HOMILY FOR THE 23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.
THEME: CONSEQUENCES.
BY: Fr Andrew Ekpenyong.
1. Joke. Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, a joke was told about a certain Dimitri who arrived at the Pearly gates and was welcomed by St. Peter. Showing him around, Peter said, “You can go anywhere you want except on the pink clouds.” “Why can’t I go there?” Dimitri asked. “Because,” Peter replied, “the pink clouds are reserved for those who did something exceptionally heroic, such as St John the Baptist.” “But I have done something exceptionally heroic,” Dimitri protested. “I made a passionate speech at the Kremlin confronting the official soviet atheistic communism and the corruption in the communist party.” “Really,” said St Peter. “When did this happen?” Dimitri looked at his watch. “About two minutes ago.”! Sisters and Brothers, confronting sin has consequences: immediate and long term, apparently bad consequences but ultimately good! Unfortunately, refusing to confront sin has only bad consequences. For each of us, the safest sins to confront are our own sins! But all the Scripture readings today emphasize that you and I have a duty to confront not only our own personal sins, but also the sins of our neighbors, out of love for God and neighbor. This is a serious responsibility, with consequences for the offender and the corrector. St John the Baptist’s death at the hands of Herod Antipas and Herodias, shows some aspects of today’s 1st reading (Ez 33:7-9): “But if you warn the wicked… and he refuses to turn from his way… you shall save yourself.” Thank God St John the Baptist is enjoying eternal happiness and glory.
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2. Why? Of course, it is far more important to confront my own sins than those of my neighbors because I have more control over my own actions than the actions/reactions of others. Our Lord, puts it best: “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.” (Matt 7:4-5). Today’s 2nd reading (Rom 13:8-10) puts it simply and clearly why we have to confront our own sins and those of our neighbors. The reason is love, love of God and neighbor: “Brothers and sisters: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another…. You shall love your neighbor as yourself…” The more I confront my sins and repent out of love for God, the more I provide good example for my neighbors. Perhaps 99% of the time, neighbors need my good example and only 1% of the time, my correction. In addition to love as the motivation for fraternal correction, today’s 1st reading (Ez 33:7-9) implies that personal sin can become social sin when those with prophetic responsibilities condone or fail to reprove the sinner: ‘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.’ So, when can we be held responsible for failing to offer fraternal correction? When is silence complicity?
3. When? Where? How? Just as we should be generous in sharing our God-given material resources with our neighbors when they are in need, we should also share our God-given spiritual resources when our neighbors are in need, that is, when they are in error. Today’s Gospel reading (Mt 18:15-20) gives a good starting point when our responsibility begins. It begins when we are the offended party because that is when we have the greatest opportunity to show Christian love by forgiveness and fraternal correction. No wonder Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you….” See how our Lord turns our moment of victimhood into a moment of salvation for both the victim and the aggressor, bully, cheater, oppressor, assailant, etc. Having answered when, our Lord then tells us where and how to do the fraternal correction, namely, privately at first: “…go and tell him his fault between you and him alone….” Often, this advice of our Lord engenders the need to choose appropriate time, place and circumstances for fruitful fraternal correction. It allows us to first pray, get over the immediate anger, forgive and find ways of helping our defaulting brother or sister. A good corrector acts out of love, not anger, out of care, not revenge. A good corrector exercises the virtues of prudence, humility, and fraternal charity. And even when we have to do it as a group, we must do it “in a gentle spirit” (Gal 6:1). Needless to say, being a good corrector is difficult. But through His Word today, through the Eucharist we receive, through the examples of others like Prophet Nathan who successfully corrected King David over his adultery and murder, using a gentle story (2 Sam. 12:1-7), God is equipping us with His grace to overcome our own personal sins and then confront the sins of neighbors out of love for God and neighbor. To God be the glory, now and forever, Amen.
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