Love Your Neighbor

                  23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  A cycle

 

 

As usual, today’s first reading sets the tone or theme for the rest of the readings. The inspired word of the Prophet Ezekiel warns us that we must act like watchmen for our neighbors. In other words we must be on the lookout to warn them of approaching danger. Like any watchman who falls asleep on the job, or leaves his post, we will be held responsible when those who are entrusted to our care suffer a spiritual death.

 

There are two problems that go with this responsibility. First, we all know that many will not listen even to the best-intentioned and wisest advice. Second, we may not be up to the task, and may even be the ones who need to be warned about our own behavior. Who are we to tell others what to do?

 

In today’s gospel Jesus gives us some very practical and specific advice. He is talking about cases where someone has sinned against us, injured, or harmed us in any way. What is our responsibility? How are we to react? He tells us not to broadcast the offense or put it up on our Facebook account. He recommends that we take the person aside and speak to him or her one on one. 

 

This may sound like a trivial example but I think of the way coaches at almost every level will publicly berate a player for some error or mistake committed during a game. I have seen this happen at every level. Maybe I don’t know enough about coaching, but I wish more coaches would just take the player aside and point out the mistake without humiliating them in front of everyone.

 

Getting back to the gospel, if one on one doesn’t work Jesus insists that we still be willing to go the extra mile. Get a second or even a third opinion. In today’s language we might call this seeing a mediator, or even convening an intervention. If nothing works, Jesus says that you have no choice but to treat the offender as a Gentile or tax collector. In modern language we might say ignore or have nothing to do with them as long as they remain obstinate and unrepentant.

 

To me the most important words in today’s gospel are the following:

 

Amen, I say to you,

Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,

And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

 

These words place an incredible responsibility and power on all of us. If we refuse to forgive someone who has offended us, we and they are likely to suffer some very serious consequences. In ways that we do not realize or understand, we may cause irreparable harm to the person against whom we hold a grudge. Failure to forgive will also inflict serious damage on ourselves.  How does it help us to hold a grudge against someone over what is often a trivial matter?

 

In the same way, offering forgiveness to those who have wronged us will often give unimaginable benefits to them and to ourselves. I knew a man who refused to forgive his sister for years over a really trivial slight. How did it benefit her or him?

 

In today’s second reading St. Paul tells us that all the commandments are summed up in the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. In the great Gothic cathedrals statues personifying justice and mercy were often placed side by side. Justice and mercy are two great virtues but they can sometimes be in conflict with each other. Justice demands that when someone offends us, they should be punished or at least pay some kind of restitution. Mercy, on the other hand, demands that they be forgiven. How can we reconcile the conflicting claims of justice and mercy? Above the statues of Justice and Mercy there would usually be placed a statue representing Love, the greatest of all the virtues. It is Love that will reconcile.

 

As St. Paul pointed out in his letter to the Romans: 

 

Love does no evil to the neighbor;

Hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

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Reading 1. Ezekiel 33: 7-9

Reading II. Romans 13: 8-10

Gospel. Matthew 18: 15-20 (If your brother sins against you...) 

Forgiveness

                      3rd Sunday of Easter

                      B cycle

 

 

 

Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles introduces not only the theme of the other readings but also the very reason for the mission of Jesus. A crowd of people had assembled after Peter and John had cured a lame man. The crowd was amazed to see the man walk but Peter insists that neither he nor John possessed any special power or holiness. They had healed the man through the name of Jesus.  

Yes, the man was healed by the same Jesus that they had handed over to the Romans to be put to death. Peter says,

 

You denied the Holy and Righteous One

And asked that a murderer be released to you.

The author of life you put to death. But God raised him from the dead, of this we are witnesses.

 

Nevertheless, Peter does not blame the Jews for they and their leaders had acted “out of ignorance.” They were mere unwitting accomplices in the Divine plan. The Christ would suffer to atone for the sins of man. Why did such a good person like Jesus have to die for the sins of man? 

 

Today’s gospel also deals with atonement or forgiveness of sins. Last week’s gospel was St. John’s account of the appearance of Jesus to the doubting Apostle Thomas. In today’s gospel, St. Luke describes what happened the week before when the resurrected Lord first appeared to the Apostles.* 

 

Two disciples had returned to Jerusalem to tell the Apostles about their meeting with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. While they were conversing, Jesus appears to all of them. He shows them the signs of his wounds and assures them that he is not a ghost. He even eats some food to prove it. He then explained to them the whole meaning of his mission on earth.

 

Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer

and rise from the dead on the third day

and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,

would be preached in his name

to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

You are witnesses of these things.

 

We do not like to use the words “sin” or “sinner” anymore. Today, people will say “my bad” when they admit they have made a mistake. Modern parents will scold their misbehaving children by saying that their conduct is “inappropriate.” Sin and Bad are old English words that are very blunt in their simplicity. The Latin word for sin is “peccata” which means spot or stain. It is like a blot on an otherwise clean page.

