Word to the Wise
Sunday, September 7, 2008 - Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20]If I tell the wicked, "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. (Ezekiel) Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. (St. Paul to the Romans) If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone......... (Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew)
When I was a novice (1964-65), one of the conferences by the Novice Master that caused the greatest amount of unease amongst our class was the talk on "fraternal correction." Yes, we did have what was known as "Chapter of Faults" in which we would each, in turn, get up and "confess" violations of the rules ("I accuse myself of breaking silence three times!") But we were all in the same boat. It would be an entirely different matter if one of us decided that another of us was driving him crazy with some personal quirk or if one of us saw another breaking a rule or worse! How could any of us work up the courage to go and "correct" the offending brother? The application of the same thing to workplace or neighborhood or school or even within the family is easy to see. (I do admit that siblings seem to have the least difficulty doing this when they're young!) Jesus not only teaches that we must forgive one another, but he also teaches us that we have a responsibility for one another. We cannot be like Cain who asks, "Am I my brother's keeper?" What he teaches, as we can see in the scripture from Ezekiel, is nothing new. God tells Ezekiel that we have a prophetic obligation to one another to warn about immoral and destructive behavior! Yes, yes, I know.....there are some folks who seem to thrive on "correcting" others. This often is a reflection of a personal "agenda" rather than a concern for the "offending" party. That being said, we are still left with our responsibility for others. I recognize that certain skills of tact and sensitivity generally make for greater success at the effort, but sometimes only the blunt will do. Can we afford morally to say to ourselves, "I'm not going there!" when we see clear wrongdoing, especially when it's someone we know? Can we excuse ourselves with the phrase, "There but for the grace of God go I?" I don't feel any more comfortable about this now than I did as a novice. Perhaps I've just learned better how timing and attitude can make the obligation easier to carry out. But I never do it without praying first!!! AMEN
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