23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME A
A DANGEROUS KIND OF LOVE
MT 18: 15-20
MESSAGE:
In the world today, there are various manifestations of love. There is a soft, permissive love and a tough, rigid love. There is a conditional, transactional love and an unconditional, committed love. Today, it seems to me that the Lord is introducing us to a dangerous love. In the first reading (Ezek 33), the Lord tells us that we have a responsibility to be concerned for others. In the second reading (Rom 13), the Lord reiterates that we owe others the same love we give ourselves. In the Gospel all these become clear in the teachings of the Lord Jesus about fraternal concern and correction. Fraternal correction is an ideal way of dealing with our brothers and sisters but this is also a dangerous way of expressing love. Why? Because correction is a two-way street. When you approach someone to offer your observation that he or she may be wrong and to offer your suggestion as to how to right the wrong, you run the risk of earning the person’s ire, suspicion and outright hatred. A sincere desire to correct another person can result in a broken friendship, a severed family ties, or a damaged marital bond. While there are many humble and open-minded people, when corrected, still many more people cling to their pride, self-righteousness, and crooked principles. Our own experiences bear this out! And the example of Jesus’ loving attempts to convert the hearts of his hearers led him to the cross. Correction is a dangerous love and yet it is a true love that takes the risk of being misunderstood, avoided and hated just so that another person may hopefully awaken to his mistakes and return to the true and right conduct.
REFLECT
What steps do you take when you see someone you know is taking a wrong turn in life? Are you driven more by fear of his anger and avoidance than by a sincere concern for his or her salvation? Do you love him enough to run the risk of being misunderstood in the process of fraternal correction?
ourparishpriest 2023
