Theme: Fraternal correction is neither Judgment nor Condemnation
Ezekiel 33:1,7-9
Psalm 94
Romans 13:8-10
Matthew 18:15-20
Dearest friends, we live in a world where
individualism has affected all sectors of our lives, including the Christian
life. We live in a world where no one feels he has any responsibility in the
spiritual and moral life of other people. We have a world where no one wants to
be corrected in his sins and mistakes. Ours is a world where correction is
treated as judgment, where fraternal correction is seen as judgment or condemnation.
In situations of this nature, the church invites us to the correct teaching
about fraternal correction and judgment, and also the procedures we should
follow when correcting those who have erred.
In the first reading of today, the prophet
Ezekiel received a mandate from God. God chose him to perform the work of a
watchman over the house of Israel. In fact, God revealed to him what it means
to be prophet. God told him that he has chosen him to tell the sinners in the
house of Israel their sins, that is, to correct them in their sins; to tell the
wicked man to abandon his sins. If the prophet does this work and the man
repents, the wicked man will be saved. But if the wicked man refused to repent
and dies in his sins, the prophet will not be held responsible for the sin of
the wicked man. However, God warned the prophet that if he, on the contrary,
refused tell the wicked man to come out of his sins, and the wicked man dies in
his sins, the prophet will be held responsible for the death of the wicked man.
This is a call to be responsible for the lives of other people.
Dear friends, the first reading is telling us
that the act of correcting those who have erred, those who are not living
according to the teachings of Christ, the church and the good moral standards
of the society, is a divine vocation. Fraternal correction is the vocation of
every Christian because, from our baptism, we have been made prophets to share
to share in the prophetic ministry of Christ. Like Ezekiel, God is telling us
that he has placed us as watchmen in the lives of other people, to tell them
their sins, to correct them in their mistakes, and to be responsible for the
way they live their lives. If you fail to correct those who err, you will share
in the guilt of their sins. That was what God told prophet Ezekiel.
Therefore, it is wrong for people to feel that they
have been judged or condemned when someone corrected them. Fraternal correction
is neither judgement nor condemnation, but a divine assignment. All those who
feel that to correct them means to judge them, the church is calling you to
change this mentality. You should remember that Jesus equally corrected the
scribes and the pharisees. In fact, the greater part of the New testament is a
collection of corrections from Jesus and his disciples to Jews and Gentiles. On the other hand, all those who are afraid of
correcting others, those who feel it does not concern them, God will hold you
responsible for this on the last day.
The gospel of today gives us some procedures which we must follow to correct those who have wounded community life with their sins. It is a way we must follow to restore peace, harmony, and love in a Christian community. In the first place, Jesus tell us that when someone offends us, the first thing to do is to go to him personally and tell him where he erred. Hence, it is wrong to start telling others the mistakes of a brother or a sister if you have not corrected him/her personally. This is a noble way of resolving conflicts. If we follow this step, we will win back many offenders. The second step, he said, is to be used when the first step failed. This means, we should only involve a third party in dispute resolution if we have personally talked to our offender and he refused to listen to us. The third party also must be from the Christian community. Then the last step is to involve the community of believers. We should not miss these paths. With these procedures, Jesus was saying that conflicts should be resolved within the Christian community. Conflicts among Christians are not occasions for litigation. Rather, they are occasions to reactivate communal love.
The second reading gives us another beautiful
step on how to correct those who have erred. It says we must do it with love.
We should not correct offenders with pride and arrogance; rather, we must
lovingly and prudently correct whoever errs. Also, we must lovingly and
prudently forgive others. Still in the spirit of love, we must humbly accept
correction whenever we received it. Finally, we must humbly and prudently ask
for forgiveness when we have erred others.
Fr. Isaac Chima
Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome
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