Wednesday,
August 16, 2017
19th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Dt 34:1-12
Gospel: Matt. 18:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples, “If your brother or sister has sinned against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are in private, and if he listens to you, you have won your brother. If you are not listened to, take with you one or two others so that the case may be decided by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he still refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembled Church. But if he does not listen to the Church, then regard such a one as a pagan or a publican.
“I say to you: whatever you bind on earth, heaven will keep bound; and whatever you unbind on earth, heaven will keep unbound.
“In like manner, I say to you: if on earth two of you are united in asking for anything, it will be granted to you by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered in my Name, I am there among them.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Genuine discipleship requires that we correct one another so that we may advance in spirituality as a community. The Gospel’s suggestion to seek the Church’s intervention to correct a brother brings out the collective nature of our spiritual agenda to be perfect just as our heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48).
As a hierarchy the Church has no police power. Church life revolves around moral obligations that cannot be imposed by man-made laws. But when the Church intervenes, it is for the redemption of the sinner, more so if he is repentant. The Church’s concern is not to punish but to redeem, consistent with Jesus’ desire not to lose anyone but take everybody to each one’s room assignment in heaven on reckoning day (John 18:9).
As a Body of Christ the Church is composed of stewards. Each is his “brother’s keeper”. When our failure to correct a person will entangle him to a web of sinful habits, God will hold us accountable. Moreover, society has enmeshed us into interrelationships that make us vulnerable to the downfall of others.
The tone of today’s Gospel reading is hope. We should not give up but exhaust all possibilities to save the sinner. The first suggested step is to correct the person in private. So we should not correct people on social media! The second step is to take with you one or two others. This verse has inspired modern institutions to avail of mediation in settling disputes. The final suggestion for adamant sinners is to seek the intervention of the Church. But if he does not listen to the Church, then regard such a one as a pagan or a publican. This sounds obvious. But wait! How did Jesus treat pagans and publicans? – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM
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