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23rd Sunday A
Ez 33:7-9
Th reading introduces Ezekiel’s prophetic work among Babylonian exiles, emphasizing God’s universal concerns as he was the first prophet called in a foreign land. He warns of Jerusalem’s destruction and describes the watchman’s role in warning of danger, emphasizing accountability for failing to warn. The passage highlights personal guilt and God’s concern, with the prophetic voice vital for repentance until the end, focusing on responsibility over response.
Rom 13:8-10
The passage highlights Paul’s teaching on Christian freedom from the law. This freedom isn’t license or anti-nomianism; observing the command to love ensures the law’s demands are met. Love respects the law but requires more. It’s the only debt Christians owe, fulfilling the law through unlimited love (Mk 12:28-34), making the law fully fulfilled (v10).
Mt 18:15-20
Considering the previous parable on the lost sheep (Mt 18:12-14) as the immediate context of the gospel reading today (vv 15-20), the motive behind the three-step procedure regarding erring brothers becomes obvious. In keeping the desire of the ‘heavenly Father that none any of these little ones should perish’ (v14), it aims to “win over” the brother who sinned (v 15). The verb “kerdainō” κέρδαὶνω generally means “to gain,””acquire” and could have as its object either things (material world at the expense of of one’s spiritual life, Mt 15:26) or someone (for reconciliation, Mt 18:15; 1 Pet. 3:1 or for St. Paul, gaining converts, 1 Cor. 9:19ff, and Christ himself, Phil. 3:8).
The first step in the process of correction is based on Lev 19.17: “You shall not hate your brother in your heart but you shall reason with your neighbor lest you bear sin with your neighbor because of him”. This sort of private confrontation should be motivated by love and concern. The second step is based on Deut 19,15: “Only on the evidence of two or of three witnesses, shall a charge be sustained.” The biblical procedure presupposes a criminal offense, but here the witnesses would help in a sort of “negotiation” in order to urge him to return to faithfulness. Lastly, the step that can be considered as the “adjudication”. If the brother still will not listen, the disciple must tell it “to the church,” the community of those who belong to the kingdom. The whole purpose of this action is to remove every stumbling block, to bring back the strayed into fellowship with the whole community. If that fails, however, “let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-col-lector” a common proverbial phrase indicating those outside the kingdom (cf. 5:46-47).
In the concluding verses, the power to bind and loose, previously bestowed on Peter in 16:19, is now given to the disciples at large. That power would seem to concern either the imposing (and lifting) of decrees of excommunication or the forgiving (and not forgiving) of sins (v18). The ideas of agreement, common prayer, and Christ’s presence are here in the service of exercising the power to bind and loose in the case of the brother who sins (v19). When the community gathers in Jesus’ name to hear a legal case, Jesus is there. When the community agrees, the Father in heaven agrees (v20).
This Sunday’s message highlights our Christian duty to correct others when needed, based on Ezekiel’s call for admonition in prophecy and the Gospel’s guide for confronting unrepentant offenders. It stresses community prayer, love as the foundation of commandments, and the importance of addressing wrongdoings courageously without vindictiveness or inaction. Practicing this fulfills God’s desire that no one be lost. May we all have the courage to do so. Amen.
