We have a new family member!A spunky little kitten we named Oreo for obvious reason.
So here’s what happened.I mentioned in a blog last year that a
cat gave birth to kittens under our back deck and we fed them and they grew
into our outdoor cats.There were five
kittens last year plus the Mama Cat.We
named the kittens Shadow, Star, Twinkle, Patches, and Witchy.Shadow and Witchy were pure black cats.Star was a black cat with a white star-like
patch on his chest.Twinkle was the same
except the star patch on her chest was about half the size.Patches was a black and white, almost in the
tuxedo arrangement.Mama Cat was
identical to Twinkle.Once grown you
couldn’t tell them apart except that Mama Cat would hiss at you all the time.
Four of the five kittens survived.Witchy either hurt her hind legs or developed
some sort of physical problem.She
hobbled for a while.I tried to catch
her to take her to a veterinarian but couldn’t.Ultimately she disappeared, either left or died.The four kittens made it through the winter,
grew into healthy strong cats, and commanded our backyard as their personal
territory.Mama Cat would come and go,
but mostly stayed away.
Now I’ve used gender nouns so far, but frankly I can’t tell
which of the kittens are male or female.Come the end of spring, there were a bunch of kittens with the now grown
cats.At one count we had a dozen
kittens running around our back eating the food we leave out.How many different litters there are, we’re
not exactly sure.Mama Cat came back to
deliver another set of kittens.Patches
is definitely the mother of another set.It’s possible that Twinkle, who looks like her mother, is also a mother
of a litter.Here is either Mama Cat or
Twinkle nursing her kits.
I can’t tell if that’s Twinkle or Mama Cat, but you can see
the kittens are black or black and white.Quite a few of the kittens are black and white, and that’s because I
suspect the father is a big black and white Tom Cat that wonders the neighborhood.Other colors of the kittens are either all
grey or grey and white.Here is an
adorable grey and white we call Pickles.
Now we also have gone back through the pictures of the
backyard and found Oreo with his mother.That’s Oreo playing with the blue string.
Only Oreo has that white ring coloring around the back of
his neck.So we know that’s him.So his mother is either Mama Cat or Twinkle,
I can distinguish the two.
So what happened is Matthew wanted one of the kittens for
inside for the longest time and was plotting to grab one when the opportunity
presented.One morning, while the kittens
were feeding and Oreo was not on his guard, Matthew swooped him up and brought
him in.This was on Tuesday (Sept8th)
just after Labor Day.Rochelle and
Matthew brought him to a veterinarian on Thursday who said he was healthy.So in less than a week, he has become
integrated into our home.
The vet assigned him a birthday of July 3rd
(7/3/26) which would make him eight weeks old, but frankly I think he’s closer
to six or seven.But July 3rd
is it.The other important information
we got from the vet is that he is male.I
can never tell with cats.
So here are some pictures.Here’s Matthew with his new best friend.
Rosie and Oreo have gotten along from the beginning.God bless Rosie for not being aggressively
territorial.However, Tiger, our cat of
eleven years, has not.He avoids Oreo, stares
at him, and has even hissed at him.If
anyone has advice on how to get an older established cat friendly to a new
kitten in the house, I could use it.No
pictures with Tiger yet.Here’s Matthew
sleeping with Oreo.
This recalls when Tiger was a kitten and would love to sleep
in Matthew’s bed.From eleven years ago when Matthew was five years old.
Let’s end with two more.Oreo like most babies has bursts of energy and then crashes.They seem to go in two cycles of two hours of
running around and then crashingHere he
is crashing on top of the couch.
And finally what I consider a really beautiful picture, I’ll
end with this.
One other note. The name Oreo was Rochelle's idea.
On the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
for Year A, Jesus completes His Community Discourse with the requirement to
forgive wrongs.To Peter’s well-known question as to how many
times one should forgive a “brother or sister,” Jesus responds “not seven times
but seventy-seven times” (or sometimes translated as “seventy times seven,”
RSV, 2ndCE).This is to say
infinite.Jesus then follows that up
with the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.
