Cycle A - Year 1:  

10 September 2017:  Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Ezekiel 33:7-9

Second Reading:   Romans 13:8-10

Gospel:Please Read  Matthew 18:15-20

We are our brother's keeper!

When someone refuses to be accountable for somebody else' wrongdoing, we normally hear the lame excuse "Am I my brother's keeper?"  

Do you know that the above expression is actually biblical, and found in the very first book of the Bible, in Genesis?

Recall that Cain and Abel were the first descendants of Adam and Eve. The story goes that out of envy Cain killed his brother Abel. Later when the Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?", Cain answered, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" (Gn 4:9)

In this Sunday's Gospel, our Lord Jesus shocks us with a new teaching, that we must care and help our erring brothers and sisters, that we must be our brother's keeper!

But in our day to day situations, our society, including those who call themselves

Christians, try to avoid confrontation or contradiction for fear of offending another person, or of being accused as "judgmental". So then, we prefer to just keep silent even when evil things or wrongdoings happen in our presence. Thus, we sometimes forget that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing at all. And the worst thing is when people lose their sense of sin that they are unable to recognize evil. In other instances, our society is simply indifferent to sin itself.

But today our Lord reminds us that one of the most important  disciplines that Catholics, and all Christians for that matter, should really take to heart is fraternal correction. In our generation where people lack courage to speak out against wrongdoings, the authentic practice of fraternal correction is more urgent than ever.

Our Lord teaches that we owe each other, as a matter of justice, the charity of correcting each other out of love for God and the salvation of the soul of the person who has committed a wrongdoing, or exhibited a lack of good judgment.

Because salvation has a social dimension. We cannot be saved by just praying to God yet keeping our doors closed to the need of others. Rather, we will be saved in communion with others, as a People of God.

Let us listen to the parting words of our Lord Jesus Christ in this Sunday's Gospel: "Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Mt 18:19-20)

So then in the Holy Eucharist at Mass, let us pray that the Lord fill our hearts with patience and love for our erring brothers and sisters. May the Lord grant us the moral courage to be involved, to act together as a community, to lead others to conversion and become truly a People of God in journey to the Father's house. So forgive us, Father, as we try to also forgive each other. Amen.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!