Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18, 15-20
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.”
Save Your Brother
1. If they sin against you. Anyone can make a mistake, but the important thing is to help them and let them know that they have hurt you. Just because you have been hurt by someone’s actions does not mean you can just turn your back on them. By turning them away, you may be letting the devil win over their soul. You need to help them and not reject them. It goes beyond hurting you, it is a matter of saving souls. This makes me think of a mom whose son has measles; she doesn’t mind if she gets them too, and she won’t leave her son; she takes care of him. Love goes beyond everything. If someone is sinning, save them. Your task as a Christian is to save souls through Jesus. Do you want to be a missionary and help people? You do not need to go to Africa; there are people near you who need you. Help them!
2) Do your best. Look for a way to help those around you find God. If they do not change their ways and keep hurting people, it is because they do not know God. Talking to them may not be enough; your actions may speak louder than your words. Communicate Jesus’ message of love through everything you do! Show God’s love to them. Unfortunately, many may walk away and ignore you and the Gospel where Jesus speaks about showing love to others. Do not be afraid! You have to evangelize! Souls are at stake.
3) Prayer. This leads to communion. When people come together to pray, the Church is strengthened and grows. The soul of evangelization is prayer, and the strength of evangelization is communion. If today there is division in your parish community or in your group of friends or family, could lack of prayer be the reason? Save these communities by reminding them of the importance of prayer.
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you, be with you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