The infinite number of times one is to
forgive, set in the context of the first reading, “Forgive your neighbor’s
injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven” (Sir 28:2) and
combined with the Our Father’s “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those
who trespass against us” makes forgiveness a requirement for salvation.But it’s even more than that.In forgiving, God allows you to participate
in His Divine action.You become Godlike
in the act of forgiveness.
The parable is a fascinating one.It will be explicated by the homilists, but I
want to touch on one element.An
internet homilist, who I won’t mention by name, but I have embedded his
homilies here in the past, last week made a remark about empathy which I think
misses the mark.From a book he read called
Suicidal Empathy he reached a conclusion that “empathy is not a
supreme value” but acting in love to will the good of the other is.That’s a false dichotomy.I will get to the problem with that in a
second, but to make matters worse, the homilist framed the issue in political
terms: “I think it's the best exposure and take-down of the lunacy at the heart
of much of the wokeist philosophy that dominates things today.”So my first reaction to that was then Jesus
doesn’t have a Sacred Heart of infinite compassion?What then does the Sacred Heart of Jesus mean
and what does Divine Mercy mean?
What the homilist gets wrong, in my humble
opinion, and I admit I don’t have his stature or education, is that empathy starts
the process, and then once connected to the other person’s heart (cor
ad cor loquitur, heart speaks to heart from St. John Henry Newman)
one reaches a rational plan of action that will address the good of the
other.But empathy is the entrance to
that love.Yes it is a supreme value.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant from
today's Gospel is a perfect example.The
Master empathizes with the first debtor and releases him from his debt.That was willing his good and it was a result
of his heart being moved.That debtor
then refuses to empathize with the second debtor.No connection in the heart is sparked, and so
he throws second debtor in jail, justice without any empathy.Jesus then sums it up, “So will my heavenly
Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your
heart.”"From the heart," the
center of empathy, is Jesus’s final word on the subject.
Today’s Gospel:
Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”
~Mt: 18:21-35
For the exegetical homily I go the USCCB’s Fr. Greg Friedman OFM.This is a short but perfectly explained
exegesis.
Fr. Greg:
Today's gospel
parable is about the servant whose massive debt had been most generously
forgiven by his master, but who in turn refuses to let a fellow servant off
forgiving a very minor debt.When the
original master hears of this cruelty, we hear the result. Jesus concludes the
parable with a harsh judgment by the master. Should you not have had pity on
your fellow servant as I had pity on you? Jesus concludes the parable by
describing how in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he
should pay back the whole debt.After
that conclusion, Jesus adds his teaching. So will my heavenly father do to you
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart. Like so many of Jesus
parables, the ending shocks us in more than one way. And yet the responsibility
for forgiveness is consistent with Jesus teaching earlier in the gospel in the
sermon on the mount and with the prayer Christians pray daily. The Lord's
prayer forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
The parable today is
given as a response to the exchange between Jesus and Peter which precedes it
in today's gospel to Peter's question about forgiveness.Lord, if my brother sins against me, how
often must I forgive? As many as seven times. Jesus gives the well-known answer,
I say to you, not seven times, but 77 times. The offer of forgiveness seven
times seems a reasonable attitude, one I suspect most people today actually
would find rather extravagant. As Father Raymond Brown notes in his
observations about Peter, Father Brown suggests that most of us might forgive
once or twice but let someone offend a third time and we'd probably say enough
is enough.Peter, Father Brown suggests,
was being very generous. And yet, the parable is about extreme forgiveness.The standard Jesus sets is also staggering in
its demand. Forgive 77 times which really suggests unending forgiveness.
The parable may be extreme, but Jesus is being serious: forgive or our
heavenly Father will not forgive you.
For the pastoral homily, I’m returning to Archbishop Edward J.
Weisenburger who knocks it out of the park with a great example of extreme
forgiveness.
Archbishop Weisenburger:
"And so it shall
be with each of you, unlessyou forgive
your brother from your heart."Okay,
this is serious stuff, a seriousdemand.
But brothers and sisters, this passage conveys an essential elementof Christianity. It's not something nice, extra.
