Introduction to the Liturgy of the Day

Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word

Reflections

• God has given Ezekiel a truly thankless job. If the people of Israel sin and he does not speak out to dissuade them from their sinfulness, he will be punished along with the sinners. What’s left unsaid here is that the way God tells the sinners of their sinfulness is through prophets like Ezekiel. So Ezekiel first has to convince the people of their sinfulness, then he has persuade them to change. John the Baptist plays a similar role several centuries later. Now it is our calling. We are called to kindly and respectfully counsel the sinner, encouraging them to change. We are also called to listen to the counsel of others when it is we who need to change..


• Jesus tells his disciples that if their loved one will not listen to them in private, “take one or two others along with you” (Matthew 18:16). Sounds like what we would call an intervention. The idea is similar: bring together friends or family members who care dearly about the person so they can try to persuade them to get help to change their ways. We address the sinner as we would a person with an addiction: with the understanding that their destructive behavior can cloud their judgment and that those who love them want them to get better.

• Matthew writes that Jesus told his disciples that if a sinner will not listen to anyone and will not change the offending behavior, that they should “treat him [or her] as you would a Gentile or a tax collector” (18:17). Initially, this sounds like Jesus is encouraging the disciples to ostracize stubborn sinners. But let’s consider how Jesus treated Gentiles and tax collectors. He spent time with them, he responded to their needs, he healed them, he cared for them, he even called them to be his disciples. The disciple who wrote down these words was a tax collector! No matter how the disciples may have interpreted Jesus’ words at the time, it became apparent after further reflection that Jesus was not calling them to be dismissive of these sinners, but to reconcile with them.
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Question of the Week

With whom do I need to reconcile? How can I go about it fruitfully?

-from Pastoral Patterns

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SELECT HERE for the Readings of Sunday, September 10, 2023

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