MY SOUL IS THIRSTY Matthew 18: rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A Fr. Michael Brizio, IMC

Transcription

1 Page 1 of 6 MY SOUL IS THIRSTY Matthew 18: rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A Fr. Michael Brizio, IMC My friend Fr. Matthew is always so good and so tidy in all he does. Walk into his office, and there is not an item - not a thing out of place; his working papers are perfectly placed and itemized on the top of his desk; every book is shelved just where it is supposed to be; his diplomas in accounting from Capernaum University, and his pictures with Jesus and the other apostles are neatly hung on the wall, and all of them are perfectly level and straight. You will not find one speck of dust on his bowling trophies and furniture, or a coffee stain on the kitchen counter - not one. Yes, I am talking about that Matthew who wrote the first gospel. And, his passion for having everything in perfect order also includes the Church. So, Matthew records Jesus giving instructions to the disciples: when this happens, do this; when that occurs, do that; there is an answer for everything, and a solution for every problem. But now conflicts have arisen among some parishioners of Matthew s Parish The issue is the marinara sauce at the spaghetti dinner. And Matthew just can t stand the bickering. He wants everything to be perfect and in order; and conflicts - if nothing else - are a messy business.

2 Page 2 of 6 I can imagine Matthew lying awake at night agonizing about how to deal with problems the marinara sauce has raised among his parishioners. He remembers what Jesus had said, and he finally decides to quote Jesus teaching as a way of giving a clear-cut message to his fellow believers. Matthew is convinced that when people have issues with one another, the sooner the situation is addressed - the better. The instructions are really quite simple and straightforward: If one of your brothers or sisters in Christ does or says something that upsets you, you are to go directly to him or her, and in private and in all honesty point out what has happened, and how it has made you feel,

3 Page 3 of 6 hoping to have the issue worked out, and putting the differences behind the two of you. If you get less than a friendly response, you are to ask a couple of fellow members to serve as witnesses, and go back with you to visit with the offending party. And if you still get nowhere with the person who has wronged you - as a last resort - tell the church about it. And, of course, it is after that, that the real dilemma starts. But what today s Gospel wants us to understand and practice, is Jesus spirit in dealing with someone who has wronged us, rather than just the one-two-three of it. First of all, Jesus puts the burden of resolving the conflict on the victim, that is, on the person who has been wronged. In other words, even though we are the ones who have been offended and hurt, we are to take the initiative of going to the offender and try to work things out.

4 Page 4 of 6 We are already vulnerable by the very fact that someone has offended us; but now - Jesus says - we are to really stick our neck out and risk becoming even more vulnerable. We are to go - hat in hand and eyes on the floor - to the person who has wronged us, and give that person the opportunity to set things right, because Jesus does not care about who is right or wrong but Jesus cares very much that the relationship be made right again. And if that does not succeed, then - Matthew reminds his parishioners treat that person who has wronged you as Jesus treated me, a tax-collector: with kindness, respect, generosity, gentleness, mercy and genuine interest for my good qualities. Jesus was all about including people, not excluding them; Jesus Facebook friends included the likes of me Matthew - and my friend Zacchaeus, many other Ponzi scheme masters, and several women of questionable morals, Samaritans, murderers, thieves, hated Romans, liars, cheaters, and terrorists. Jesus did not see people as Gentiles or Jews, insiders or outsiders, liberals or conservatives; He saw me Matthew - and all the other disciples as blemished, flawed, imperfect and unfinished; yet curable, recoupable, recoverable, restorable, capable of shedding again a cascade of multicolored light into the world. In other words, today s Gospel is less like three strikes and you are out, and more like you have left the playing field, and we would like to invite you back into the game.

5 Page 5 of 6 It is not about punishment but restoring of relationships. It is ultimately about peace, and the kind of forgiveness that makes peace possible. It is clear, therefore, that the process Jesus describes is not about kicking someone off to a small island in the middle of the ocean, but winning back those who by their words or actions have offended us, whether they have realized it or not. In preparing this sermon I had to check several times to see whether today s Gospel was coming from the right Bible, because my personal Gospel says: Has anyone hurt you? Give them the silent treatment; ignore them when they speak; when they come your way, walk the other. My personal gospel tells me to shame, ridicule, spread rumors, shoot down, abd make those who criticize or step on my toes bleed and suffer. A few days ago I read a story that helped me to understand a bit better today s Gospel. Here it is. An old and holy monk was asked what hell looks like. He closed his eyes, and after a long silence said: Hell is like a great, vast city - a city inhabited only at its outer edges, with rows and rows of empty houses in the middle. These houses in the middle are empty because everyone who once lived there has quarreled with the neighbors and moved. Then, they quarreled with the new neighbors and moved again, leaving the streets and the houses of their old neighborhoods empty and barren. That - the monk said - is how hell has gotten so large. Hell is empty at its center and inhabited only at the outer edges,

6 Page 6 of 6 because everyone chose distance instead of honest confrontation when it came to dealing with those who offended them. That is hell: distance from others. We are here to eat and drink from a humble table, sign of unity with the Lord and one another. Rather than focusing on what others have done against us, let us start focusing on the abundant mercy and forgiveness God has given us. Rather than holding on to feelings of anger and resentment, let us affirm, support, console, help and stand not alone but side by side and hand in hand with God and others, because issues are never more important than the relationship.