September 6
A Brother Who
Sins
Today's Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Reflection:
Look closely at what Jesus is really describing in today's Gospel. It isn't a
discipline policy. It's a picture of friendship the way it was always meant to
work. Someone close enough to notice you've drifted, close enough to care, and
brave enough to say something, quietly, privately, face to face. That's not
confrontation. That's love doing its job.
We don't build
many friendships like that anymore. Most of ours are comfortable because
they're careful. We keep things light, we avoid the hard conversations, and we
call that respect. But Jesus describes something deeper: a friendship
strong enough to survive honesty. One where the other person can say the hard
thing, and you don't hear an attack. You hear someone who loves you enough to
risk the relationship for your good.
That's the trust Jesus is really after. Not just "don't gossip" or
"handle conflict the right way." He's describing people who've earned
each other's confidence enough that correction doesn't feel like judgment. It
feels like help. That kind of friendship takes years to build and one careless
word to break, which is exactly why He insists it happens gently, privately,
one-on-one, before anything else.
And notice He never lets go of the relationship, even when it's strained.
Bringing in one or two others isn't punishment; it's reinforcement. More people
who love this person enough to help carry the truth to them with care. Real
friendship doesn't walk away at the first sign of tension. It works harder to
stay.
Do you have even one honest friendship where you'd let someone tell you the hard truth and trust it came from love, not judgment? If not, that might
be the most important relationship you build this year.
Rosary Man Jim
🌹
Freely given. Freely shared.
