Matthew 18:15-20
'Correctional Facility' by Rev. Paul Scalia
Reprinted with permission of "The Arlington Catholic
Herald"
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Matthew wrote to show that Christ
was the
Messiah and fulfilled the Jewish prophecies.
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, 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."
Do
we love others enough to correct them? It may seem an odd question to the
modern mind, so accustomed to thinking of love as a matter of "live and
let live" or "supporting you whatever you choose to do." But in reality,
love corrects. Because love seeks the good of the other, it does not shy
away from correcting or rebuking what harms him. Out of love for his
children, a father corrects them and at times punishes them - to keep them from
danger. Out of love a man will confront his friend, and even risk losing
the friendship - for his friend's good.
Our
Lord Himself shows us this love. "Get behind me, Satan!" He says to
Peter (Mt 16:23). "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"
He says to the leaders of Israel several times (Mt 23:13, 23,25,27,29). He
loves them enough to correct them strongly - for the good of their souls.
In
addition to this example, our Lord also gives instructions regarding "fraternal
correction," that is, how members of the Church ought to correct one another.
We are to speak with the person individually. "If your brother sins
against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone" (Mt 18:15).
Our Lord does not command us to brood, to gossip, to hold a grudge, to complain
to everyone else, to post it on our blog, etc. We are to have the
integrity and courage to approach the person directly.
Further,
when following our Lord's example and instruction, we should also share His
motive: love. Out of love for the person, and with the awareness that it
is far worse to do evil than to suffer evil, we confront the person for the good
of his soul.
This
obligation to correct rests even more on the Church's hierarchy, which holds the
power to bind and loose. Our Lord directs that the obstinate sinner be
brought before the Church. And if "he refuses to listen even to the
Church," then we are to treat him as "a Gentile or a tax collector" (Mt 18:17).
Which is to say, place the person outside the Church. We can see this
sobering instruction as a primitive expression of the Church's penalty of
excommunication, which forbids reception of the sacraments and excludes from the
Church's Communion.
This
punishment is indeed severe. Yet the severity itself serves the good of
the individual soul. It reveals the gravity of the person's sin and
therefore (we hope) provokes repentance within the individual. The purpose
of excommunication is not to get rid of someone but to shock the person into
asking forgiveness.
Further,
by removing a cause of scandal and division, excommunication serves the good of
the Church. It clarifies the Church's teachings and requirements for
Communion, and so it prevents further harm to the Body of Christ.
Members
of the Church's hierarchy bear the burden of correcting those who bring great
harm upon themselves and the Church. They should learn from the sad fate
of Eli who, although a good man, fell out of favor with the Lord because he
failed to rebuke his sons (cf 1 Sm 3:13). So also the priest, bishop or
pope who fails to correct error fails to help souls and does a disservice to the
Church by allowing scandal and division to fester.
Many
problems arise from the failure to serve out of love. But many evils also
arise from the failure to correct out of love. It is no sign of love,
either for an individual or for the Church, to allow someone to continue in sin.
Love demands not only that we approve what is good, but also that we reject what
is evil. For the good of our souls, and for the good of the Church, may we
bear that love for one another.
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