Jesus' Teaching on Fraternal Correction

Today's Reflections

                                          

 

Jesus' Teaching on Fraternal Correction

Mt 18:15-20

[Jesus said to his disciples,] ¹⁵“If your brother sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. ¹⁶If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. ¹⁸Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹Again, [amen,] I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

DEALING WITH AN ERRING BROTHER OR SISTER. Chapter 18 of Matthew is often called the Community Discourse. Here the evangelist gathers Jesus’ teaching on how the disciples or the believing community must deal with one another to show that they are Jesus’ followers. One thing is certain: they are not a perfect community. There are members who sin against others. And so the question: How should the community deal with an erring brother or sister?

In the Gospel, Jesus advises three steps to achieve reconciliation and to avoid fatal consequences that may arise when an offense is committed.

The first is confrontation in private. If a person feels dishonored or offended, he is to confront the sinner in private (“between you and him alone”) to avoid placing the alleged offense in the public arena. If the perception of dishonor has been cleared (not willfully intended, or accepted with the petition for forgiveness), the conflict has been successfully defused.

The second is negotiation with two or three witnesses. The conflict has become semiprivate and legal with the calling of witnesses (cf Dt 17:1-7). The witnesses have a serious role to play and should never bear false witness (cf Dt 19:15-21). It is hoped that the witnesses-negotiators succeed where private efforts have failed. Honor must be repaid and restored to avoid going to the third stage.

The third, and last, resort is adjudication. The event has become public, and it now involves not just the honor of the individual but also the good of the community. The community acts as the final arbiter. If the offender disregards the community’s judgment, he is thrown out of the community and no longer treated as a part of God’s people. He is designated as an “outsider,” considered as “a Gentile or a tax collector.” And in a culture where life depends on the support networks of family and community, to be excommunicated and lumped with “the enemies” is the ultimate tragedy.