I understand you’ve been hearing quite frequently from Deacon Harry in the past month or so; and also, that he explained I was on vacation for most of last month. Shortly after I got back a week ago, I received an e-mail with the schedule for services at the Glennallen Parish & I was on the schedule to go there this weekend. We decided to spread Harry around a little bit, and he was gracious enough to go to Glennallen in my place. So, I thank him for that.
Today’s readings remind me of the “age old” question, that originates from Cain, in the Book of Genesis: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Well, according to today’s readings, the answer is a resounding “YES”. Starting with the first reading, from the Prophet Ezekiel, we hear that if we do not speak out to dissuade a sinner, we will, in some way, be held accountable ——– some difficult readings, leaving us a daunting and very delicate task, especially when we consider our own sins and our own need for correction.
Today’s Gospel reading comes from St. Matthew, where Christ instructs his disciples how to deal with sinners. First of all, he uses the word “Brother” because he’s obviously talking about members of the early Christian community. Being a member of a Christian community, comes with a great responsibility, not just to ourselves, but to the other members of the community. Because we are members of this worshipping community – this Church – we are in a real relationship with one another. We are united by our membership in Christ’s Body. We belong together and there’s a spiritual bond that ties us together. As brothers and sisters, we have an obligation to help keep each other out of trouble and, if need be, to correct each other if we stray from our Christian path. Now, today’s readings are not a license to poke our nose in other people’s affairs. And it’s definitely not a license to gossip. We don’t need to go around constantly correcting others, or we may end up with a black eye or bloody nose, but we do need to be, as our first reading calls it, “watchmen”. The Gospel is pretty clear about the process: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him about his fault between you & him.” In other words, “keep it private”. There’s no need to make a public announcement. That is indeed difficult. Often when someone feels they’ve been wronged, their first impulse is to complain to others; in other words, gossip. Some people like to remain silent and harbor grudges. Confrontation can be scary. Often the offending party will try to rationalize their faults or sins or deny them altogether as is usually the case with a bad habit that has become routine. In any case, if we feel we need to bring someone’s faults to their attention, it should only be attempted with true concern for the spiritual well-being of the other person.
We sometimes hear the term: “accountability partner”. Usually concerning someone who has gone through a program for an addiction of some type. They meet regularly with their partner who challenges them to avoid the temptations that led them on the wrong path in the past. That is something that we can all use. And in fact, for all of us who are married, we have an accountability partner in our spouses. When two are united as one in a Christian marriage, everything one does affects the other, they know us best, so it’s usually our wives or husbands that recognize first when we are doing something destructive to ourselves. And we have that responsibility to be accountable to our spouses.
It’s also the same for all of us gathered here; married or not. Every one of us has an obligation to each other. As a Christian community, we are —the Body of Christ. Therefore, we are accountable to each other for our actions. Some people may think their actions have no effect upon others; that what they do in private, stays private. But when a person sins, their loss of the presence of Christ effects everyone around them. Obviously, this is particularly crucial for priests, deacons, and other lay leaders of the community. As a deacon, I’m accountable to you to strive to be the best Christian and deacon I can be. That’s my responsibility, and you deserve no less. I can’t take a vacation from morality and then look you in the eye here on the weekend. When I sin, I’ve hurt you even if you don’t know how. At the same time, I, or any of the other clergy, can’t minister adequately to a hypocritical community.
Speaking of accountability partners & vacations; my trip last was month was spent in Brazil hunting for rocks & gemstones. It wasn’t a vacation from morality, even though my wife wasn’t with me. She stayed at home because going into mines is not her idea of fun. But I was traveling with six other friends who are also rockhounds, and then we had a Brazilian guide and a driver. Of the nine of us, seven were devout Catholics so we had a definite sense of the Body of Christ in our group, even so, with long days of traveling and mining, I found it difficult sometimes finding time to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Then one day, when we had hit the road very early in the morning, I was praying the Liturgy of the Hours in the van as we were driving. It caught the attention of Dante’, our driver, Dante’ had generally kept to himself because he didn’t speak English, only Portuguese. But at our first stop, he came to me pulled out his I-phone and showed me an application where he brings up the liturgy of the hours on the web. To make a long story short, the two of us ended up getting together several mornings and evenings to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Now, my Portuguese is very limited, so we really didn’t understand each other, but we alternated verses; one verse in English the next in Portuguese. It was a very unique experience that helped keep me accountable.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus also reminds us of the power of forgiveness: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth, will be loosed in heaven.” Here Jesus gives the Apostles and their successors the power to forgive and also the power to withhold forgiveness. This is where the Sacrament of Reconciliation comes in. Let’s face it, we are all human beings, we’re not perfect, we all sin and we’re all in need of forgiveness on occasion. The priest, as Christ’s representative, has the power to absolve our sins and reconcile us with God. But we sometimes need to reconcile with each other as well. Jesus’ main ministry was one of forgiveness and reconciliation. The New Testament speaks hundreds of times about forgiveness, but only a few times about correcting others. Yes, he teaches us about conflict resolution, but the most important aspect of healing any hurt is to forgive. Holding onto to grudges can be just as harmful, if not more, than the original offense to begin with.
When we turn to those around us during Mass to offer each other a sign of Peace; let it not be just an empty gesture, let it be a profound gesture acknowledging our accountability for each other, a gesture of forgiveness & acceptance, and of peace.