This is of the essence of our faith, andit cannot be glossed over or denied. Moreover, I fear many of us, and I
surely include myselfin that group,
many of us would rather apply this demand of Jesus to others, rather than
toourselves. It's a reflection on that
line of the Our Father, where we pray as Jesus did,saying, "forgive us our sins, as we
forgive those who trespass against us." Yes, this teachingserves as a lasting reminder of our God's
demand that we have not simply been called to revel orglory in His mercy for us, but rather we are
to live that same kind of profoundly challenging,difficult, or daunting mercy in our own
lives.
Now, as I pondered
the parable, I wasreminded of something
that happened in my senior year of seminary college. It was during Christmas
season of 1983. A photo from Rome flashed across the scene. All around the
world, it was the corner of a prison cell.The subject of the photo: two men hunched over, sitting close together
on molded plastic chairs. One in a white cassock with white skull cap, the
other in a blue sweater, jeans, and running shoes with no laces. Time magazine
told the story accurately, and I quote, "Last week, in an extraordinary
moment of grace, the violence in St. Peter Square was transformed.In a bare, white-walled cell in Rome's
Rebibbia Prison, Pope John Paul II tenderly held the hand that held the gun
that was meant to kill him. For 21 minutes, the Pope sat with his would-be
assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca. The two talked softly. Once or twice, Agca
laughed.The Pope forgave him for the
shooting. At the end of the meeting, Agca either kissed the Pope's ring or
pressed the Holy Father's hand to his forehead in a Muslim gesture of
respect."End of quote. We're then
told later that when asked about what they had talked about, Pope John Paul II
responded, "That will have to remain a secret between him and me.I spoke to him as a brother whom I have
pardoned and who has my complete trust."
Okay, brothers and
sisters, that picture, more expressive than a thousand words. That simple phrase,
"a brother whom I have pardoned," continues to challenge us mightily
more than four decades after the event took place. It actually gives life to
the words of our Gospel today. And in doing so, it challenges us. And not
because Pope St. John Paul provides a simple solution to the world's problems
of "retaliation versus reconciliation." But quite the contrary, the
Pope's words, "I pardoned him," compels me to ask what being a Christian
demand of me today in a world that seems increasingly saturated with the
cravings of revenge.
A picture and a real life example is worth a thousand
homiletical words.
Sunday Meditation: “Should
you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?"
Here is a hymn I have never heard before but so beautiful, “Give Me a
Heart of Forgiveness” credited to PureFire Worship.
As you all probably know, Dolly Parton, the great
country singer and songwriter and even sometime movie star, passed away two
weeks ago now on August 25th.Sassy, traditional, revolutionary, feminist without the negative aspects
of feminism, wife to one husband for decades, philanthropist, believing
Christian, and all-round good person, she was one of a kind.She grew up poor, became rich from her
talent, but always understood those that struggled to make ends meet.From
ABC News:
Dolly Parton, the beloved country
music superstar known as much for her philanthropy and theme park business as
she was for her chart-topping hit songs, has died at 80.
Parton's death on Tuesday was
announced by her publicist, who said the singer "died peacefully" in
Nashville. No cause of death was initially provided, but a later statement
provided by her publicist said Parton died at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer
Center surrounded by loved ones after "bravely facing a brief battle with
cancer."
A small private service will be
held for immediate family, the publicist said.
"As many of you know, I have
been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must
have a few procedures," Parton wrote on Instagram in September 2025,
though she never specified the nature of her health issues. Nearly six months
later, at the seasonal opening of her Dollywood theme park, she said that she
was still dealing with "a few little health issues" from which she
was taking time to recover.
Parton also shared that she was
still navigating her grief over the March 2025 death of her husband of nearly
60 years, Carl Dean, saying that she had been taking time since to rebuild
herself "spiritually, emotionally and physically."
I did not really know Dolly Parton’s work that well.Her music wasn’t exactly in my catalogue of
listening titles, but I did like what I heard.The thing that surprised me the most as I learned about her life is that
she was a great songwriter.She wrote
her own songs and songs for others.I
can’t recall the exact number but the songs attributed to her are in the
thousands.AP
devoted an article to her music legacy and said this.
