WHEN FAITH MAKES ME MY BROTHER’S KEEPER.
September 10, 2023.
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – A.
A Latin proverb says: “Be not unmindful of obligations
conferred.” And an Indian proverb adds: “Every man is the guardian of his own
honor.”
"I'm not my brother's keeper." Certainly, you are.
Not only are you your brother’s keeper, but you also have a great
responsibility toward him and will be made accountable for his fall.
There is a beautiful Filipino hymn that says: "Walang
sinuman ang nabubuhay para sa sarili lamang. Walang sinuman and namamatay para
sa sarili lamang. Tayong lahat ay may pananagutan sa isa't isa. Tayong lahat ay
tinipon ng Diyos na kapiling niya." Transliterated it gives: "No one
lives for himself alone. No one dies for himself. We are all responsible for
each other. We are all gathered by God to be with him."
The same hymn even amplifies that in our love and service to
anyone, we bring news of salvation. Therefore, we are all responsible for each
other... So, we speak of common and community responsibility in life, in sin,
and the death of each other. Thus, the moral principle that states of social
and community responsibility. Social responsibility is an ethical framework in
which a person works and cooperates with other people and organizations for the
benefit of the community. In that line of thinking, everyone is made
accountable for others in good as well as in evil. Your brother's life, your
obligation. The first murder in the history of humanity was from the rejection
of that social and communal responsibility. When Cain, out of jealousy murdered
his brother Abel, the Lord asked him where was his brother. The answer of Cain
was: “I know not; am I my brother's keeper?” Gn 4:9.
When man refuses his obligations and responsibilities toward
his brother and each other, and even toward nature, the human world, and all
the creation goes worse. The greatest and grievous sin of our society today is
not so much the death penalty, or the extra-judicial killing, or the murders,
or abortion, or the so many forms of abuse, but the indifference. The fact of
living without any concern for others. That, actually, is the greatest plague
of our societies, and it is sadly coupled with individualism. People think only
about themselves and their personal interests. They live surrendered only with
the “I, Me, and Myself”. The fate of others is left to God and his Providence.
It goes even to the point of refusing to admonish sinners and to invite them to
conversion.
The Lord, through the Prophet Ezekiel, warns us of our
responsibility toward sinners. "If you do not speak out to dissuade the
wicked from his way, I will hold you responsible for his death." It is a
great act of fraternal correction to tell others about their sin. And fraternal
correction is the application of love. For, we cannot pretend to love others if
we are not able to tell them the truth and especially admonish them when they
are wrong.
In the Gospel, the Lord Jesus teaches us how we should
proceed with fraternal correction, which St. Luigi Orione called an act of
brotherly charity. The Lord draws three beautiful steps of brotherly charity.
First, a one-to-one action. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him
his fault between you and him alone." It is a work between you and him. If
that does not work, then we can proceed to the second: "Take one or two
others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of
two or three witnesses..." The second step is a collaboration with others,
but not gossip. It is not about speaking to others about your brother. But
asking others to help you speak to your brother. And finally, if that also
seems unfruitful, "If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church."
The final recourse is because one’s fault or sin could become a communal or
community sin. But then, if there is no willingness from the sinner to do away
with his fault, he is expelled from the community. The Lord says: "Then
treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector," that is, like an
unrepentant sinner. But before reaching this point, we shall care for the
dignity and integrity of the person, even though a sinner.
Today, regrettably, these prescribed steps of brotherly
charity have become a utopia. We like talking about the sin of others than to
talk to others about their sin. We gossip freely about others. We destroy their
dignity, and sometimes, even wrongfully, through fake news and falsehood.
Instead of talking to others and inviting them to repentance
as the Lord God recommended to Ezekiel, we talk about others behind their backs
and often against them. This warning must sound in our hearings: "If I
tell the wicked, “O wicked one, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak out
to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I
will hold you responsible for his death." We are the guardians of our
brothers and sisters on their way to salvation. If we do not help them to be
saved, we will be accountable for their damnation.
Fraternal correction, we said, quoting St. Luigi Orione, is
an act of love. That is why he prefers to call it brotherly charity. As such,
it should always be dictated and guided by love. For, where there is love, we
take facts and cause for others. Love is not indifferent. Love is not jealous.
It does not envie. Nor does it gossip about others. Therefore, St. Paul can
exclaim: "Love is the fulfillment of the law." For, he who loves
complies with all the commandments of God. He shows his love for God by raising
his primacy above all. He shows his love for others by caring for them and
their belongings. Finally, he shows his love through concern and care for
nature and all the created.
Comments
Post a Comment