September 7, 2014 –– 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ezekiel 33:7–9 / Romans 13:8–10 / Matthew 18:15–20
Responsible Love
This past Wednesday was the Feast Day of St Gregory the Great. He was elected Pope as the Church entered the 7th Century, was one of the four great Latin Fathers and named Doctor of the Church. In the Office of Readings for that day there was a selection taken from his writings based on the text in Ezekiel:
….a preacher is called a watchman. A watchman always stands on a height so that he can see from afar what is coming. Anyone appointed to be a watchman for the people must stand on a height for all his life to help them by his foresight.
He goes on to confess how hard this is, for human preachers have to deal with their own weaknesses and the distractions of life in this world: “So who am I to be a watchman, for I do not stand on the mountain of action but lie down in the valley of weakness?” Then he gives the only solution that offers any peace: “Truly the all-powerful Creator and Redeemer of mankind can give me, in spite of my weaknesses, a higher life and effective speech; because I love him, I do not spare myself in speaking of him.”
Preaching is a fusion of two seemingly incongruent things: the knowledge and authority of God joined to the weak limitations of a human messenger. But because we believe God has spoken, and that he has formed the Church to be the medium of his truth, those of us ordained by the Church (to proclaim what God has said and done) do this often criticized act of “preaching”. One way that I seek to give integrity to my preaching––to take seriously what I believe comes from God––is preach to myself and invite you to listen. I do this because of the serious charge given here to Ezekiel. If I do not declare God’s truth faithfully, then God holds me accountable for my listener’s sins. If I do declare God’s truth faithfully, then (speaking of a wicked man) if he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt but you shall save yourself. It is a frightful thing to be a preacher!
The bottom line here is that we take who God is and what he says as top priority. This is why Jesus says, If your brother sins…. go and tell him his fault. If he does not listen, take one or two more others with you…. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. This extends beyond “preachers” to all Christians.
What is going on here? First, Jesus wants us to take sin seriously. In the Epistle reading St Paul tells us to love one another. “Love” is a loaded word in our world. It is used (and abused) to speak of many things, from the trite and ridiculous to the grossly immoral. How do we know what love really is? Paul puts “love” here in the context of keeping the commandments. Jesus said, If you love me you will keep my commands (Jn 14:15). Jesus is also saying in today’s Gospel that love for our brothers and sisters means being concerned about sin in their lives. Remember, all Christians are called to be holy ––“different for Jesus’ sake.” And, we are to help each other!
Just as there is a tension in the act of preaching––the contrast of strength and weakness (in God and a human messenger), there is a tension in our mutual quest for holiness. We are to be both critical and humble. Jesus says that if two people can come to one mind about what is right, then that is doubly good. Maybe it takes the counsel of several; often our perspectives are too much our own (or that of the world around us). The ultimate arbiter and authority is the Church. I do not ask you to live according to my opinions and practices, and you are not to judge me merely from your personal understanding (although we cannot escape our personal perspectives, and sometimes they are right). But we are all called to subject our thoughts, words, and actions to the teachings of the Church. It is in the Church that whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Do we take what God says through the Church seriously enough that we truly try to live it? Do we take what God says through the Church seriously enough that we are willing to confront our brothers and sisters with it? Do we take what God says through the Church seriously enough that we all are willing to be humble with each other and admit that we are a work in progress? Do we remember each day, and embrace the reality, that as Christians we are called to be saints?
Not all of us are called to be preachers, but every one of us who owns the name of Christian is responsible to let the life of Jesus flow into and through us. And we are responsible to others who also own that name; they are our brothers and sisters.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself…. love is the fulfillment of the law. Love means telling each other the truth, and humbly letting God’s truth come to us through the Church.
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