Homily - 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - 10th September 2023

Homily

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

10th September 2023

The words said in our reading today may seem quite harsh in our upside-down world. Even when I was a youngster, I heard friends say that something was ‘wicked’, meaning in slang they were describing something as being ‘wonderful’, ‘great’ or cool. More recently, people have described something as being ‘bad’ meaning to them it is ‘good’. Much in our world can be confusing.

We are all being held as sentries in this world because the house of God includes our bodies, the temples of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit moves us, it is for the betterment of other people, not for our own self-interests. We are to be God’s witnesses, to confess our faith in Jesus and that we love him.

Paul tells us not to get into debt unless it is the debt of mutual love. Love cannot harm another person. If we love others, we fulfil our obligations and our purpose for being here on Earth. Nothing else matters. By loving our neighbour with all our heart, we cannot break the Ten Commandments.

Both Ezekiel and Jesus remind us of our responsibilities to others. When the Holy Spirit moves us, we are to tell a person when they are breaking God’s laws. If we resist the Holy Spirit, and the person dies, we will be held responsible for their death. Why? Simply because if we tell them, they have a chance to repent, to be forgiven, and be allowed to return to God. Without saying a word, we prevent them from doing this.

By telling them of their wrongs, we are showing our love for them. The Psalm tells us not to harden our hearts, but to listen to God’s voice calling to us to act on his behalf. Jesus instructs us to take our brother or sister aside and quietly tell them of their wrongdoing. They may not be aware their actions are offending God, and this is the first opportunity for them to realise the situation. They now have an opportunity to say they are sorry.

On the other hand, they may rebuke you and not listen, having no regard for the damage they are doing to their own soul. In this case, Jesus tells us to take two or three others who have witnessed the sin and to present their evidence. When two or three are gathered in Jesus’s name, he will be their also. If the transgression continues, and what the three have said is disregarded, then it is the whole community who takes responsibility to present the charges against the person. Each step is to be taken in love to provide every opportunity for the offender to turn away from their crime, confess and be forgiven, even though there is still reparation to be given for the harm they have done.

Therefore, how do we determine that someone has done something wrong? In simple form, there are three parts to each action: what we do, why we do it, and the consequences of the action taken. Our intention, why we act the way we do, comes from the individual’s heart. We are responsible for our own actions. The Catholic Church encourages us to regularly examine our conscience to ensure we are following reasoned judgment and that our actions conform to the will of God.

The world we live in encourages us to be individualistic, often working against our communities and tradition. This can lead us to a distrust in traditional rules and norms, especially if those rules and norms become overly legalised. Love is an essential part of building a moral life, but in a world that over romanticises the meaning of love, we can be led away from understanding that love also mean sacrifice. Sacrificial love is required to be able to make the tough moral choices we often face in this world.

We have a habit of thinking that deep down we are good, even though our recent actions may have been bad. Culturally, our society encourages us to separate our action from who we believe we are. Yet, as time goes by it is our actions that define the person we are, and the consequences of those actions can lead us to regret what we have become.

The moral dilemmas in our society are still related to the dignity of Every Human Life. Whether this is the unborn child, whom the Catholic church cherishes from conception. Or the young woman leaving her country, believing she is going to a better life but finds herself caught up in Human Trafficking and a life of prostitution. Or a young person struggling with their identity and being bombarded with ideas that may lead them to physically changing their body before they are mature enough to make an informed decision. Or an old person, thinking they have nothing to offer the world and being encouraged to end their life. We as a community, are also responsible for the moral errors in judgment made, if we ignore when the Holy Spirit motivates us to have our voice heard. Our actions: Are they virtuous? Do they safeguard the dignity of every human life? And do we conform to the Natural Law of God’s will? These are the moral questions we need to ask ourselves.

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