“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Reflections on this Gospel Reading:
1. When someone hurts our feelings, we often tell friends and family and other people... forgetting that the person we need to address is the person who hurt us. Telling everyone else makes the problem bigger. It takes courage to speak to the person who hurt us, but is more peaceful.
2. It's more honorable to address the person who hurt us.
3. Not discussing the problem with the person who hurt us often leads us to hold a grudge. Holding a grudge causes more problems, and sometimes leads to acting passive aggressively.
4. Our mind can sometimes be our own worst enemy. We need other people to talk things over with. Community is sometimes the best thing for us.
