A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr
Find today’s readings here.
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.
Amen, I say to you,
whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.”(Mt 18:15-20)
What do we do now?
I can imagine the apostles and members of the early church asking themselves that question after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Now what happens? With many expecting Jesus to return even in their own lifetimes, it would not have been easy to figure out how to create—much less sustain—a coherent community. Today’s reading from Matthew addresses that issue, in a way; it is the sort of passage that Scripture scholars might say is an interpolation by the early Christian community to address an issue they were facing. It is certainly a passage that would have been cited often.
That issue is one we all face: Whether it is at home, at work, at church or anywhere else in our daily lives as Christians, we navigate interpersonal relationships that inevitably get complicated. How do we work out our problems with one another? And to whom do we give the authority to adjudicate our disputes? Many of us have experienced a “first fervor” in our lives with regard to our faith, a time when all the answers might seem easy to find and life seems rather uncomplicated. Of course, that’s why it’s called first fervor. It doesn’t last forever, and the task of working out real-life disputes and problems remains after it fades.
Today’s Gospel reading, with its focus on how to settle disputes and grant authority, is a good reminder that our concerns and anxieties are the same as those of every age who “gathered together in my name,” including the earliest Christian communities.
