Homily Ordinary 23A: I am my brother's keeper

 Homily for 23^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 2020

Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:8-10 · Matthew 18:15-20

Introduction

In the book of Genesis, when God asks Cain where his brother Abel is, Cain denies knowing saying: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  Today many people say the same thing, especially when it comes to correcting each other.

And so many people will misquote Jesus and say, "Stop judging, that you may not be judged" (Mt. 7:1).  By this phrase they mean, "you believe what you want and I believe what I want, it is not my place to correct you."  Even worse, people whose responsibility it is to teach like teachers to students, parents to children, priests to parishioners, abdicate their duty and say “who am I to correct others.”

Fortunately, today's readings teach us that we are our brother’s keeper, we are our sister’s keeper.  We must make appropriate judgement and we must correct others where sin is involved.

Scripture and Theology and Christian Life

In the first reading the Lord clearly tells Ezekiel: “You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.”

·        And then God goes on to tell Ezekiel, that if he does not speak to the wicked man about his wicked ways, he, Ezekiel will share the same punishment as the wicked man himself, for failing to warn him.

·        But if Ezekiel warns the wicked man and the wicked man refuses to convert, Ezekiel will be absolved of the wicked man’s guilt; only the wicked man in this case will be punished for his wickedness.

The Lord is very clear here, that Ezekiel as a prophet, is responsible for helping others to turn away from sin.  He cannot shun his responsibility with the excuse of "I might hurt their feelings," or "they are entitled to their opinions."  Ezekiel is a prophet and must fulfil his prophetic duty of warning others who go astray.

In the gospel Jesus also entrusts members of the Church with that same responsibility of correcting the sinner.  But he goes further, by telling us how to correct each other, giving four steps for gradually bringing the sinner back.

The first step is “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.”  This is fraternal correction that happens one-on-one, unlike what often happens in our society today, where when we see something wrong, we tell everybody else, except the person who needs to hear it.

·        Jesus, instead is asking that, for example, you might pull a friend aside and warn him about his vulgar language.  Or a parent might ask her teenage daughter to dress more modestly before going out.  Or a teacher might admonish a student for disrupting the class.

·        The purpose of this correction is not to lord it over others, but to help them realize their sin, by speaking truth to them with love.  And in this way, there is great hope that the sinner will change his or her behaviour and return to the right path.  This is the hope that Jesus expresses when he says: “If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.”

Unfortunately, some sinners will not accept this personal fraternal correction.  That is where the second step comes in.  “If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’”  There is strength in numbers.

·        In our everyday lives, we can think of this step as calling for backup.  Today friends might carry out an intervention to help a friend suffering from an addiction.  Or mom and dad might team up and have a "Come to Jesus" meeting with their child.  Or a teacher might summon the services of another teacher or school counsellor in dealing with an errant student.

·        The backup of more people is needed for two main reasons.  First of all, in the Jewish legal system and probably in ours today, the witness of two or more was required to sustain a case in court.  But a second and more important reason is that two or more members of the community might help the sinner see his bad ways more easily than one person.  One or two more people bring a wider perspective and show the gravity of the situation.  Hopefully because of this, the person realizes the error of their ways and returns to the path of righteousness.

If the person refuses to listen to the small group, Jesus provides a third step, saying “Tell the Church.”  This step involves bringing in the wider Christian community, especially the Church leaders.

·        In our language today, we might call this step “Bringing in the big guns.”  Among friends this might mean bringing in an influential outsider such as the priest.  For parents, the grandparents or someone with the role of matriarch or patriarch of the family might be asked to intervene.  And for teachers, this step might mean summoning mom and dad for a crisis meeting in the principal's office.

·        Like the previous two steps, this one is needed because our sins affect the community; our sins give a bad example to others in the community, especially to the young; our sins make the community weaker; our sins often hurt others in the community.  And so if the first two steps, have failed to take care of the problem, the whole community, especially the church leaders, need to get involved.   That is why sometimes our bishops have to remind politicians of their errant ways. They often do this privately at first, but when the person refuses to change, they are forced to do so publicly.

Unfortunately, some people will persist in their sin and will never accept the advice of one person, a small group of people or people in authority.  And for them Jesus prescribes the fourth and last measure: “If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.”  Treating such a person like a gentile or tax-collector means treating them as outsiders or expelling them from the community. 

·        For us today this is what we call the nuclear option, such as cutting ties with a friend or not inviting them to Thanksgiving dinner, parents cutting off a child, for a school expelling a student, for the Church, excommunication.

·        As drastic as this last step of expelling the sinner might seem, it is not done out of bad will, but with the intention of helping the sinner realize how serious his sin affects the community.  The purpose of this step is that once the sinner is cast out in the cold, he or she might change their ways and seek readmission. The expulsion is medicinal than penal. 

Conclusion

And so, my friends, while individualism and privacy might be values for society, they are not Christian virtues.  Christians take care of each other, not just by feeding them or giving them water, but also by correcting their sins.  We are on this journey of salvation together.  That is why we must cover each other’s back, not by covering up their errors, but by bringing them to their attention so that they might change. We are called to be our brother's keeper, our sister's keeper.

As we make our journey to heaven, we need to save, not just ourselves, but others as well. We must arrive at God’s door together, presenting ourselves together.  We must not enter the Good Lord’s house, only some of us without the others.  We need to return to the house of our Father, all of us together.  What will he say to us, if we arrive there without our brothers and sisters?  What shall we say to God if we arrive there without our brothers and sisters?