 

In theological terms good and evil are opposites. Good implies perfection while evil implies imperfection. When we say that God is good, we also say that God is perfect. Even if we don’t like to say we are sinners, none of us would claim to be perfect. We are all imperfect. No matter what we call it, we cannot help to see the almost overwhelming presence of evil in our world today. We just have to look at the headlines in our newspaper or favorite electronic device to see it.

 

Sin and evil are so prevalent in the world that it makes you wonder how we can stand it. How can we put up with the awful stories from near and far that bombard us every day? I like to think that God built into us a kind of immune system that keeps us safe from such terrible stories. Only when it hits close to home is our spiritual immune system penetrated. A million people can be massacred in Asia or Africa but it means less to us than the suffering of a member of our own family.

 

When we look at sin or evil in this way, we must wonder how anyone could atone for even a fraction of the bad that humankind has done? Who could possibly atone for us? In today’s second reading from the first letter of John, we find the answer.

 

But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,

Jesus Christ the righteous one.

He is expiation for our sins,

And not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.

 

In that first meeting with the Apostles, Jesus told them and us not only to preach a gospel of repentance and forgiveness of sins but also to practice it in our own lives. “But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.”

 

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*Note 1: Click this link for a brief dramatic reenactment of the appearance in the upper room.

 Note2: The image above is Masaccio's depiction of Peter healing the lame man.

Reading 1. Acts 3: 13-15, 17-19

Reading II. I John 2: 1-5a

Gospel. Luke 24: 35-48 (forgiveness of sins) 

Anger Management

 

                       24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Book of Sirach is part of the ancient wisdom of Israel, but today’s first reading is easy to understand. Not only can we agree that “wrath and anger are hateful things,” but we also know that we can hold them tight, like precious possessions. Even children know this feeling. It is easier to hold on to your anger, no matter how hurtful, than to give it up.

But Sirach points out that it is not only good to give up your anger, but also very practical.

“Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.  Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?”

After hearing this passage, it is not hard to guess what today’s gospel account will be about. It is the parable of the unjust or unforgiving servant. Actually, today’s passage follows immediately from last week’s gospel. Remember that last week Jesus said the following to the Apostles:

Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

We usually understand these words to mean the instruction to the Apostles and their successors to forgive sins in the sacrament of Penance. However, these words are also directed to us in our relations not only with our enemies but also with our families and friends. 

The words of Jesus place an incredible responsibility and power on all of us. If we refuse to forgive someone who has offended us, we and they are likely to suffer some very serious consequences. In ways that we do not realize or understand, we may cause irreparable harm to the person against whom we hold a grudge. Failure to forgive will also inflict serious damage on ourselves. 

In today’s gospel Peter asks how often he should forgive his brother, and answers the question himself. He knows that Jewish law required forgiveness three times, but Peter goes further and suggest forgiving seven times. When Jesus goes even further and suggests seventy- seven times, he is really saying that forgiveness should be unlimited. We should forgive in the same way that his Father forgives. 

Jesus then adds the famous parable of the servant who owed his master a great sum of money probably because of fiscal mismanagement or outright theft. The servant gets down on his knees and begs for forgiveness. His master not only forgives him but also wipes away all the debt. Incredibly, after his debt is forgiven, he is not even required to do acts of penance or penitence. Or is he? 

The man’s penance surely would have been not to just say five Our Fathers and Hail Marys, but to forgive those who owed him money. Unfortunately, he did not see the connection, and when someone asked him for forgiveness, he responded unmercifully.

He had received a great gift but could not bring himself to share it with others. Despite his own wrongdoing he had been forgiven and let off the hook but he could not let go of his anger against his fellow servant. As a result, he forfeited the great gift he had been given. His anger hurt himself as well as his neighbor.

None of us are immune to anger. Anger seems part of our fallen human nature. I suppose it is how we deal with anger that counts. We may not think it’s serious but anger, like all the other vices, has the power to get out of control and take over our lives. We used to speak of the seven deadly sins or vices. Each of them had its corresponding virtue that could help us when tempted.

The virtue that works against anger is patience. The word “virtue’ actually means “habit.” In other words, we have to practice the virtues over and over until they become habits. Don’t athletes practice the same shots or plays over and over again until they can do them without even thinking about it?

For us, anger management must start with the practice of patience. Someone once told me that it helped her to deal with anger by sleeping on it. If someone or something offends us, it is a good idea not to react immediately. Patience is a great virtue. Sometimes things don’t look so bad when the sun rises on a new day.

Unfortunately, often those closest to us are the ones we offend, or who offend us. Why should we risk the loss of a close family member or a close friend when a little Patience would have healed the wound? In today’s second reading, St. Paul tells us that “none of us lives for oneself.”

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Sirach: 27:30—28:7

Romans 14: 7-9

Matthew 18:21-35. (Forgive one another.)