WHEN TWO OR MORE HARM ONE ANOTHER, THERE SIN EXISTS.

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR A.
September 7, 2008.
(First reading: Ezekiel 33:7-9) (Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9)
(Second reading: Romans 13:8-10) (Gospel reading: Matthew 18:15-20)


WHEN TWO OR MORE HARM ONE
ANOTHER, THERE SIN EXISTS.

The existence of sin requires a collectivity of two or more people harming one another. The presence of injustice, wars and death is a sign that humanity is immersed in a state of sin.

Sin degrades both the sinner (the perpetrator of the wrongdoing) as well as the victim:
- The perpetrator of the wrongdoing degrades his human dignity by reason of his failure to respect the integrity, the life, the dignity of others.

- The victim of the wrongdoing is degraded in his human dignity because the harm and deprivation to which he is subjected is an affront to his human nature.

How to stop the spread of sin?
The gospel says: "If your brother sins [commits a wrong] against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother" (Matthew 18:15).

It is in the hands of the victim to stop sin in its tracks, to correct the harmful effects of sin by approaching and communicating(1) with the wrongdoer in order to obtain that the latter stop the wrongdoing(2). If he does, sin no longer has control over the perpetrator, sin no longer produces ill effects on the victim (for by refusing to resort to retaliation, the victim cuts off the vicious cycle of evil). In other words, sin has been defeated, or, as the gospel says, "you have won over your brother".

To defeat sin, we must accept that we all are "brothers" (children of the same Father).
Sin occurs among "brothers"(3); sin appears when a brother does wrong to a brother; but it is only when the victim of the wrongdoing fails to "go and tell [the perpetrator] of his fault" (so that he may "win over his brother") that the two of them become enemies. And, once the two brothers become enemies, from that moment sin has won possession over both of them.

The Prophet Ezekiel (33:7-9) further clarifies this point when it says: "If I tell the wicket man that he shall surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicket man from his way, he [the wicket man] shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death"(4).

Jesus comes to "tell" humanity of their wrongdoings (of their injustice, abuses, dispossession, war) so that if human beings listen to him, he "has won over [his] brothers".

Jesus, through his followers, that is, his through his Church(5) and through all men of good will, continues to approach wrongdoers so that he may win over his brothers: "Where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). The Lord is in the midst of those who gather together to eliminate injustice, oppression, poverty, lies, dispossession, war.

Whenever Jesus is in the midst of two or more, there human beings no longer wrong one another, there sin no longer exists.
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Footnotes.
(1) The same principle applies to human collectivities; i.e. "If a nation should commit a wrong against another nation, the offended nation must approach and communicate with the offending nation..."
(2) If he does not bring an end to his wrongdoing ("does not listen"), the gospel says that, after exhausting all peaceful means available, the victim is to treat the perpetrator as a "Gentile or a tax collector" (Matthew 18:17). Now, how did the Lord Jesus treat "Gentiles and tax collectors"?, he gave his life to save them!
(3) The gospel refers to sin as the wrongdoing of a "brother" against a "brother", that is, among people of equal power. When the aggressor holds more power, then he is no longer a "brother" to the victim, and will not willingly stop the aggression.
(4) Anyone who calls himself a follower of Christ, will be held responsible if he relinquishes his obligation to "go and tell" the aggressor of his sinfulness, of the harm he causes to humanity every time he dispossesses men, women and children of their means of subsistence, every time he attacks and destroys others.
(5) In the context of this gospel reading the Church is presented as the gathering of Jesus' followers who denounce sin and proclaim his presence, so that "whatever [the Church] binds on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever [the Church] looses on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 18:18).