Sunday Meditation: Two or Three Gathered in His Name

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 (20^th 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. 

I also urge to go back to three years ago where I embedded a video of Dr. Brant Pitre’s exegesis of this passage.

 

 

 

Sunday Meditation: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

 

 

This is one of the most beloved of Catholic hymns, “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!” performed by Catholic Music Initiative.

 

Alleluia! Sing to Jesus! His the scepter, his the throne;

Alleluia! His the triumph, his the victory alone;

Hark! The songs of peaceful Zion thunder like a mighty flood;

Jesus out of every nation has redeemed us by his Blood.

 

Alleluia! King eternal, You the Lord of lords we own.

Alleluia! Born of Mary, Earth your footstool, heaven your throne:

You within the veil have entered, robed in flesh, our great High Priest;

Here on earth both Priest and Victim in the Eucharistic feast.

 

Alleluia! Alleluia! Glory be to God on high;

Alleluia to the Savior who has won the victory;

Alleluia to the Spirit, Font of love and sanctity;

Alleluia! Alleluia! To the triune majesty.

 

His the victory!

Sunday Meditation: Caesar’s Coin

Finally in this Sunday’s reading, we don’t get a parable, but we do get a deep insight from Jesus.  In the parables in recent Sundays, Jesus has boldly confronted the Pharisees by placing them in the villain’s role of the little stories.  The bad son who agrees to tend the vineyard but doesn’t, the tenant farmers who kill the landlord’s son, the guests who refuse to go to the royal wedding are all stand-ins for the Pharisees.  And the Pharisees know it, and so they plot against Jesus.

 

The Pharisees went off

and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.

They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying,

"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man

and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion,

for you do not regard a person's status.

Tell us, then, what is your opinion:

Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"

Knowing their malice, Jesus said,

"Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?

Show me the coin that pays the census tax."

Then they handed him the Roman coin.

He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"

They replied, "Caesar's."

At that he said to them,

"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar

and to God what belongs to God."

~Mt 22:15-21

Is Jesus more confrontational in Matthew’s Gospel than the others?  It’s hard to say without putting the four gospels side by side but it does feel it given the recent Sunday readings.  The Pharisees are certainly trying to be confrontational with Him here, but He doesn’t back down one iota. 

Father Geoffrey Plant does a superb job in providing the entire context.  Only he of the various explanations I looked up explains why the Herodians are in the mix.  See if you can catch it.  The video is a bit long, but well worth it.

 

So the Herodians are spying to see if Jesus says no to paying the tax.  They are Caesar’s representative here.  And the puritanical Pharisees (they are the “separated ones”) are there to catch Him saying yes to paying the tax.  Notice also, for all of their purity, they actually have a Roman coin with the graven image and heretical saying on it. 

Now Fr. Geoffrey’s explanation was a great historical and even theological lesson.  But I found an excellent pastoral exegesis on this passage from Jeff Cavins from Ascension ministries.  So I include two for the price of one.  This is worth it too.

 

Meditation: "Then repay…to God what belongs to God."

Sunday Meditation: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

This is a great parable told by Jesus and one that resonates deeply with me.

 

Jesus addressed this parable

to those who were convinced of their own righteousness

and despised everyone else.

"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;

one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.

The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,

'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity --

greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.

I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.'

But the tax collector stood off at a distance

and would not even raise his eyes to heaven

but beat his breast and prayed,

'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'

I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;

for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,

and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

~Lk 18:9-14

 

This is just six verses long, and yet one of the most profound little parables.  Dr. Brant Pitre does a superb job of explaining every little nuance. 

The tax collector Jesus has in mind is obviously Matthew, who will become one of the twelve.  This little dramatization from a movie called Son of God conflates the calling of Matthew with this parable.  It’s not exactly how the Gospels relate the separate passages, but it is a worthy interpretation.

 

'O God, be merciful to me a sinner,’ is a verse every Christian should be in the habit of frequently saying.  I do.