Parton’s legacy starts with the
immortality of her music: songwriting as solace, an exercise in creativity and
an unwavering ability to write experience into art. Across her career, Parton
wrote and performed perennial hits (“Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “Little
Sparrow,” take your pick) and others that took on a life of their own (most
famously, “I Will Always Love You,” made immortal by Whitney Houston ).
Parton grew up in poverty, one of
12 kids in East Tennessee’s rural Sevier County, where she started writing
songs as a toddler. By 10, she was on the radio and TV in Knoxville, Tennessee.
By 13, she had made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry. At 21, she joined “The
Porter Wagoner Show,” her star power quickly eclipsing its host.
The accomplishments — and the
trials and tribulations that came with them, which she let roll off her
shoulders with enviable resiliency — came fast and furious, as they do with
once-in-a-lifetime talents. There are the 10 Grammys, the numerous Hall of Fame
inductions, and the fact that she revolutionized the world of country music for
women alongside Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, creating a path for crossover
artistry. But there are also her Hollywood forays. It’s telling that her first
feature film, “9 to 5,” celebrated women in the workplace and messed with their
devious bosses.
Beyond writing and performing hits
like “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and “Coat of Many Colors,” the legendary country
singer-songwriter — who died on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at age 80 — dedicated much of
her life to helping others at home and abroad.
From starting her Dollywood
Foundation in the 1980s to help children in Sevier County, Tenn. — where she
grew up — achieve educational success, to funding COVID vaccine research,
Parton’s philanthropic efforts, like her career, were wide-ranging.
“I’m kind of addicted to the
feeling of giving,” the country star told PEOPLE in 2021 for a People of the
Year cover story. “Knowing that I’m doing something good for someone else.”
The following year, she was
recognized with the prestigious Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for her decades
of charitable efforts, which also include her foundation’s Imagination Library,
a monthly book gifting program for children under five.
“I’m proud of the Imagination
Library as much as anything I’ve ever done in my life,” Parton told PEOPLE
while receiving the award in 2022. The same night, the country icon also shared
how she finds causes to support, revealing that she has a team of staffers to
help out in between her other work. She also said she followed her heart.
“I always want to do things that I
can be proud to talk about, things that I believe in,” Parton told PEOPLE at
the time. “I cannot be a hypocrite and just say I’m going to donate this money
for a tax write-off. I’d really like for it to mean something to me — something
I can take pride in.”
So after spending a week exploring her music, I came up with
these seven songs which I think capture various aspects of her body of
work.First, let’s go with one of her
first hits, “Jolene” of 1973.
The intensity of expression is captured in the ever increasing
desperation in the singer’s voice with each successive “Jolene.”Dolly makes this song with her articulation,
and it feels so honest.I also love the interweave
of three acoustic guitars.
Even before “Jolene” was “Coat of Many Colors” (1971) which
combines her story of growing up in poverty with nostalgic family love rooted
in Biblical values.
Much later in 2001 she wrote and recorded “Little Sparrow.”She was a great performer, so I’m going to
select a live rendition to show off her voice and showmanship.
Of course, the little sparrow, who feels no pain, contrasts with
singer.This is wonderful
songwriting.
“9 to 5” (1980) is probably her most well-known song, and
she captures perfectly a woman’s hardship in a male dominated work world.
The video uses excerpts from the movie and hopefully also
captures her foray into movie acting.
From 1975, Doly wrote “The Bargain Store” for the album by
that name.Yes, this song is country,
but there is such a folk song element to it.It crosses genres.
Again such great songwriting.A hurt, perhaps emotionally damaged woman,
compares herself to a store of reduced priced items.The song strives to be hopeful but the
tension of the passed hurt belies the hope.
A brighter and more joyous song is the 1974, “Love is Like a
Butterfly,” where Dolly makes another comparative leap.
And I love her articulation in that song as she flutters
from word to word.That’s two minutes
and twenty-five seconds of perfection!
