Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time
There are many awkward moments in life: moments when you realize your shirt is inside out…and backwards; moments when you start laughing at something which everyone else considers quite serious; moments when you’re at your friend’s house and your friend gets yelled at by his mom and/or dad; moments when someone says something embarrassing about you at work. These are not fun moments to be in. Perhaps another awkward moment is having to correct someone, especially someone to whom you’re close.
And yet, both our first reading and Gospel give us a handbook of what to do when we see our brother or sister doing wrong, especially to us. In the first reading, God is telling the prophet Ezekiel what the expectations are for being a prophet. Ezekiel is to tell the wicked when they’re doing wrong. Otherwise, not only the wicked person will die for his sins, but also Ezekiel will be responsible for his death because he did not warn the wicked person. Some of us might be thinking right now, ‘Phew! It’s tough being a prophet! I’m glad I don’t have that responsibility!!’ But, the reality is that we are all called to be prophets, that is, those who speak for God in the world. ‘I never signed up for this!’ you might be saying. But, just as you and your parents and godparents heard at your baptism, you were anointed with sacred Chrism and joined, in your own way, into the prophetic office of Jesus Christ. We are all called to speak for God. Of course, we better make sure that we know that it’s God’s message that we are spreading, not our own. But we are all prophets because of our baptism.
This is the point where well-meaning pious people say, “But Jesus said not to judge!” And that’s true. Jesus said, “‘Judge not, lest you be judged.’” But what the Church has understood that to mean is that we cannot judge motives for actions. But we can judge actions themselves. Otherwise why would Jesus have given St. Peter and the apostles the power to bind and loose on earth? We can tell people that they’re doing wrong, and, in fact, as we hear from the prophet Ezekiel, we have a duty to do so. But we can’t say that they’re horrible, rotten people, or that they are fully culpable for what they do. Only God judges motives and guilt of conscience, not us.
Of course, as St. Paul reminds us, love is the fulfillment of the law. And so, even when we’re correcting others, we must do so out of charity. Tattling, where we just get someone in trouble because we don’t like them, or without any real concern for their conversion, is not responding to the duty that we have as prophets of God. It’s simply being petty.
Luckily, Jesus gives us some parameters to make sure that our correction of each other is connected with charity. He tells us to first talk to the person who has sinned against us if we have a problem with them. Don’t tell your friends, your family, strangers, or anyone else until you have talked to that person who wronged you, and let them know that they have wronged you and that you are concerned that their action doesn’t reflect Jesus’ teachings. Of course, and this bears repeating, this has to be done in charity, in love. A lot of times when we are wronged, we get angry (the soul’s response to justice), but we tend to go overboard in responding to that injustice. So it’s often better to cool down a bit first, whenever possible. But go to that person first.
Then, if he or she will not listen to you, involve some others, maybe others who were present to see the fault take place, or who know well the person who sinned against you. And let them hear your complaint to the person. Sometimes it takes hearing something from a few people to realize that it is truly a problem. And, those who are not directly connected can sometimes have a better perspective because they’re not involved in the same way.
Then, and only then, do the authorities and the Church, get involved. Only when the person who sinned is so obstinate that he or she will not listen to reason does the offense become pretty public. Only then do you call in those who have authority over those who, in the faith, are equals. And if they don’t listen to the Church, then all that is left is to pray for their conversion (which should be happening all along as a sign that the correction is based in love, not vengeance).
Of course, to correct someone, we have to believe that there are things that are wrong, and not just the major things: murder, adultery, stealing, and perjury. We live in a very relativistic culture which basically holds, “if you’re ok, I’m ok” as a way of operating. We don’t like to challenge people to live holy lives because it’s awkward. And it’s especially awkward because we are likely afraid that if we tell someone else that they are not living a holy life, then they might respond in the same way with us. And who likes to be told to change? No one. And yet, Jesus didn’t come saying, “You’re all basically good people, so just keep up the good work, and maybe tweak it a little.” Instead, he said, “‘Repent! For the Kingdom of heaven is near!’” He challenged people to a life of radical trust in God, radical following of the law of love, even if it means laying down your own life, and thus radical holiness.
Whether we like it or not, if we are baptized God has called us to be prophets, to speak for him to His people, each according to our level of responsibility. Do not be afraid to speak the truth in love, even when it’s awkward, even when it means correcting someone. Do not be afraid to challenge others, and be challenged ourselves, to live lives of radical holiness. This is our vocation as prophets. This is what it means to be a disciple of Christ.
