St. Mary's Catholic Church of Tomahawk, WI

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

We are in the twenty third ordinary Sunday of year A. The first reading is from the first oracle of prophet Ezekiel, which consists of a doom prophecy and evokes the image of the watchman. The substance of the oracle is that God judges on the basis of the people’s present disposition, without regard for their past good or evil. Hence the prophet consoles by declaring that people who repent need not worry about their past deeds, hence to turn from their evil ways and return to the Lord.

In the second reading we hear Paul’s attention on moral issues about Jewish law and Christian interactions with civil authorities. In response to both issues, Paul recommends love. His reflection calls for an extremely sophisticated and mature level of love. He aligns love with sincerity and goodness and contrasts it with evil. God’s saving love is so great and immense that we can never repay. The one thing that those in Christ owe to everyone is to love one another as Christ loves us.

In the Gospel St. Matthew addresses the enduring Christian struggle with communal tensions by drawing on his Jewish heritage. It is regarding the correction of a member who sins. It addresses the resolution of communal tension. It contains three parts, reconciliation, competence of the community and the presence of the Lord in their midst. The overall context for all three parts is juridical. How responsible are we in helping our brothers and sisters in our community in correcting themselves.

  Fr. Aloysius Royan Anthony