She wove religious themes and
imagery into her songs and, like many other country artists, frequently
recorded and performed covers of sacred songs. Her 1971 hit, “Coat of Many
Colors,” blends her story of growing up in poverty with the biblical story of Joseph.
One of her first original songs, “Letter to Heaven,” is written as a child’s
petition to God after the death of her mother. Her 1994 album Heartsongs: Live
from Home includes a cover of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” and Precious
Memories (1999) features an array of familiar hymns like “In the Garden,”
“Amazing Grace,” and “Power in the Blood.”
The article quotes from Dolly’s autobiography.
One day as I prayed in earnest, I
broke through some sort of spirit wall and found God,” Dolly Parton wrote in
her 1994 autobiography. “Not as a chastising, bombastic bully but as a friend I
could talk to on a one-to-one basis. He is our father, after all.”
They also quote her as to why she doesn’t belong to an organized
church.
Parton described herself as “very
spiritual” but not religious. She grew up going to the Pentecostal church where
her grandfather preached, but said that after being shamed by fellow
churchgoers for the way she dressed, she chose to part ways with organized
Christianity.
Still, I find her faith sincere.Let’s end her retrospective with “When Jesus
Comes Calling For Me.”
When I was a child I recall an old
man everybody loved old Zeke
(He was all alone, his family was
gone one day he said to me)
I'm just sittin' here thinkin'
about Jesus, rockin' as my old chair creaks
Some glad day I'll fly away when
Jesus comes calling for me
It might be today, it might be
tomorrow, maybe one day next week
I'll soon be done with trouble and
sorrow when he comes calling for me
When Jesus comes calling for me
When I die don't grieve and cry
Lordy, don't feel sorry for me
Oh what a day, what a mighty fine
day
When Jesus comes calling for me
When he comes calling for me
Somehow I think she had these lyrics on her lips as the Good
Lord came calling for her.
Eternal Rest give onto her, Lord, And let perpetual light shine upon her. May Dolly Parton rest in peace. Amen.
For Year A’s Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary
Time, the Gospel reading breaks into the fourth of Matthew’s discourse, the
Discourse on the Church.One can read this Gospel passage in a very castigating
way, but the Church, who matches this reading with the “love-thy-neighbor”
commandment as articulated in St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans and St. Matthew
himself in this chapter surrounds this passage with Parables of the Lost Sheep and
Unforgiving Servant and the direction to Peter to forgive an infinite amount of
times.Whatever exclusion that sinner is
faced with, in no uncertain terms are we not to forgive and be charitable.
I’m always curious to see what Gina
Hens-Piazza from America Media has to say on the
Sunday Gospel passages, and on
this she has the same perspective as I have just stated.She cites various gentiles Jesus shows
compassion to, and she cites the various passages where Jesus is compassionate
to tax collectors: Mt 9:9-13, Lk 19:1-10, Mt 9:10-13.
What’s curious to me, and frankly I haven’t
heard anyone mention this, is that Matthew himself was a tax collector.He would be the last person to condemn all
tax collectors as inexpiable, but he would also be conscious of the separation of
those not in communion.As to gentiles,
Matthew just three Sundays ago (20th Sunday in Ordinary Time) gave us
the healing of the Canaanite woman’s daughter.Matthew the apostle was there to witness it.
Gina sums up her exegesis with this:
Therefore, when Jesus invites us to treat resistant wrongdoers like a
Gentile or tax collector, he means for us to continue recognizing them, never
to close the door on them or anyone. He urges us never to justify excluding or
ending our outreach to them. Finally, we must resist deciding that they are
unreconcilable. Such verdicts are the sole prerogative of our God, the Great
Judge, whom Jesus taught us in the parable of the unforgiving servant, forgives
even those who can’t pay their debts. And, perhaps, each one of us, at some
time in our life, can be grateful for that.
Today’s Gospel:
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."
~Mt: 18:15-20
Fr. Joseph Mary of the Capuchin Friars, one of my favorite homilists,
provides a very good exegetical homily.
