Scripture Reflections 14 August 2013, Wednesday,19th Week, Ordinary Time CORRECTING A RECALCITRANT SINNER SCRIPTURE READINGS: : DT 34:1-12; MT 18:15-20 The Gospel touches on a very concrete reality in our lives, namely, to correct a recalcitrant brother. St Matthew gives a three-stage trial procedure in dealing with such a member in the community. Scripture commentators are in agreement that this is basically a construct of Matthew and not from the lips of Jesus. Matthew was merely adopting a legal practice already existing in Judaism. Indeed, it would be difficult to believe that Jesus could advocate ex-communication, namely, to treat such a person as a Gentile, for we know that Jesus always preaches about compassion and forgiveness. Furthermore, based on our own experience, we know that this three-stage procedure does not really solve our problems. On the legal level, we might have apparently resolved the problem by taking action, but we know that the heart of that person has normally not been won over. Taking legal action is always the last resort because the heart of the accused is not converted. It only breeds resentment and anger. Why? Firstly, take the first stage of the trial procedure. It says that if your brother has committed some wrong against you, go and point out his fault … if he listens to you, you have won over your brother. Now such a stance can appear to be rather bias. We come with a position already thinking that we are right and the other person needs to be converted. He is supposed to listen to us, rather than we listening to him. There is hardly any dialogue since dialogue requires openness and the readiness to admit that we can also be wrong in our judgment. And even if we are open, the accused party may not be willing to speak about the matter yet. There are other psychological and emotional factors involved, for example, the wounds are still raw and the trust is still not there. So trying to tell a person that he is wrong would only be met with anger and denial. It leads to retaliation. Nasty letters written to and fro do not solve a problem but worsens it. Secondly, the plaintiff is supposed to summon another witness, apparently to be on his side again. And presumably, if another witness can be an arbitrator, it may not work also because the third person can also be prejudiced. The fact that the plaintiff has himself called another to be his witness or arbitrator would seem to lack credibility. Indeed, to be truly more objective, both parties must first agree to a common arbitrator. Our own life experience has taught us that involving a third party can make the situation even more complicated, especially when the third party does not show himself to be impartial. In the third stage, the accused is to be referred to the Church, i.e. the authority, and then if he ignores the authority, he should be excommunicated. Even among ourselves, how many of us would really want to report our misunderstandings with our brothers to the authorities? And even if we do so, and the authority listens to us and takes action, have we really solved the problem? The history of the Church has shown how applying the rule of excommunication has caused more harm than good. The way to correct a person is not by applying juridical discipline but persuasion, patience and dialogue. That is why the Church hardly excommunicates anyone publicly. Indeed, to alienate someone from us is not really helping that person. Did not Jesus speak about compassion, forgiveness and so on? Notwithstanding my critique on the legalistic procedures given by Matthew, it does not mean that such a three-stage trial procedure cannot work. It can, if we read further down the passage, where further guidelines are given. These, I believe, are the pre-requisites before the legal process can take place. What are these? Firstly, from the book of Deuteronomy, we have Moses who meets God face to face. Now, before we can meet man face to face, it presupposes that we ourselves have truly met God face to face. For it is in having met God face to face, that we come to recognize our own faces – our motives, our intentions and how we might be reacting to a situation. What is important in any conflict is that the parties involved must be ready to pray before the Lord, asking for forgiveness of his own sins before thinking about the sins of others against him or her. Only through prayer, will we recognize that whilst we demand justice, God prefers that we learn how to forgive like Him. Jesus Himself, although innocently accused, did not seek justice but only forgiveness of His enemies. Secondly, the gospel tells us that whenever two or three pray in his name, our prayers would be granted. That is to say, after we have prayed on our own, we need to pray with our accused brother. Unless we can pray together first, I doubt both parties can be truly open to each other, since we are not yet even open to the Spirit. But if we have truly prayed together, we can be quite confident that that openness resulting from our common search for the truth and for love will help us to find an amiable solution. This is what it means to pray in His name – to have this common desire with God, for life and love. If the love of God is not in us, there is no way to resolve a problem through legal means. Whoever loses the case will feel even more aggrieved and worst still if one cannot afford a good lawyer to defend him. Finally, we must realize that the power to bind or loose is a basic principle with regard to our well-being. No one can ultimately force us to be open or to forgive, not even the external authority. Of course, they can physically alienate us, but that does not mean the problem has been resolved. Ultimately, the power to forgive or to heal is dependent on ourselves. But the point is that when we are able to surrender our pride and our unforgiveness, then we are liberated for life and love. The refusal to let loose will bind us even more in our miseries. What is even sillier is that in refusing to forgive someone, we hurt ourselves much more than that person. Yes, the task of fraternal correction is perhaps one of the most difficult things in community life and inter-personal relationships. It is something that we wish to avoid all together. However for those who are too quick to correct his brother, he must also be prudent. For what he sees and condemns in another brother is but a mere projection of his poor judgments and prejudices towards life and others. However if we have searched ourselves thoroughly and still not be reconciled, then we can treat our accused brothers as pagans. It does not mean that we condemn them; rather, we are giving them the opportunities to reflect on their actions. Excommunication and punishments meted by the authorities can only be exercised when dialogue has reached a deadlock. Then for the greater good of the unity of the Church and her interests, the authorities have to step in to protect the community from being destroyed by a few individuals. Let us be reminded of the words of St James in all that we do. He wrote, “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:12f) In another text warning us against judging others, he wrote, “Do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? (James 4:11f) WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV MSGR WILLIAM GOH ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ___________________________ Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart. - See more at: csctr.net/reflections/?utm_source=CSC+Weekly+Update&utm_campaign=cdebbb0665-Weekly_Update_13_19_May_20135_13_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b56cc50263-cdebbb0665-273542365#sthash.MLCbV03L.dpuf
Posted on: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 23:41:04 +0000
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