Homily Ordinary 23A: Am I my brother’s keeper?

 Homily for Mission Appeal - 23^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A

Introduction

It is a great joy to be back with you. Some of you may remember me from my previous visits here. Thank you for welcoming me again, and especially thank you for your generosity and prayers for the Church in Uganda.

Today, however, I would like to speak less about the needs of Uganda and more about the theme of today's readings. This theme can be summarized very well by a question we hear in the Book of Genesis.  After Cain has killed his brother Abel, God asks him, “Where is your brother Abel?” Of course, Cain knows where his brother is; he has killed him.  But Cain responds with that famous question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Today's readings give a very clear answer to this question:  Yes, you are your brother's keeper.

Scripture and Theology

In the first reading, God appoints Ezekiel as a watchman for the house of Israel. A watchman has a particular responsibility. He sees what is happening, and if he sees danger coming, he must warn the people.

Unlike Cain in Genesis, the watchman cannot simply say, “That's not my problem.” He cannot say, “I am not my brother's keeper.” The Lord has entrusted him with a responsibility for the people.

This too is our responsibility as Christians. We cannot simply say, “People have their own lives; let them do whatever they want.” Sometimes love requires us to speak. Sometimes a parent has to correct a child. Sometimes a friend has to warn a friend. Sometimes the Church has to call us back when we have gone astray. Of course, none of us particularly enjoys being corrected. We usually think correction is a wonderful virtue, especially when someone else needs it.

That is what Jesus is talking about in today's Gospel. He tells us that if our brother sins, we should not simply walk away. We should go to him. We should speak to him privately. Notice the words Jesus uses: “If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.” The goal is not to defeat him. The goal is not to prove that we are right. And sometimes that is the hardest part. We may be more interested in winning the argument than in winning our brother!  The goal is to win our brother. Why? Because he is our brother. Because she is our sister.

Jesus goes on to give further steps for bringing someone back when the first attempt fails. But notice that every step has the same purpose: to care for the soul of our brother who has gone astray and to win them back to the community.

If I am my brother's keeper when his soul is in danger, then surely I am also his keeper when his body is suffering.  That is why, in many places in the Gospels, Jesus does not simply call people to repentance. He also feeds them, heals them, and restores them to a full life. And he asks his followers to do exactly the same thing. That is why, at the Last Judgment, Jesus identifies our treatment of the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, and the needy as a test of our love for him.

The reason the readings challenge us in this way, to care for both the souls and bodies of our brothers and sisters, is because we are not simply a collection of individuals who happen to worship in the same building. We are a family. We are on a journey together. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. That is why Jesus ends today's passage with those beautiful words: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Christian Life

For the last two years, you parishioners have been watchmen and keepers of your brothers and sisters, both here in your own community and in Uganda. Your financial and prayerful support has helped ensure that the Gospel is preached and that some of the material needs of our people are met. In other words, you have helped the Church in Uganda care for both their souls and bodies.

Let me share two examples—one spiritual and one material.

One of the things the Gospel does is challenge us to conversion. Sometimes the Gospel even challenges whole cultures to change some of their ways.  Priests in Uganda have to preach about some of our family problems: polygamy, domestic abuse, teenage pregnancy, and the neglect of children, especially the girl child.

Like Jesus tells us in today's Gospel, I recently had to speak to a father who was refusing to send his daughters to school simply because they were girls. His argument was, “They are going to get married. Why bother?”

I said to him, “What is wrong with them getting an education and then getting married? Why not have both?” I then reminded him of the inherent dignity of every human being. I reminded him of the example of Jesus, who treated women with dignity. I spoke to him about Mary Magdalene, whom the Lord entrusted with the first announcement of his Resurrection to the apostles. I reminded him of the role of the Blessed Mother in our salvation. And I shared with him the many women saints in the Church who have been witnesses to the Gospel.

That is what it means to be a watchman. Sometimes being our brother's keeper means having the courage to say, “What you are doing is wrong,” but saying it because we want something better for that person and for those entrusted to him.

I was happy to learn recently that his girls are now in our Catholic school.  And you were part of that story. Through your support of the Church's mission, you help make possible the schools through which those girls are now being educated.

And then there was the mother I met whose daughter had been sick for several days. She did not have the money to take her to the clinic.

I told her to take the girl and tell the sisters that I would pay the bill, thanks to a gift someone had given me. The sisters examined the girl and found several very treatable problems. The total bill for her treatment came to about $30.

Thirty dollars was enough to get that little girl the medical care she needed.  Through your help, I was able to be a keeper for that mother and her daughter.

In one case, being our brother's keeper meant speaking the truth to help someone change. In the other, it meant helping someone who was sick and could not help herself. In both cases, your generosity allowed me to be there, to be a watchman, to be my brother’s keeper.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, as we make our journey to heaven, we need to save not just ourselves, but to help one another along the way.  What if you and I arrive there alone and the Lord asks us, “Where is your brother? Where is your sister?” I hope we shall not respond like Cain and say, “Please let me into heaven; you can worry about the others later.”

But you here have already answered that question by your generosity and your prayers. You can tell the Lord, “My brothers and sisters are coming from a long way, Uganda, but they will soon be here.”

So I thank you, not only for what you may give today, but for what you have already given in the past.  May God bless you, your families, this parish, and all our brothers and sisters in Uganda.  And may we all one day arrive together at the house of our Father.