Fr. Joseph:
There's perhaps no
greater antithesis to the divine nature of the church than the divisions and
hostilities which have splintered the body of Christ. In this Sunday's gospel,
Jesus gives his disciples a clear mandate for dealing with divisions and
especially with a brother who sins. Now, at first glance, this passage seems
like an enumeration of the rules of an institution. If a brother sins against
you, go and speak to him personally regarding his transgression. he refuses to
listen, take two or three others to act as witnesses. If he still refuses to
listen, take the matter to the church.And
if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a gentile or
a tax collector. In other words, excommunicate them from the fellowship of the
Christian community.Again, these seem
like juridical regulations for dealing with obstinate sinners, laws governing
the punishment for heretical obstinacy.And
that's a fair reading.
Jesus begins by
saying, "If your brother sins against you, go and try to convince him of
his error between you and him alone." Now, if your brother sins against
you, Jesus is reminding us the members of the Christian community are truly
brothers and sisters. The catechism teaches that we're united more intimately
by the bonds of our baptism than we are by our blood relations.Within the Christian community, we should
truly see in the other a brother and a sister before God. This first sentence
sets the tone for everything that follows. It's not simply if a man sins
against you or a lawyer sins against you or a brick layer sins against you.
It's if your brother sins against you. Everything that follows has to be
understood from the perspective of the unity of the Christian community.
This is an outstanding point.It’s
a brother who is being wayward, and so there are certain bonds which cannot
easily be dissolved.The passage is
first and foremost addressing Chrisitan community.
And if this last
attempt should fail, Jesus says, treat the offending brother as you would a
gentile or tax collector.Again, juridically
this can mean excommunication. But even excommunication is never intended
simply for the sake of punishment. It's medicinal, intended to bring the
obstinate brother to his senses.After
all, how did Jesus Christ treat the Gentiles and the tax collectors? He
answered the prayer of the gentile woman, and a tax collector was among his apostles.
Jesus sat down and ate with sinners, hoping through merciful love to draw them
to himself.There's an undeniable
undercurrent throughout this gospel, a plea for unity. It's an echo of the
prayer that Christ will utter to the father at the last supper that they may
all be one father as you are in me and I am in you.That they may be one in us. So authentic
unity must be rooted in Christ, rooted in charity, and rooted in truth.
That is quite a fascinating take on this passage.Ultimately it is a call for unity despite the
need for separation.
For the pastoral homily, I’m going to go to someone new, Fr. Yamil
Samalot Rivera, O.P. with the “Word of Hope” sermon from Dominicans of St.
Albert Province.
Fr. Yamil Samalot Rivera:
This Sunday's gospel
brings us a message full of love and hope.On one hand, we can feel Jesus' immense desire to save us.Offering opportunity after opportunity, for
us to turn our lives around.First, he
sends someone from the community to help us.If that isn't enough, he sends more brothers and sisters to support us.If we still need more guidance, he calls upon
the whole community, the church.And if
we still refuse to set our paths straight, he leaves us to live without
belonging like Gentiles
That’s a bright and sunny way to view this passage that so many see as stern.
On the other hand,
and this is perhaps the most beautiful and rich theological aspect of this text,
Jesus reveals the power present in the life of the community.It is worth recalling the words the master
spoke to Peter two Sundays ago, in the 1st part of chapter 16 of the gospel of
Matthew.The power given to Simon Peter,
the rock of our church.Jesus now grants
to the entire community of faith, of which Peter is to be leader and shepherd.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.”
Our Lord assures us
that a life of communion in the community makes him truly present.For where 2 or 3 are gathered together in my
name. There I am in the midst of them.It
is almost an Eucharistic power.Coming
together in agreement and faith makes him present.Jesus has given immense power to the church
as a community of faith so that we will not be lost, so that miracles may
happen so that his saving presence continues in the world.And mind you, this applies to each and every
one of the baptized to all of us who strive to love our brothers and sisters as
Jesus loves us.Let us make a
commitment, not only to live in community, but to live in communion in our
communities.
This brings it again to community and communion.The Eucharistic element here is rather
interesting, but “Communion” is another name for Eucharist.
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