The Prophetic Role of a Christian (Mt 18:15-20)
23rd Sunday – Year A
Faced with an enemy or an unjust aggressor, an animal has basically three options (3 F’s): Flight, Fight and Freeze. In danger, a rabbit always runs away (flight). When a snake perceives danger, its first option is to run away. When it realises that it cannot run away it attacks; it spits its venom (fight). The tortoise does not have horns or poison to attack, neither does it have speed to escape, its option is to freeze – to pull itself inward and pretend that it is dead.
Faced with an unpleasant situation we humans too have the above options. What do you do when we come across situations we don’t like in the street, or even in our parish community? Try to recall an occasion when you were at a meeting and you didn’t like the way the discussion was going, or there were someone who disagreed with you, what was your reaction: did you walk out of the meeting? That would be flight reaction. Did you become argumentative and aggressive? That was fight option. Or did you just sit there, doodling, saying nothing, pretending that you were cool while you were terribly annoyed. You just froze! These are default pathways that we follow based on our animal instinct. But we humans have a fourth option: DIALOGUE. We can use our gift of reason to appeal to others’ reason. We can appeal to the goodness of the heart of others. This presupposes a basic trust in the goodness of human nature itself, namely, that others are capable of reasoning and feeling just as I can.
A Call to be Prophetic
Today’s gospel text calls us to be prophetic. But being prophetic does not imply just thrashing out on others without self-control, or projecting our own unresolved inner conflicts, or imposing our own petty worldview on others.
In the first reading, Ezekiel talks about his God-given mission as a prophet (Ez 33:7-9): “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) you do not speak to warn the wicked man to renounce his ways, then he shall die for his sins, but I will hold you responsible for his death.” On the other hand, if you have warned the wicked man but he does not change is ways, then you are not responsible for his decision.
In the gospel passage, Jesus tells us how this could be done; how we could fulfil our prophetic role as the followers of Christ; how we could be dealing with unchristian attitude and behaviour in our communities. It is interesting to note that, in the text of today (Mt 18:15), Jesus is not talking about a personal offence committed against you. This will follow as the next episode (in Mt 18:21-35): in the case of personal offence Jesus is simply recommending forgiveness (see also Lk 17:3). In the section that we read today, Jesus simply says, “If your brother does something wrong…” (Mt 18:15). This teaching follows immediately after the analogy of the shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep (Mt 18:12-14). So Jesus is actually inviting us to be shepherds going in search of our lost brothers and sisters. How do we do this? Jesus suggests a three-step strategy:
The Three-step strategy
Step 1: Deal with the individual one-on-one
Jesus suggests a private chat as the first step: “go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves” (Mt 18:15). This step presupposes a considered response to what we perceive to be wrong. It is not a reaction of flaring up in anger, but a cool dialogue. The run-up to this step could be painstaking and demands a deep courage. I find this step very challenging in my own life. It is much easier to make generalised statements about wrongs that I see in the community, or to rise up as a cobra when my own little haven is disturbed. On the contrary, Jesus is inviting me to be fully human – to use my gift of rationality and my ability to empathise with the other. “If he listens to you, you have won back your brother” (v.16). My experience is that most often this step really works, provided there are the ingredients of wisdom, love and inner freedom that I am going to reflect on shortly. Suppose this step does not work, then I can go on to the next step.
Step 2: Involve close associates
“If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you…” (Mt 18:16). Jesus here is quoting the Torah (Dt 19:15-16). But this step is necessary to clarify your own perception of the wrong: was it just an illusion; was it your own prejudice; or were you acting on a personal vendetta? The two others will help you clarify your own position, and if your position is sound and Christian, then they stand behind you to allure the wrong doer to return to the fold. It is easier to find the lost sheep when three shepherds search together than if one shepherd did it alone. (In our youth training programmes, I prefer to use ‘team-teaching’. That is, at least three people facilitate a session. When three people communicate an ideal to a group of young people, the recipients find this impressive and trustworthy.) However, if this does not work, then we need a better strategy.
Step 3: Bring it before the community
This is the last resort. Here the procedure becomes public and judicial. Interestingly, Matthew talks about bringing the person before the community (or the church – ecclesia) rather than the leaders. At this point, if the individual chooses not to follow the direction of the community, then he can be considered not being part of the community anymore. Jesus’ words to Peter in Mt 16:18, is here addressed to the whole community. The community is given the authority: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Mt 18:18).
The steps that Jesus is laying out here in dealing with a wrong doer are not merely part of a legal procedure. I see this as an invitation to me to prepare myself internally to deal, in a humane manner, with the person whom I perceive to be on the wrong. It is a personal inner process of growth towards wisdom, love and freedom.
Personal Character Strengths of a Prophet
To be a prophet – a sentry in the community – is a call extended to each one of us. It is a call that envisages a set of character strengths. To follow the words of Jesus, I need to grow in wisdom, love and freedom.
1. Wisdom
As I said earlier, we need to note that the passage is not talking about personal offence, but doing wrong in general. Now, how do you judge whether something is wrong or not? What you might judge to be wrong – is it merely determined by your own culture and upbringing? I need to be tentative about my own judgements. For this, I need a deeper preparation through silence and reflection that gives birth to wisdom.
2. Love
St Thomas Aquinas prays: “Lord, in my zeal for the love of truth, let me not forget the truth about love.” In the second reading of today, from the Letter to the Romans,St Paulinvites us: “Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love” (Rom 13:8). Elsewhere,St Paultells us: “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ…” (Eph 4:15, RSV).
3. Inner freedom
Wisdom and Love are closely related to inner freedom. When I perceive a wrong behaviour in a person I could be asking myself questions like: am I over-reacting to the behaviour of this person because s/he is reminding me of my own shadow – those tendencies in me that I struggle with and have preferred to brush them under the carpet? Remember what Jesus says about this: “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the great log in your own?… Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye” (Mt 7:3,5).