Love Does No Evil to the Neighbor!

The following homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde on Sunday, Sept. 8, at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

As you are aware, the passages for the Sunday Gospel reading in Year A are taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew. Today’s passage, from chapter 18 of this Gospel, shifts our focus. In the past few weeks, we have been reflecting on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Today and next Sunday, we are being invited to ponder on what it means to relate to one another as Jesus’ disciples within the Church.

In today’s Gospel as well as in the other two Scripture readings, we are being reminded that in very serious matters we have a responsibility to correct one another. Now many of us cringe at that instruction. The words of the murderous Cain ring in our ears: "Am I my brother’s keeper?" We do not wish to put ourselves in the position of having to correct one another, because we are so keenly aware of our own weaknesses.

However, the reality is that sometimes we are duty bound to correct one of our brothers or sisters in Christ for their good and for the good of the Church. Our first reading spells out this obligation in very clear language. "You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. If I tell the wicked, ‘O wicked one, you shall surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death."

This is a grave responsibility, and one which must be taken seriously. We must not judge others – "Judge not, that you be not judged," (Mt 7:1) – but we must approach a sister or a brother with Christian love to correct some serious fault for his or her good and the good of the Church. Not only are we not to judge others, but we are to limit ourselves to very serious matters. We surely recall another injunction that Jesus gave: "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" (Mt 7:3). There are two very important lessons for us to learn here. First, we are not to concern ourselves with every little fault or sin that we observe in others; we must confront only serious issues. Second, we need to remember that we too are sinners and full of faults, and that we need to be working on removing them from our own lives as well. Moreover, we are instructed regarding the way we should approach this duty, that we are not to hold this brother or sister in contempt (cf. Rm 14:10), but love him or her with the love of Christ. St. Paul admonishes us: "Do not look on him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother" (2 Th 3:15). The reason for this directive is rooted in the command of Christ: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you…" (Jn 13:34). Our attitude must be Christ-like in this serious task. As our second reading reminds us: "Love does no evil to the neighbor."

Now that we are aware of this obligation, we surely must wonder if God has given us any instructions on how to carry out this grave obligation. Indeed, Jesus does teach us how we are to concretely discharge this duty. First, we are to speak with our brother or sister one on one. "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone." No one likes to be corrected, so, as I mentioned before, the manner in which this is done is very crucial. If our first attempt is unsuccessful, Jesus tells us to get a couple of others who can go with us a second time to approach him or her concerning a very serious fault or behavior. "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 this sister or brother in Christ will not listen to you on your own, and will not listen to you and two or three others, then Jesus says to bring the matter to the Church. "If he refuses to listen to them [the witnesses you brought for the second meeting], tell the church." Jesus then tells us that if after all of these efforts, the person in question has not repented, then we are to "treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector." And, because He goes on to teach us about praying together with Him in our midst, Jesus is certainly telling us to continue to pray for him or her.

Yes, we are responsible for one another within the community called Church. We are called to exercise responsible love for one another. No one of us can be an isolated disciple of Jesus. That we cannot and must not be isolated disciples is also brought home to us by the approaching anniversary of last year’s terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. We were and remain affected by those horrific and senseless acts of violence. No one among us shall ever forget that infamous day; even now it seems like a terrible nightmare from which we wish to awake as quickly as possible. But, the reality remains: for survivors and for the families and friends of all those innocent victims, for us whose security was violated and whose homeland was invaded, and for people of good will throughout the world who continue to be haunted by these acts of terrorism.

How do we respond as this tragic anniversary draws ever closer? With Christ-like love, which encompasses and integrates care, compassion, forgiveness, justice and vigilance. Those whose lives have been so inalterably changed continue to need our care and compassion. Forgiveness is never easy: we struggle all the more to forgive when innocent people are hurt and indeed murdered. But vengeance can never be the response of an authentic disciple. Leaving those who acted with such evil intent to the Lord for His judgment, we continue to seek justice and to promote vigilance. Ours too is the responsibility to root out discrimination, racial hatred and injustice, which only serve to feed and to increase the mentality of terrorists.

Yes, our response to Sept. 11 must be Christ-like. After all, "love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law."

To interact with responsible love is not easy. It will always demand honesty and courage. That is why we must pray for the grace of wisdom and fortitude; both are gifts of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, we will fall and make mistakes. That is why we must seek forgiveness and a new beginning. Nonetheless, despite our human frailty, despite the challenges of responsible love, you and I must seek always to love one another with Christian responsibility in our family, in this parish, in the workplace, in the neighborhood and in our nation. That is what it means to belong to the Church, to the community of disciples, where no one is isolated and everyone is treasured, where the only obligation is to love one another the way Jesus loves us. Amen.

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