THE PROPHETIC ROLE OF A CHRISTIAN
Twenty-Third Sunday of the Year-A
First Reading: Ezek 33: 7-9. Those appointed to the position of leadership bear the responsibility to correct the errors of others and bring them to reform.
Second Reading: Rom 13: 8-10. If you truly love your neighbours, you will not harm them in any way.
Gospel: Mat 18: 15-20. The duty of a Christian is to correct an erring sister or brother in a Christian way given to us by Jesus.
Homily
When an animal is faced with a potential enemy, it has three options to defend itself and I call those three options, 3 Fs: Flight, Fight and Freeze. In a danger situation, a rat always runs away, that’s Flight. When a snake perceives danger, its first option is to run away-Flight. But when it realises that it cannot run away it attacks and even spits its venom, that’s Fight. The tortoise does not have horns or poison to attack, neither does it have speed to escape, its only option is to Freeze. It pulls itself inward and pretend that it is dead.
Faced with an unpleasant situation, we humans too have the above options. What do you do when you come across situations you don’t like in the street, or even in the parish? Try to recall an occasion when you were at a meeting and you didn’t like the way the discussion was going, or there was someone who disagreed with you, what was your reaction: did you walk out of the meeting? That would be Flight reaction. Did you become argumentative and aggressive? That was Fight option. Or did you just sit there, doodling, saying nothing, pretending that you were cool while you were terribly annoyed and boiling inside. You just froze! That’s Freeze option. These are default pathways that we follow based on our animal instinct. But we humans have a fourth option: DIALOGUE. We can use our gift of reason to appeal to others’ reason. We can appeal to the goodness of the heart of others. This presupposes a basic trust in the goodness of human nature itself, namely, that others are capable of reasoning and feeling just as I can.
Today’s gospel calls us to be prophetic. But being prophetic does not imply just thrashing out on others without self-control, or projecting our own unresolved inner conflicts, or imposing our own petty worldview on others.
In the first reading, Ezekiel talks about his God-given mission as a prophet: “I have appointed you as sentry to the House of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, warn them in my name…. (if) you do not speak to warn the wicked man to renounce his ways, then he shall die for his sins, but I will hold you responsible for his death.” On the other hand, if you have warned the wicked man but he does not change his ways, then you are not responsible for his decision.
In the Gospel, Jesus tells us how this could be done; how we could fulfil our prophetic role as the followers of Christ; how we could be dealing with unchristian attitude and behaviour in our communities. It is important to note that, in today’s Gospel, Jesus is not talking about a personal offence committed against you. This we will read next Sunday. In the section that we read today, Jesus suggests a three-step strategy:
Step 1: One-on-one dialogue
Jesus suggests a private dialogue as the first step: “go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves”. This step presupposes a considered response to what we perceive to be wrong. It is not a reaction of flaring up in anger, but a cool dialogue. The run-up to this step could be painstaking and demands a deep courage. I personally find this step very challenging in my own life. It is much easier to make generalised statements about wrongs that I see in the community, or to rise up as a cobra when my own little haven is disturbed. On the contrary, Jesus is inviting me to be fully human. To use my gift of reason to empathise with the other. “If he listens to you, you have won back your brother”. Very often this step really works, provided there are the ingredients of wisdom, love and inner freedom. If this step does not work, you can move to the next step.
Step 2: Involve close associates
“If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you…”. This step is necessary to clarify your own perception of the wrong: was it just an illusion; was it your own prejudice; or were you acting on a personal vendetta? The two others will help you clarify your own position, and if your position is sound and Christian, then they stand behind you to allure the wrong doer to return to the fold. It is easier to find the lost sheep when three shepherds search together than if one shepherd did it alone. However, if this does not work, then we need a better strategy. And that’s step three as taught by Jesus in today’s Gospel.
Step 3: Bring it before the community
This is a painful step as many will question you as to why you did not resolve just between the two. They forget that you are at your last resort. Here the procedure becomes public and judicial. Interestingly, the Gospel talks about bringing the person before the community or the church rather than the leaders. At this point, if the individual chooses not to follow the direction of the community, then he can be considered not being part of the community anymore.
The steps that Jesus is laying out here in dealing with a wrong doer are not merely part of a legal procedure. It is a personal inner process of growth towards wisdom, love and inner freedom. Always as a Christian, promote dialogue in resolving your differences rather than using animal instincts of flight, fight or freeze.
Jesus, I trust in You. Amen
