Jesus’ teaching on fraternal correction
This week, the Cebu Media celebrates the 23rd Press Freedom Week and since I’m out on my first long vacation, allow me to greet my fellow journalists that we should always cherish our precious freedoms to write the truth, especially in this age of disinformation, alternate news or worse, fake news. Call it quite a coincidence that today is the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time and the gospel reading today is about our Lord Jesus Christ teaching on fraternal correction, something that we in the media do a lot. You can read this in your Bible in Matt.18:15-20.
15 Jesus said to his disciples, “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
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I’m sure that this scripture passage makes many siblings who do not talk to each other very uncomfortable because the Lord Jesus Christ clearly said, “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.” I’m very sure that within our family circles and friends we know many siblings who are at odds or, worse, at war with each other because of family positions in their businesses or disagreements in their inheritance. Mind you, it is also happening to our poor brethren who have really nothing to quarrel about, yet because of harsh words, siblings do not talk to each other.
So okay, you’ve done what the Lord Jesus has prescribed in first part of today’s gospel, yet your brother or sister refused to listen to you. Hence, we go into the Lord’s proposal to those who do not listen when he said, “But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” What the Lord suggests here is to bring in a third party whom the aggrieved sibling might show some respect so as to diffuse the tension between quarreling brothers and sisters.
If all these suggestions fail to heal the quarreling siblings, the Lord Jesus said, “If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” What the Lord has suggested is for warring siblings to try at least three times to reconcile with one another. If that fails, then you can inform the Church to help and if that also fails, then it is okay to treat these aggrieved family members as you would treat pagans or tax collectors.
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we utter the words, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” I dare say to our readers who have friends or family who do not speak to one another to ask them to refrain from praying the Lord’s Prayer for God who sees and hears us in secret would know that your prayers are not sincere. So what’s the point in praying if you can find it in your heart to forgive your siblings?
In my book, St. Francis of Assisi made one of the most beautiful prayers that Christians ought to memorize, and the last paragraph ends with “For it is in giving that we receive and it is in pardoning that we are pardoned and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.
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