or even worse, how do we address that? 

The guide which Jesus speaks of today reflects the experience of Matthew’s Church but is as helpful to present day parishes, parents in the home, teachers in school, or to any who seek to maintain order for the common good of all.  “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Peace be with you.   

O God, by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption,

look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters, 

that those who believe in Christ

may receive true freedom

and an everlasting inheritance. 

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

one God for ever and ever. 

Amen