In the first
reading for today, the prophet Ezekiel is told that he has been appointed by
God to be a sentinel, a watchman for Israel, he is commissioned by the Lord to
warn the people if they are in danger of attack by the forces of evil. If he does not warn them when he sees evil,
then he is participating in the evil. But he is not at fault if he warns them
but they refuse to listen[1].
The Gospel reading
develops the same thought. It is taken from a section of the Gospel of Mathew
often referred to as the Discourse on the Church. Members of the Church are
told to warn people in the community when they are falling victim to the forces
of evil. If they warn people and those people refuse to listen but continue in
the grasp of evil, then the people will no longer be part of the Church. This
might seem harsh until we recognize that the Church is the Community of the
Saved. Those who do not wish to be part of this community, but who want to
continue in evil, are in effect separating themselves from the community.
We have an
obligation to warn people about the dangers of consorting with evil. We have an
obligation to warn our country about the dangers of promoting immorality. But
we have an even deeper obligation to base our warnings on love.
We are living in
times of extreme radical behavior. There are many people who see nothing wrong
with violating every law of God, even those laws of nature which common sense
dictates. At the same time, one of the most popular sermons in Churches takes
place when the priest or minister notes the immorality of society, citing
specific facts. Everyone is ready to applaud Father for telling it like it is,
unless, of course, some of his references refer to them. Then they would rather he keep his opinions
to himself.
We are called to
be strong, loving and wise. Not just strong.
Christ did not come so we can use him to attack others. He came so we
can gently lead the world to him. Look again at that Gospel reading. The instruction
to the community is to lead the offending Christian back into the heart of the
community with love. Nowhere is there an instruction to assault him, imprison
him, or kill him. There is nothing Christian about those who use Christ to
attack others.
We are returning
to the fallacies of the last century that resulted in the most brutal
dictatorships the world has ever seen. At the beginning of the last century
there were those ready to assault anyone who did not believe as they did. They were called fascists. My fear is that
people of the twenty-first century are giving credence to using force to
destroy the rights of individuals or to promote their concept of God’s will. They
may disdain being referred to as communists or fascists, but their methods of
achieving their goals are often the same as those who gave us the terrors of
the last century.
When the love of
God ceases to be the foundation of our actions, we are doing the work of the
devil. That is what happened on 9-11.
That was the devil’s work, not God’s work. This is what happens when
skin heads attack gays. That is the devil’s work, not God’s work. This is what
happens when anti abortion extremists attack doctors and even girls outside of
an abortion clinic. That is the devil’s work, not God’s work. That is what
happens when the so-called intellectual elite destroy the rights of those who
do not see the world as they see it. These people know they are not doing God’s
work because they are too arrogant to have a need for God. What they don’t know
is that the devil is using their intelligence into a tool for attacking the
People of God. Any time and any place
that people use their own self-righteousness to destroy others, they are doing
the work of the devil. This includes the workplace, the neighborhood and the
school.
Why do we allow
ourselves to be caught up in the complications of modern society? Life is not that difficult! All we need to do
is seek the Lord where He may be found, act with love, and allow God to work
through us for others.
We are called to
be sentinels, watchmen for the Lord. We need to point out where God is found
and where He is not found, whether that be to those who have no need for God in
their lives, or those who use their perception of the law of God as an excuse
for their justifying hatred.
The devil is
wily. He knows how to twist good intentions into evil actions. We are often not
aware of our participating in evil. Like the crows in the field, sometimes we
are too close to a situation to realize where evil is hiding. Often people who are removed from the
immediate action can see evil from the distance. That is why we need wise
people to guide us. That is why we need to be sentinels for each other. We need
each other to be sure that our actions reveal Christ’s love ■
[1] 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)
September 7, 2014. Readings: Ezekiel 33:7-9; Responsorial Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7,
8-9; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20.
