In my old neighborhood most stores and supermarkets had burglar alarms, I presume they still do. More and more homes have installed alarm systems. People can’t afford to pay guards to stand watch over their homes all night or while they are away, so they settle for the electronic type of security. They can even set these alarms from their cell phones while at work or across the country.
In ancient Israel, as harvest time drew near, landlords hired guards to protect their crops against thieves. They would even put up a stone tower for a better viewing over the crops. Cities had walls with sentinels in guard towers to protect the inhabitants from marauders.
Reminiscent of these security measures Ezekiel described his call from God: he is a “watchman for the house of Israel.” The people, along with Ezekiel, were living in exile as slaves. They didn’t have anything worth stealing. Why did they need a “watchmen” in their misery anyway? It certainly couldn’t have been a concern for cash and jewels.
We are at a crucial section in Ezekiel. The exiles received word that Jerusalem has fallen. He had warned people that they would face disaster if they didn’t change. They didn’t. So they were taken off into slavery and now they received the discouraging news that their Temple and city were destroyed. As a result of that devastating news Ezekiel’s message to the people must change. He must address their misery, dismay and loss of hope. If Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed, what would there be left to go back to — if they ever could get back? What was there to hope in?
People have known similar dismay throughout history. Unfortunately, these days cities and homes have been destroyed and peoples displaced in a new kind of exile in the Middle East. The Ebola virus is relentlessly spreading to other countries in Africa. Fear and loss of hope strike closer to home as a neighborhood in Ferguson, Missouri erupts in protest and violence. Still closer, some of us face perennial problems in our families that tax our energies and consume our every available moment. Our own homes can feel like an exile. Along with the ancient sixth century BC Judeans in slavery, we turn an anxious ear to Ezekiel for a word that will strengthen and refresh hope.
Ezekiel is a sentinel in times of danger. Danger doesn’t come just from external circumstances, but also when people’s internal resources are tested. He is assigned by God to warn the wicked to change their ways; but he is also to strengthen the downcast in hope. He is not just a sentinel issuing warning, but a shepherd to lead people on the right path. There is a tone of urgency in the prophet’s message. Those living in a foreign land, far from their homes and the physical center of their faith, were not to forget the covenant God had made with them and their call to persist in following God’s ways.
The prophet’s sobering message is a wake-up call from God and so, a gift of grace veiled in the language of warning. It is up to his listeners to decide how they will live according to God’s ways in a foreign land with no visible signs of hope. Can they trust the word of someone speaking for God? We who hear the prophet today are being appealed to by our God; encouraged to stand firm in faith and live in conformity with God’s rule of life.
Ezekiel, the warning sentinel, had to speak an uncomfortable word to his people. Most of us would rather not do that to those we know. But sometimes that’s the way God can work in their lives — through us, called to be prophets by our baptism. So, like Ezekiel, we may have to be a warning sentinel to those not facing their responsibilities as spouses, children of aging parents, those dependent on drugs or alcohol, those insensitive to the needs of the poor around them, etc.
Concerning these “sensitive conversations” the gospel doesn’t let us off the hook. It clearly places on each of our shoulders the responsibility to work for the unity and well-being of the believing community. It’s focus is towards the sinning members in the community. Obviously there were some, otherwise there would have been no need to reconcile with them. It seems the early church wasn’t any more pure or ideal than the church we live in today. (We do tend to romanticize those “early Christians.”) People committed wrongs and so word would get around among the members. How could these errant members be reconciled with those they have offended? Jesus is not just instructing the few in authority; the responsibility to address wrongs is placed on the whole community.
A three-step process is proposed. It is initiated because the offended party is seeking reconciliation, not revenge or punishment (“If your brother/sister sins against you….”). First, the injured person should appeal to the offender. It starts with a private conversation and manifests the love that should exist among members of the community. If that personal approach doesn’t work the injured party should take one or two other community members to speak with the recalcitrant member. It’s getting to be a bit more formal. Then, if reconciliation still isn’t achieved the entire church community is enlisted to persuade the wayward member to change. If that intervention fails the person is to be treated like an outsider.
Didn’t Jesus welcome outsiders and even eat with them? Is that how the community should behave, following Jesus’ example, while they continue trying to work things out? But it does seem that there are some offenses against individuals, or the whole community, that require expelling a member.
Previously (16:13-20) Peter, as leader of the community, was given the power to bind and loose. Now that power is given to all the members. If any two pray for guidance in the situation described here, their prayer will be heard. It’s a reminder that when the church must reach a decision about the overall welfare of the community, especially how to deal with erring members, we are not to forget to pray together as an expression of our concern for a sister or brother. Praying together is also a reminder of the Lord’s presence our midst, working with us for the building up and the healing of our community.
Some of us bear more responsibility for the well-being of the local and universal church. That’s why the petitions following the homily/creed begin with prayers for our pope, bishops, clergy and lay ministers. These are they who lead us in prayer and ritual, administer our parishes, direct and teach in our religious education programs, visit the sick in our name, etc. In all these areas prayer is needed for the planning that goes into these ministries and for the resolution of conflicts that inevitably arise when even well-intentioned people sit down to plan and address issues that affect the community.
While many of us don’t like conflict and try to ignore it when it occurs, this gospel encourages us to deal with it in a most charitable way. If we don’t it can eat away at relationships and can fragment the community. Who hasn’t experienced that! No one likes the responsibility of trying to resolve conflict, not even those appointed to leadership. Attempting to seek reconciliation will not always be met with kindness — clearly suggested in today’s passage when it directs what to do with those who “refuse to listen even to the church.”
That’s why Jesus recommends prayer to his disciples. We gather and act in Jesus’ name and ask him to help us in our difficult roles, both as church leaders and members of the community, as we continually strive to form a community of believers working together for the common good.