First reading: Ezekiel 33:7-9
Psalm: Ps 95:1-2, 6-9
Epistle: Romans 13:8-10
Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Responsibility toward God and each other go hand-in-hand. That responsibility is fulfilled in the loving witness we bear, and is the focus of today’s readings and Gospel.
In our first reading from Ezekiel God reminds his prophet – and that is what we are in this day and age – that he must bear witness to God’s truth. If the prophet bears witness he has done his duty, regardless of the reaction of his hearers.
Now we often face frustration when we attempt to bear witness. To put that in perspective, let’s look at what Ezekiel was doing.
Ezekiel was in Babylon, in exile with the balance of Judah. While in exile he told the people that they had sinned in forgetting God, in following their own way. He told them that the exile was punishment for their sins and he foretold the fall of Jerusalem. Later in Chapter 33 the actual fall will be confirmed (Ezekiel 33:21):
In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth day of the month, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen.”
Now Ezekiel was charged with more than explaining the basis for Israel’s exile. He was there to bring Israel back, to begin the process of reclaiming the faith that so many had lost. He had to call the people to repentance.
So Ezekiel bore witness. What did the people do? The reality of Ezekiel was that the people came to hear him, they even invited their friends and neighbors to do so, and they sat quietly, listening to what he said. Ezekiel was a popular prophet, but the people still went home and ignored what God said through him. In Ezekiel 33:31-32 we read:
And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with their lips they show much love, but their heart is set on their gain.
And, lo, you are to them like one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.
Sure, they liked Ezekiel well enough, for his entertainment value.
Like Ezekiel we must bear witness, even if people ignore us. Like other prophets we must proclaim the truth of the Gospel even if our delivery is bad, even if we are fearful, or if we think someone else could do a better job; even if we think the message is too tough.
Brothers and sisters,
Bearing witness begins when we realize that doing so is our cooperation in the love of God.
That love exists in every relationship joined to God – whether it be in families, among friends and neighbors, between spouses, or in the wider community – and so we must go into each of these relationships and speak His words. We must go there speaking and acting as messengers of God’s love, God’s community, God’s kingdom. We must speak His truth privately, in front of witnesses, and in front of the entire community if need be. We must speak the loving word, the truthful word, the correcting word, and the prophetic word.
Our history is filled with loving witness, from the martyrs of the first centuries, to the founding witnesses of the PNCC in Scranton, to our parents and grandparents. It is a tradition of faithful witness focused on the truth of God, His Word, His direction for life.
That is what we must do. Jesus asks us to bear witness. He knew Ezekiel. He knew the other prophets. He knew that many met derision, stoning, and death for their message, while others, like Ezekiel, were treated like a side show. He really doesn’t care regarding the manner of delivery, the treatment of the witness, or our skills and abilities in delivering the message. What He does care about is that the message be delivered. That we be faithful to our call to witness.
My friends,
Eventually we must own up to our responsibility to love, to deliver the message, and to bring the light of Christ to our brothers and sisters who live in error, who do not know God, or who have gone astray. We are to lovingly call them, brother-to-brother, sister-to-sister, husbands and wives, parents and children. It is living out the responsibility we owe to to God, and to each other. Lived out, we will be the community of God. The community of faith where what is bound is bound, where what is loosed is loosed, and where God dwells with us. Amen.