23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Psalter week III
St. Peter Claver, SJ, was a member of the Society of Jesus and is the patron of African missions and of interracial justice, due to his work with slaves in Colombia.
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 118: 137
You are just, O Lord, and your judgement is right; treat your servant in accord with your merciful love.
Collect
O God, by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption, look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters, that those who believe in Christ may receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Ezekiel 33:7-9
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: “Son of man, I have appointed you as sentry to the House of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, warn them in my name. If I say to a wicked man: Wicked wretch, you are to die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked man to renounce his ways, then he shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death. If, however, you do warn a wicked man to renounce his ways and repent, and he does not repent, then he shall die for his sin, but you yourself will have saved your life.”
Psalm 94(95):1-2,6-9
R/ O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the rock who saves us. Let us come before him, giving thanks, with songs let us hail the Lord.
Come in; let us bow and bend low; let us kneel before the God who made us: for he is our God and we the people who belong to his pasture, the flock that is led by his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the desert when your fathers put me to the test; when they tried me, though they saw my work.’
Second reading: Romans 13:8-10
Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.
Gospel Acclamation: Jn17:17
Alleluia, alleluia! Your word is truth, O Lord: consecrate us in the truth. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector. I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven. I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.”
Prayer over the Offerings
O God, who give us the gift of true prayer and of peace, graciously grant that through this offering, we may do fitting homage to your divine majesty and, by partaking of the sacred mystery, we may be faithfully united in mind and heart. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 41: 2-3
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God; my soul is thirsting for God, the living God.
Prayer after Communion
Grant that your faithful, O Lord, whom you nourish and endow with life through the food of your Word and heavenly Sacrament, may so benefit from your beloved Son’s great gifts that we may merit an eternal share in his life. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Meditation
Jesus gives us the necessary steps of reconciliation when wronged by a fellow brother or sister. But even if all these fail, he still urges us to treat them as a tax collector or pagan. The question to ask here is how did Jesus treat them? Jesus said that he came for sinners (Matthew 9:12). He showered them with love. He called Matthew – a tax collector, and made him a disciple (Matthew 9:9-13). He spent time with Zacchaeus the tax collector and turned him from a cheat and oppressor to charitable and repentant disciple. Jesus forgave the numerous sins of the sinful woman who washed his feet with her tears (Luke 7:36-50). And he said whatever we agree on earth is accepted in heaven. Agreement can only come when there is love. A gathering in God’s name is a gathering of Love because God is love. Love is the only debt we owe one another. If we love our brothers, we will always strive for peace and reconciliation. We will always watch over them and prevent them from falling into sin. We will keep all the other commandments if we love.