Deacon Tom Anthony

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 127

Reading 1 Ez 33:7-9

Thus says the LORD:
You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel;
when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.
If I tell the wicked, "O wicked one, you shall surely die, "
and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way,
the wicked shall die for his guilt,
but I will hold you responsible for his death.
But if you warn the wicked,
trying to turn him from his way,
and he refuses to turn from his way,
he shall die for his guilt,
but you shall save yourself.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Reading 2 Rom 13:8-10

Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, "
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

Alleluia 2 Cor 5:19

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 18:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:
"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."

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS

 Christian Love is a powerful force that has the capability to transform lives and to lift up everything and everyone, regardless of the circumstances. Its origin is from God and, because of that; there is nothing else that can ever defeat it. With this love comes a great responsibility. We all have experienced at some point in our lives the feeling of God’s Love. We felt His presence and we were comforted. That feeling is something that cannot be forgotten because that is the only reason why we exist today: God loves us so much that He created us, made Himself known to us, and only asks to be loved in return. When we react to the presence of God’s Love we are actually making it stronger, sending it forth into His creation. People and events that we interact with and participate in are supernaturally influenced by our presence. Those who have not thought about their own relationship with God or have not reacted to the experience of God’s Love become witnesses to it through us. This always brings about a chain of events as what came forth from God into us continues to flow like a raging river in spring after the ice has melted.

In the Sacred Scriptures today we are given clear instructions on how we are to actually spread this love. The Apostle Paul reminds us that all of the Commandments from God can be summed up by just loving our neighbor regardless of what he or she has done at that moment that may cause us to deem them unworthy of our love. It is kind of ironic that we are possessors of God’s Love and have acknowledged it as Christians, further understanding that we never deserved it, yet we still on occasion deny our love to someone else. Not only do we deny our love which is arguably inferior to that of God’s, but we then can actually refuse to spread God’s Love, something that isn’t ours in the first place! We beg God to overlook our faults every day and to forgive our sins every day. Why can’t we do for others that we beg God to do for us?

We are sinners and continue to sin. Our refusal of love for our fellow man is another example of it. By struggling against our inclination to judge others more harshly than ourselves, we can allow God to actually love us more. Forgiving and teaching others about their wrongs helps us to do atonement for our wrongs. This is what penance is all about: making up for our sins, past and present,  by healing others through tender instruction and admonition.

Every person knows when he or she has sinned. We all know that we are all broken. In our faulted nature, we are more comfortable hiding our weaknesses. Those weaknesses, which are sins, can become our greatest strengths when they are revealed and then effort is made not to do them anymore. Everyone is waiting to be healed and everyone has the capability of being a healer. It is the way the process is approached. And the best way to approach it is with love.

Deacon Tom