Comments on the liturgy of the day taken from the September/October 2020 edition of the “On Your Word” missal.
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
3rd week of the Psalter
FIRST READING
From the book of the prophet Ezekiel (Ez 33:1, 7-9)
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, you shall warn them for me. If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you shall surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their way, the wicked shall die for their iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for their death. But if you warn the wicked to turn from their way, and they do not turn from their way, they shall die for their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.” The word of God.
Commentary on the first reading
The prophet’s main task is not to seek moral perfection or to pursue asceticism in order to conform ever more closely to God’s law. Moral perfection and complete adherence to the Law are impossible for human beings because of what the Church’s tradition calls original sin, that is, the distance between God’s plan and the development of every history, both personal and communal. Original sin is the gap between the ideal and practice. The prophet’s task is to convey a message to its recipients; the prophet is the herald of the Father’s will. Any human weakness of his is not enough to invalidate such a message. This certainty has two effects: it frees people from always feeling inadequate, and it frees the prophet from the temptation to give up proclaiming the message because he sees only rejection of it within himself and around him. When God chooses someone, it is not because he sees perfection in that person, but asks only for docility to the task. How much false moralism could be avoided if only we allowed ourselves to be shaped by the word of God!
SECOND READING
From the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Romans (Rom 13:8-10)
Brothers and sisters, owe nothing to anyone except mutual love; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the Law. For: “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, is summed up in this saying: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to the neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law. The word of God.
Commentary on the second reading
The passage from the apostle Paul that the Liturgy of the Word offers for our reflection this Sunday is very brief. Yet within this short passage lies the whole revolution of the Christian proclamation: love. Many times we feel indebted to others for many valid reasons. Unfortunately, however, we almost never feel indebted solely because of love. If we think about it carefully, behind every act of kindness there is always only love. We take it for granted, do not reflect on it enough, and risk becoming superficial and often banal. I learned this firsthand. Following the devastating earthquake in L’Aquila in 2009, my church and my home collapsed. I suddenly found myself with nothing but the pajamas I was wearing. A couple of days later, someone gave me a pair of trousers, a tracksuit, a shirt, and a mobile phone. Every time I wore those clothes or used that phone, they were no longer simply garments or objects, but were filled with all the love of the person who had thought of me. Today I look at these things and I am not grateful because I have them, but because they make me feel loved.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 18:15-20)
At that time, 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 back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every matter may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the community; and if he refuses to listen even to the community, let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel of the day
In this Gospel we find solid ground on which to build the Church, that is, the community of God’s children, whose only law is love. Unfortunately, we are not always receptive to Jesus’ advice. In fact, what often happens is exactly the opposite of what today’s Gospel tells us. If someone wrongs us, we first tell the entire community about the offense we have suffered, naturally from our point of view. Then, perhaps, word reaches the person directly involved, almost always distorting what we said or, at the very least, its tone. Subtle suspicions arise, gradually becoming rubber walls, apparently insubstantial but capable of separating us from our brother. Jesus suggests a different approach. Small disagreements between brothers and sisters are inevitable: when they occur, clarify things with the person immediately in order to restore communion. If you encounter resistance, then ask for the help of a few others; and if the hoped-for result still does not come (the goal is not to be right but communion), then involve the entire community, the Church. Here comes the real novelty of the passage. “If he does not listen … then let him be to you as …” as those for whom Jesus came: pagans and sinners.
