23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Gospel Reading: Matthew 18: 15-20

15 Jesus said to his disciples: "If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.

16 If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you; the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge.

17 But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.

18 I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.

19 I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven.

20 For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them."

Meditation

This passage is very different from those of the two previous Sundays. They were dramatic stories, marked by deep emotions and with deep implications for the characters involved. This is a little gem of a passage but with little drama, a very practical, common-sense teaching on that most common and most prosaic of community problems - conflict.

It is deep wisdom teaching which continues to be valid for our time. Management has become a science today, and Jesus' teaching stands up well as a model of how to "manage" conflict in any situation.

As usual with lectio divina, we do not moralise. The conclusion of our meditation is not "Jesus tells us to do this," but, "let us celebrate Jesus at work in the world." We recognise moments of grace when we ourselves lived this teaching, and celebrate the great people who by word and example taught us to live it.

The teaching gives norms for dealing with local community conflicts - in families, neighbourhoods, church groups and workplaces - but also for the great conflicts of our time between races and ethnic groups, religions, nations, different social classes.

The passage is in two sections and we should try to see the link between them:

verses 15 to 17 are the teaching;

verses 18 to 20 give a spiritual foundation to the teaching.

It is therefore a good example of biblical teaching - practical moral teaching based on spirituality. Note that both aspects are valid for all people, believers or not.

The Jesus way of dealing with conflict is to go through a series of procedures, starting with those which will cause least hurt, and gradually moving to more severe ones, always making sure that the others have been tried and have failed.

Verse 15 is the first step, a one-to-one meeting marked by discretion and privacy - done "by yourselves alone". The conclusion has a touching simplicity - "you have won back your brother."

Verse 16 is the next stage, used only if the first has not worked. Those in authority must be humble enough to recognize when they lack the necessary qualities to influence the wrongdoer, and must seek help. The text continues to stress the importance of discretion - just "one or two others" are invited to help.

The quotation from Deuteronomy must be interpreted correctly. The setting of the teaching is not a court of law, but a human community. Jesus is merely drawing an analogy - just as in a court the prosecution needs help, we too need help in settling community conflicts.

Verse 17a is the third stage - recourse to the community. This can be interpreted as a plenary session or a meeting of the official leaders of the community. In either case the time for confidentiality is passed, the matter must be brought into the open.

Verse 17b brings in a new dimension. Jesus reminds us that a community must have its rules and a time comes when they must be insisted on. This verse complements what went before in a wonderful way. Without the previous verses, it would come across as harsh; without this verse, they would come across as naïve. By taking them together we enter into Jesus' holistic, extraordinarily balanced teaching.

The reference to "pagans and tax collectors" is strange when we remember Jesus' special care for these two groups. We can however take the expression as it stands, referring it to those whom the community has a right to exclude. In the light of Jesus' other teaching, some would add, "remember you have to reach out to them also."

Verses 18 and 19 can be, and have often been, misinterpreted. Perhaps under the influence of this teaching, Church leaders have assumed the right to pronounce judgement in the name of God - even deciding who will be consigned to hell. Our meditation must not lead us there, fostering arrogance in the exercise of authority. This is specially important when we are dealing with social conflicts, religious ones in particular.

In the prayer below, I propose an interpretation which seesJesus as the model authority figure. He is not the kind of person (parent, community leader, spiritual guide) who delegates responsibility and then takes it back. He doesn't want us to be always looking over our shoulders; he promises to back us in whatever we decide.

The mention of "the Father in heaven" could be a hint that God's way of delegating authority is the model for all fathers - physical and spiritual.

Jesus knows that there is always the possibility of our making mistakes. Verse 19 then means that God knows what we are really trying to do when we decide to exclude a member of our community. He will not necessarily accept our verdict, but he will look with approval at the ideal we wanted to affirm.

Prayer 

Lord, we thank you for sending us teachers who show us how to handle quarrels in our families, work places or Church communities;
when we work together for social justice;
between different religions.

Like Jesus and all good teachers, they don't teach in the abstract, but walk with us when we have to deal with a problem.
Someone does something wrong in our community treats another member unjustly;
is dishonest with money;
is unfaithful to marriage or religious vows;
compromises the ideals of the group.

We tend to talk about it among ourselves and outside the community, but you correct us through people like Jesus one of our parents, a brother or sister, an aunt or uncle;
someone in our workplace;
a leader in our Church community;
a friend.

They make us go and have it out with the wrongdoer, alone between our two selves,
so that if they listen to us, without any fuss we have won back the brother or sister.
Things often don't work out as simply as that, however.

It sometimes happens that those we try to correct don't listen to us.
This is the moment when we need Jesus again,
someone who will not allow us to give up,
who will show us that perhaps we were the wrong person to make the approach,
we lacked the expertise,
didn't listen enough,
our race, nationality, age group or religion was too great an obstacle.

As in a court case where a prosecutor looks for two or three witnesses to sustain a charge,
we must humble ourselves and look around for one or two others,
people more trusted or competent than we are,
take them along with us and have a meeting where we can talk things out honestly.
Sometimes this too fails, and we thank you that once more you do not abandon us;
you send us a friend or mentor who does not let us give up in discouragement,
makes us bring the problem to the community
and have it discussed at a general meeting.
Quite frequently it happens that someone we would not have expected
comes up with a solution that is acceptable to all sides.
We thank you for those who help us accept the possibility
that even this may not succeed,
who stir up within us the honesty and courage to lay down some laws
which will make it clear that those who do not observe them
can no longer be members of the community,
just as happened with pagans and tax collectors in the time of Jesus.
To be able to take that kind of painful decision we need to have confidence in ourselves.
Don't allow us to see you as the kind of father who gives his children responsibility
and then blames them for exercising it.
Help us rather to recognize you as the model Father, the heavenly one,
who has really entrusted the world to us
so that we don't have to be all the time looking over our shoulders,
we know that whatever we bind on earth you shall consider bound in heaven,
and whatever we loose on earth you shall consider loosed in heaven.

Lord, we know that when we have to exercise authority some members in our community will disagree with us.
Remind us that we are all looking for the same goals:
respect for the rights of all,
freedom for ourselves,
a sense of responsibility,
and that when we agree on anything you will grant it to us,
for where two or three of us meet in your name you are there with us.

Lord, forgive us that when conflicts arise in our Church
we make them public too quickly,
we do not take time to have things out between ourselves alone first.
Forgive us further that when this doesn't work we give up; we do not try to take one or two others along and see if the matter can be settled at that level.
Forgive us again that at other times we sweep wrongdoing under the carpet
instead of reporting it to the community and if necessary excluding those at fault.
Our problem is that we do not trust that wherever two or three of us are gathered
in your name, you are there with us.
We are afraid that you will hold our mistakes against us,
forgetting the promise of Jesus
that what we bind on earth will be bound in heaven
and what we loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Lord, we pray that our Church will always work for harmony
between ourselves and other Churches and religions;
that when there are conflicts
we will be the first to have things out between us by ourselves alone,
if necessary bringing along members from one or two other religious groups.
We pray that when we cannot resolve a conflict
we will be humble enough to report it to a national ecumenical or inter-religious organisation,
even an international group like the World Council of Churches.
Remind us that where we human beings meet in your name
whatever our faith, you are there with us.