September 4, 2011 Ezekiel 33:7-9; Psalm95; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20 Adviceis easy to give and often difficult to follow. Jesus says, “if yourbrother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between him and youalone.” While it is good advice, it can be risky business. Sometimespeople react irrationally even when we try to spoon-feed them hard criticismwith sugary words and careful concern. The power imbalance inherent withinrelationships makes it difficult to speak difficult realities with courage. Weoften stay silent when we have been harmed or sinned against – often swallowingour pride as a path to peace or at least an absence of aggression. In an idealworld, the words of Jesus sound nice, but I am challenged to stand up formyself. H easks us to persist. If I cannot win over my brother to help him see histransgressions against me, I am to bring a few others along with me to help himsee the error of his ways. If that doesn’t work, I am asked to bring him to thechurch, and if that still doesn’t work, I have to treat him as I would someoneof a different tradition. When do I know if I am being the one who isstrong-willed and not seeing the error of my ways? In all relationships, theerror typically doesn’t lie on only one party. I am probably complicit increating the atmosphere for the transgression. While this may be so, I still amnot responsible for the other’s actions. Nothing is ever neat and tidy. Seldomis anything clear-cut or crystal clear. Oneof the faults that Jesus is pointing out is the brother’s refusal to listen. Heis becoming hard of heart and closed off to an enriched understanding ofwisdom. Failing to listen is a great sin. Ezekiel, the appointed watchman overIsrael, was asked to warn the wicked and turn him from his ways. By doing so,his soul was saved. We are asked to intervene in a person’s life when he or shegoes astray. Our gentle intrusion can save their souls and our own. Paultells the Roman Christians that “the one who loves another has fulfilledthe law.” Loving one’s neighbor as yourself is the answer to most of ourmoral dilemmas. Paul writes, “Love does no evil to the neighbor.”However, loving another person demands constant work. We want it to be easier. Wethink of love as coming easy, but it is a sustained effort on our part,especially if the person is not flesh and blood. Jesus points out that to lovewell means that we must diligently work for the good of our neighbor. I tellyou that the persons you are trying to help might not be dissuaded from theirapproach, but they will know your continued concern for them. If their heartsare touched, it will be due to your good-will efforts towards them. Moraltheologian Jim Keenan defines sin as “a failure to bother to love.”If we write someone off and give up on a person, we sin as well. Sometimes thatis the right course of events, especially if we are the one transgressed. Wedon’t want to keep banging our heads futilely against some mad bugger’s wall. Itis a delicate balance between knowing when to move on and when to persevere. Weknow the stakes are high – the salvation of our souls are in the balance. Jesusasks us to try. He asks us to try again and again until the desiredreconciliation occurs. Figuring out the right strategy with a gentle techniquemay help, but our offending neighbor will never be able to dispute that wetried our best. This memory will linger in his or her consciousness; it willlinger in God’s. So let us try – with wisdom and a pervading, expansive love.We will know that in difficult circumstances we bothered enough to love. Themes for this Week’s Masses FirstReading: In Colossians, Paul assures the faithful peoplethat he is suffering for their sake and that he is working hard to bring otherpeople to the faith just as the Colossians came to faith. Paul is veryencouraged. He asks the people to be wary of empty, seductive philosophies andto remain faithful to Christ who has been laboring to remove obstacles fortheir reception of the Gospel. Think on what is above and put away the earthlyparts of you: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and idolatrous greed. Paulgreets Timothy as his child in the faith and reminds him that through God’smercy Paul was converted from a blasphemer and persecutor to a new way of life.He was treated mercifully because Christ came to save sinners. Christ waspatient with him in his conversion. Gospel: On one Sabbath, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand in opposition to theschemes of the Pharisees. He flaunted it in their face because he wanted themto see that it is right to do good and to save life on the Sabbath. Jesus thendeparted in solitude to pray. The next morning he chose twelve from among hisdisciples to be his inner circle. With them, he went down to a plain and alarge number of people came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases andexorcised. He then began to teach them by calling out those who were blessedand those who would be reviled in the kingdom of God. As he continued hissermon, he spoke about the way of life a person is to live. These are some ofhis sayings: A disciples, when trained, will be like his teacher; a good treeproduces good fruit (a heart full of goodness speaks only of goodness); the onewho listens to good advice from a teacher and acts in accord and integrity willhonor the teacher. Saints of the Week Thursday: TheBirth of Mary was originally (like all good feasts) celebrated first in theEastern church. The Roman church began its devotion in the fifth century. Herbirth celebrates her role as the mother of Jesus. Some traditions have her bornin Nazareth while others say she hails from outside of Jerusalem. Saturday: PeterClaver, S.J. (1580-1654) became a Jesuit in 1600 and was sent to themission in Cartegena, Colombia, a center of slave trade. For forty years,Claver ministered to the newly arrived Africans by giving them food, water, andmedical care. Unfortunately, he died ostracized by his Jesuit community becausehe insisted on continuing the unpopular act of treating the slaves humanely. This Week in Jesuit History ? · ???????? Sep 4, 1760. At Para, Brazil, 150 menof the Society were shipped as prisoners, reaching Lisbon on December 2. Theywere at once exiled to Italy and landed at CivitaVecchia on January 17, 1761. · ???????? Sep 5, 1758. The French Parliamentissued a decree condemning Fr. Busembaum’s MedullaTheologiae Moralis . · ???????? Sep 6, 1666. The Great Fire of Londonbroke out on this date. There is not much the Jesuits have not been blamed for,and this was no exception. It was said to be the work of Papists and Jesuits.King Charles II banished all the fathers from England. · ???????? Sep 7, 1773. King Louis XV wrote toClement XIV, expressing his heartfelt joy at the suppression of the Society. · ???????? Sep 8, 1600. Fr. Matteo Ricci set outon his journey to Peking (Beijing). He experienced enormous difficulties inreaching the royal city, being stopped on his way by one of the powerfulmandarins. · ???????? Sep 9, 1773. At Lisbon, Carvalho,acting in the king’s name, ordered public prayers for the deliverance of theworld from the “pestilence of Jesuitism.” · ???????? Sep 10, 1622. The martyrdom at Nagaski,Japan, of Charles Spinola and his companions.
Read the rest here:
