Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time A.  September 4, 2005. Our Lady of Grace 9:30 and 6PM.  Ezekiel  33:7-9.  Romans 13: 8-10.  Matthew 18: 15-20.

A very enthusiastic kindergartner was worried about the first day of school in a strange building with all new friends.  With a very concerned look on his face he asked his mother:  “Will someone tell me where the bathroom is if I need to go?”   His mother assured him that there were good people at school who would always be there to help him.  The little boy went on, “And if I get lost, will someone help me find my room?”  “And if all the other kids are a hundred times smarter than I am, will somebody help me?”  His mother kept saying, “Yes, yes, my son.  It is a very good school; someone will be there to help you."   The little boy continued, “And if I lose my lunch, will there be someone there to keep me from starving?”   “And if one of my teeth gets loose, will there be someone in school to tell me what to do?”   The boy’s mother began to laugh and hug her son.  She was sure that they had chosen a very good school and that very good people would always be there to help her little one find his way.

Many of  those starting high school and college also worry about whether there will be anyone there to help them on the first day of class, although they are probably going to hide the fact that they do not know where they are going or what to do next.  New parents also need to know that there is someone whom they can go to with their questions about the new baby, and much later about their teenager.  We all need friends, neighbors, doctors, spiritual advisors and counselors to guide us on our way.  We grow best as human beings and as Christians within a community that helps us be both wise and strong.  In fact, we all need to be challenged and corrected at times.  Without the insights of others we become eccentric, self centered and perhaps even stubborn. 

In the first pages of the book of Genesis Cane kills his brother Abel because he is jealous of him.  When God sees what has happened he asks Cane, “Where is your brother Abel?”   Cane answers, “How should I know?  Am I my brother’s keeper?”   Cane tries to hide the crime of murder by pleading that he is not responsible for his brother.  One of the major teachings of our Catholic faith is the affirmation that we are responsible for the well being of one another and for the well being of the human race.

God said to the prophet Ezekiel, “If I tell the wicked person, ‘O wicked one, you shall surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.”

Jesus assumes that his disciples have an obligation and a responsibility to challenge and correct one another.  He addresses this responsibility in today’s gospel and gives us the rules that are to be followed in fraternal correction among his followers.  The teaching of Jesus in Mathew’s gospel outlines three steps that Christians are to follow:

Jesus says, “If your brother (or sister) sins against you go and tell him (or her) his (or her) fault alone, between the two of you.  If the offender listens to you, then you have won over your brother or sister.”    Correction among Christians begins with going to the offending person alone and speaking to him or her about the offence.  Christian brothers and sisters are to solve their difficulties by talking with one another face to face.  There seems to be general agreement, even among those who are not Christian, that the maturity and effectiveness of a person is related to their effort to go to the person offending them, speaking directly with them.  Jesus is teaching us that mature Christian deals directly with the person involved in the offense at hand. We live in a world where people often seek to solve differences through acts of terrorism.  Shooting or sniping from the bushes is a way of life for a growing number of people.  According to the teaching of Jesus, Christians do not respond to disagreements through gossip or slander.  They do not shoot from the bushes with unsigned notes, letters or phone calls.  According to the teaching of Jesus, the first step that a mature Christian is to take is to deal with an offense face to face, directly with the person involved in the offense.   

Settling a disagreement face to face doesn’t always work, so Jesus gives us a second approach to mature correction.  He says, “If your brother or sister 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.”  Jesus challenges us to solve our differences and the basis of the facts.  Because we all have our own opinion about what we see and hear, the facts sometimes need to be testified to by two or three witnesses.  The important thing to remember is that the teaching of Jesus demands that we understand the facts.  Disagreements are not to be settled on the bases of our wishes, desires or opinions alone.  Differences are to be settled on the bases of the facts.  Because a single person may either misread the facts or choose not to face the facts, the facts are to be determined by the witness of two or three people. 

Jesus goes on, “If you brother or sister refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would an outsider.”   There are some matters that by their very nature must remain confidential.  To do otherwise would be unprofessional, and airing dirty laundry in public seldom helps anyone.  That is why the church has a process of mediation and due process where the full truth can be spoken to an agreed upon outsider in a confidential setting and in a way that seeks change and healing without further damaging those involved.

God’s word teaches us that we are responsible for one another and for the common good of society even when that means challenging and correcting another person.  Jesus tells us that disputes are to be resolved face to face, first of all.  If that fails, two or three witnesses are to seek out the facts and try to resolve the situation.  If that fails the church is to be called in to mediate in an agreed upon setting where all the facts can be considered.

It takes great courage, not only to correct someone, but to challenge them in accordance with the rules for mature discipleship demanded by Jesus.  For the grace to be wise in calling one another to full life in Christ, we give God thanks and praise.