Wednesday of the 19th
Week in Ordinary Time
August 12, 2015 8:30am
Today Jesus talks about what to
do when, as he says, someone has sinned against us.
I think we can interpret Jesus’
direction as applying to situations when someone has wronged us personally or
when someone is doing something that we believe is wrong or sinful even if it
does not affect us.
From all that Jesus says, I see
six brief, quick rules.
1. Take the initiative. Make an effort to bring about reconciliation
between that person and you or that person and God.
2. Treat the person with
respect. Work at the issue in a private,
personal, one-on-one way. Only if that
fails, consult someone else who can bring wisdom to the situation.
3. Don’t shame or embarrass the
person. That will do no good for anyone.
4. Don’t play win/lose or
right/wrong. Don’t try to make the other
person lose or feel wrong.
5. Do all of this
prayerfully. Let it emerge from praying
about it and seeking God’s guidance. I
have to imagine that this is why Jesus’ direction here is connected with some
teaching about prayer.
6. Make sure your motivation is
clear and pure. Do it simply for the
reconciliation of the other person with God or with yourself. Do it for the good of the other.
Maybe there are additional or
other ways of saying all of this.
But these are some quick rules
for actually doing what Jesus is teaching today.
