To read the texts click on the texts: Ezek33:7-9;Rom13:8-10; Mt 18:15-20
As
a child in school I learnt a poem which had great rhyme and meter and which when
recited aloud with actions that accompanied it sounded good to the ear. It went
like this:
I
had a little tea party
This
afternoon at three
It
was very small
Three
guests in all
Just
I, myself and me.
Myself
ate up all the sandwiches
While
I drank up the tea
It
was also "I" who ate the pie
And
passed the cakes to me.
It
was only many years later that I realized that it was one of the most selfish
poems that one could recite. The focus in the poem was on one individual and
one individual alone; I, myself and Me. This is surely not the Christian way of
proceeding. In Christianity we are individuals but in and within a community.
In
the Bible we come across certain passages that are as relevant and practical in
our lives today as they were thousands of years ago when they were first
written. Today’s readings are good examples of such passages. Together they
reminds us that as faithful Christians it is our responsibility to reach out to
the errant members of the community and bring them back into the fold.
Christianity, is both an individual and communitarian religion and every one of
us are our brother’s and sister’s keepers. They even go on to recommend
practical steps on how to go about doing this. They invite us to review our
‘I-don’t-care’ attitude toward fallen and lax members of the Church, reminding
us that it is our business to reach out to them.
As
members of the Church, we are not just a priestly people who offer sacrifice;
we are also a prophetic people, which means that we are God’s spokespersons. We
speak on behalf of God. Today’s first reading is, in fact, a compact job
description that God gave to the prophet Ezekiel on what it means to be a
prophetic person. As sentinel or watchman, Ezekiel places himself as an
intermediary between God and the people. He realizes that it is his
responsibility as a member of the community to ensure that all in the community
are saved from sin. He cannot be merely content with his own salvation. He must
do whatever it takes to bring those who stray back to the fold.
The
Gospel text from Matthew deals with discipline, reconciliation and the presence
of the Lord. This text is part of the fourth discourse in the Gospel commonly
known as the “Community Discourse”. The concern in these verses is with
community or congregational life and not primarily about personal relations.
Like Ezekiel, every Christian is also called to be concerned about other
members of the community, since ours is a faith of a community and never of
merely individuals. We act together, so we can help one another and so we can
work to God’s name, thereby multiplying our resources and ability to do what
God calls us to do. Our community is the lifeline to the experience of God and
an example of the power of God moving among God’s people.
The
procedures that Matthew suggests for bringing back an errant member of the
community may seem stringent. However, when we realize that the point is one of
radical care and concern and not self righteousness or vindictiveness, then
they take on a new meaning. The errant member, the leaders of the community and
the community are all protected from arbitrariness and self-centered actions.
While
a private spiritual and prayer life is essential for each of us and we need to
spend time alone with God, it is likely to become dry and turn inward, if it is
not infused with regular doses of shared worship and prayer with others,
gathered in the Lord’s name. The gathering together also signifies how
important we are to each other and how much we depend on each other. Through
our link to one another through Christ, there is a power in our community,
uniting the values of God to our values on earth. This is how Jesus enables us
to use God’s power for healing and life-giving love effectively among God’s people.We
come together, we stay together, we work together in our Lord’s name, bringing
to focus the presence of God and unleashing the power of the Spirit to
transform our lives and the lives of all God’s children.
In
the second reading of today Paul, speaking in a similar vein, challenges the
community at Rome to show their love for one another in action. It is love
which characterizes the Christian community and it is love which will sustain
and nourish it. This love must also show itself as a commitment to justice – a
love that never does any wrong to anyone. To be Christian thus means to be one
who not only loves, but also one led by love to reach out to anyone who is in
need. It is to be conscious of the fact that even if one member of the
community does not feel part of the community, the community is not whole.
