“Sin Affects the Entire Body of Christ” by Colleen O’Sullivan

 “Sin Affects the Entire Body of Christ” by Colleen O’Sullivan

 Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary 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 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.” (Matthew 18:15-17)

Piety

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us. (based on The Lord’s Prayer)

Study   

For me, this is one of the most difficult Gospel passages with which to come to terms. It’s hard to imagine confronting anyone with their sins, even in a spirit of caring, because I have enough sins of my own with which to contend. In today’s world, I can also imagine the person approached telling me in short order to get lost because it’s none of my business. It’s between them and God.

And that’s precisely where many of us lack understanding about what Jesus is saying. There is no sin that’s just between an individual and God. In baptism, the Church baptizes us into Christ. We become the newest member of the Church, the Body of Christ. Because we are all one in the Body, whatever affects any one individual affects the entire Body. That sounds quite counter-cultural in today’s word. Our sins affect the entire Church.

In pondering this passage, it’s also essential to take into account the context in Matthew’s Gospel. Just before today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep, the story of how far the Shepherd will go to find and save even one lost or straying sheep. Immediately following today’s verses, Jesus will remind us that just as you and I want God’s forgiveness every time we come begging for it, so we are to be generous in how often we forgive others.

Jesus gives us some very down-to-earth advice on how to be a community in his name. First of all, be merciful and kind. The goal is always faithful living, restoration, and reconciliation. Second, throw out the notion that our sins affect only our relationship with the Lord. If we are indeed part of the Body of Christ, everything we do, including committing sins, affects every other member of the Body. Any sin weakens the entire Church. Third, be upfront in dealing with others. If someone sins against you or the Church, don’t quietly unfriend that person on Facebook or bad mouth him or her to anyone else. Those are great ways to cause dissent and hard feelings, to weaken the Church further. Don’t approach anyone with a self-righteous air, because we’re human and we have nothing to justify an attitude of self-righteousness. Take a “can we talk?” approach. If one-on-one doesn’t work, enlist the help of one or two others, not as witnesses for the prosecution but as fellow Christians who long to see everyone living within the fold.

Finally, Jesus says, if those measures don’t work, treat the person like a Gentile or a tax collector. I don’t think he means spurn them or forget about them. Look at how Jesus himself treated Gentiles and tax collectors: He visited in their homes. He ate and partied with them. He helped them when their family members were in need. He never gave up on them, always holding out to them the invitation to conversion and discipleship. There was always love underlying all of it. It’s that lifelong work of making friends, being friends, and bringing friends to Christ.

Action

Has anyone ever sinned against you? How did you deal with it? Have you ever sinned against someone else? How did they deal with it? Did Jesus’ love for us and his words in today’s Gospel serve as a guide?