The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, September 7th: Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20)

WATCHMEN HAVE DUTY TO SOUND ALARM

In this week’s first reading, the Lord charged the prophet Ezekiel with a solemn duty, that of being the watchman for the house of Israel. God told him, “When you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.”

God went on to tell Ezekiel that if he did not proclaim a warning to the people when their actions were wicked, the people would die as punishment and Ezekiel would be held responsible. However, if he did issue the warning and the people ignored him, then they still would be punished but Ezekiel would not be held liable.

The desired result, of course, was for the people to heed Ezekiel’s warning and turn from their sinful ways in repentance so they could be spared.

Back in those ancient times, the community watchman had a very important job. He was often perched on top of the city’s protective walls, and he would blow a trumpet to warn the people of an approaching army. If the people ignored the warning and died as a result, they were responsible for their own deaths. But if the watchman failed to sound the alarm and the city was attacked by surprise, then the watchman was responsible for anyone who died.

God was telling Ezekiel that sin and wickedness were just as dangerous as a hostile army attacking the city. And as God’s chosen prophet, Ezekiel had a duty to warn the people of their inevitable fate if they continued to ignore and disobey God.

In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus explained to His disciples how to deal with a fellow believer who has sinned. First, the person should be confronted one-on-one, to see if the matter can be resolved privately. If he does not listen, the next step is to take two or three other witnesses along so that “every fact may be established.” If the person still won’t listen, the entire church congregation should be informed. Finally, if the person refuses to listen even to the church, Jesus commanded, “Treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.”

In other words, treat him as an unbeliever and kick him out of the congregation until he repents.

The theme in this week’s readings is our responsibility as believers to warn others. Oh man, just what we need nowadays, a command from the Lord to criticize others when they behave sinfully.

This message is sure to go over like a lead balloon in our current “personal responsibility is out—I have a right to do whatever I want” society. If believers actually follow the instructions given this week, just think how many people are rip-roaring ready to reply: “Don’t impose your intolerant values on me!” “You have no right to tell me what to do!” and “Stop shoving religion down my throat!!”

Well, Jesus never told us that being His disciples would be easy. But we must remember that these instructions tell how to deal with fellow believers. In Ezekiel’s case, the people in question were the Israelites, God’s Chosen People. In Jesus’ case, He was referring to people who had already put their faith in Him.

When Jesus said to treat the unrepentant sinner as a Gentile or tax-collector, He was referring to the two classes of people that were not welcomed in the synagogues of His day: the unbelievers and those who flaunt their sinfulness. In today’s culture, Jesus probably would tell us to treat an unrepentant sinner as an Atheist or a Hollywood celebrity. (I know, that’s redundant.)

The instructions given this week for dealing with sinners apply to people who have: 1) acknowledged that God is real and all-powerful, and, 2) accepted that His laws and decrees are the best way for us to live our lives. Jesus’ instructions are meant for people who are believers, but who are acting AS IF they were unbelievers.

For those people who truly are unbelievers, or who think God’s commands are merely suggestions (seemingly a majority of the American public), we need to be a lot more gentle and act a lot less like finger-wagging, busy-body church nannies. After all, how can you effectively tell atheists or Hollywood celebrities that they are violating God’s laws when they truly think God’s “so-called” laws are really just some ancient and irrelevant man-made traditions?

Witnessing to unbelievers is a whole different subject. This week we’re talking about admonishing true believers who have strayed away from God.

Before we do any admonishing, however, we must understand the motivation for doing such things. As St. Paul wrote in this week’s second reading, the commandments of God are summed up in one simple idea: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

There is nothing more loving and compassionate than to try and stop someone from ruining his life. It is only when we don’t care about someone do we shrug our shoulders and let them wallow in their sin. We have to be pretty cold and callous to watch people hurt themselves, not to mention their families and friends, and dismiss it with a casual, “Who am I to judge? If that’s what they feel is right, then it’s right for them.” How many responsible parents would let their kids drink Drano just because the kid sincerely believes it’s Mountain Dew? (Actually, how many responsible parents would let their kids drink Mountain Dew, which has so much caffeine it’s like Crack Lite.)

All believers have a duty to proclaim the word of God, not for the sake of getting others to think like we do—as if we get a commission on each sale—but out of love for them. God created them, God loves them, and we must love them, too. If we honestly believe that a vibrant relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the source of true happiness in this world and eternal life in the next world, we must say so—boldly, confidently, and urgently, just like a watchman on top of the city walls.

Our job is to present the glorious Good News of the Gospel as best we can. When our fellow believers drift away from the Good News, we have to gently (and sometimes not so gently) point it out to them. As God told Ezekiel, what they do with it at that point is their responsibility. We must not be watchmen who are too timid to make a peep.

©2008