Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today Jesus speaks to us of reconciliation between ourselves and our brethren in Christ. Why is this important? Scripture tells us that we are baptized into one Body (1 Corinthians 12:13), that “…there are many parts, yet one body,” (v. 20). We are reminded that “…the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary…” (v. 22) and thus we must care especially for them, “…so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another,” (v. 25). So Jesus tells us in our Gospel how to go about caring for the weakest members of the Body, for the sake of unity.
Yet it requires the trust in God and detachment from worldly things which we have already reflected on, for to go to your brother and speak to him of his sin takes not only courage, but humility, as such a task is not about winning an argument, but about healing a wound in the Body of Christ, of reconciling a member of the Body that has severed itself from the life-giving whole. Healing requires tenderness, and tenderness is not possible without humility. Notice Jesus does not speak of winning an argument but rather says “If he listens to you, you have won over your brother,” which is a far greater victory, giving all of Heaven cause to rejoice (Luke 15:7, 10), and the person who is instrumental in such a reconciliation will have aided Christ in saving that soul (James 5:20).
We must therefore rely on God to help us first to listen to our brother, and then ask for God to grant us wisdom in our response; we must, in essence, love our brother as Christ has loved us, He who so tenderly speaks conversion to our heart. We must lay down our lives in such encounters, not so much in a dramatic display of martyrdom, but in Christ-like humility, for “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth,” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6). Love is what reconciles; love is what converts hearts, not clever arguments. Thus we might take to heart the wisdom of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who writes in her autobiography that “…true charity consists in bearing all our neighbors’ defects—not being surprised at their weakness, but edified at their smallest virtues.”
If, in spite of our charitable efforts, our brother will not be reconciled, we call upon witnesses to help, not in an effort to outnumber or overwhelm our brother as though he is an opponent, but that he might be reminded of the embrace of his brethren that he is forfeiting in his sin and pride. Should this fail, the Church is called upon; if a man’s brothers cannot reach his heart, perhaps his mother can. Should even the teachings and wisdom of the Church, should even excommunication from the Blessed Sacrament fail to make such a man’s heart realize what he is forfeiting in his sin and pride, then he is truly gone, and he is not cast out: for the Church does not cast out one who has willingly left.
Jesus reminds us of the importance of communion at the end of our Gospel, promising that where two or three gather in His name, there He is in their midst. It is in the very nature of Jesus to exist within a communion; has not the Son of God dwelt as part of the Holy Trinity from eternity? Did not that same Son take on flesh in the most human of communions within the womb of the Blessed Virgin, and even then within the communion of the Holy Family? Was the Church not born of the communion He formed with His apostles? Hence the reconciliation of sinners is so vital to the life of the Church: we profess belief in “…ONE, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church…” For us, the Body of Christ that is the Church is as much a visible reality as it is a spiritual one, which is not a view we share on the matter with our Protestant brethren. Each of us has a role to play in not only fostering that unity, but also restoring it when we see our brother or sister wandering astray. Do not just pray for unity, that a relative or friend living in serious sin, or who has left the Church, will return. Go after the lost sheep, after the example of your gentle shepherd, and do what you can to invite them home.