23rd Sunday 2023
How do we react to being hurt by someone? If this is a serious matter we do not hide our indignation. We spread the word to our friends and colleagues about the injustice we have suffered. We have been treated unfairly and others should be told about the one who is unfair . Beware of him, because something similar may happen to you. Do we think that we have done something wrong? No, because, after all, we told the truth and were indeed wronged. Such thinking is shattered by today’s Gospel. It presents us with a way of dealing with the person hurting us. It should be admonished face to face.Take witnesses next time. In fact, that’s what we sometimes do, we reprimand someone, but in such a way that we can be heard by everyone around us, so that we can say that we have rebuked the person who has wronged us, and in the manner that they will not forget.
It has little in common with the Gospel in winning back a brother, that is, to help him convert. We can better understand this passage if we realise that it immediately follows the parable of the lost sheep that the Good Shepherd seeks. So, what should my behaviour be towards a brother who has sinned against me? Above all, I must admire God’s love for me, a sinner, in order to have the strength to love my brother who has wronged me; God loves him too. That is why I should do everything possible for him to discover this love. Perhaps my hurt will be a convincing argument. How many times so far have I tried to talk to the person who hurt me, but alone. Did I then try with all my might, using all my intelligence, to convince this man? More often than not, we quickly withdraw from such attempts because they involve too much trouble and effort. Isn’t it better to stay with the old way of doing things? This Gospel passage, read every three years, to what extent has it changed our thinking and actions?
How do I react to the harm someone has done to me? I might at least try to respond evangelistically this week?