Word to the Wise
Wednesday, August 13, 2025 - Wednesday in the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
[Deut 34:1-12 and Matt 18:15-20,1039]"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he 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. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or tax collector." [Matthew]
The modern word for what Jesus is prescribing in this passage from the Gospel According to Matthew is an "intervention!" It is not an easy process. And it may apply to more situations than simply a personal difficulty between two people. It might apply in cases of addiction or other unhealthy patterns of behavior. Do we care enough about someone to tell them they are hurting themselves and everyone close to them by their drinking or other destructive behavior? Are we too much into the expression, "There but for the grace of God go I?"
Anyone in a position of leadership and authority can testify to the difficulty of the process of "fraternal correction." It gets more difficult if the leader or superior is the one who has a problem! To "intervene" personally or with a group takes a lot of courage. Many are the times when a parishioner has come to me and asked me to intervene in the life of one of their children, friend or a group they belong to. When I suggest the process that Jesus suggests, I would get the response, "Oh no! He, she or they would get mad at me!"'
Jesus does not promise a life free of conflict or responsibility for others. Love of neighbor may require what is commonly called "tough love." It requires prudence and wisdom (and good timing). As someone who has been on both sides of this process, I believe the effort is worth the courage, if only we have confidence the Holy Spirit will help us if we try! AMEN