23rd Sunday in the Ordinary Time, September 6, 2020 (Ezekiel 33:7-9, Psalm 94:1-2, 6-9, Romans 13:8-10, Matthew 18:15-20) Theme: The debt and Law of Mutual Love. Before concluding his letter to the Romans, Paul directs the last exhortation. Last Sunday, he urged Christians “to offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” Today, Paul admonishes Christians not to owe anyone anything, except the debt of Love. By this call, Paul reminds us, through the Roman Christian community, that Charity is a debt from which no one is ever free. All Christians have a duty of Love to one another. Love and charity are the keystones of all commandments. Christ’s whole life is motivated by Love, and by that life of Love, he fulfilled the law. This Love becomes the norm of Christian conduct because anyone who loves another has fulfilled the law. As Christ is the end of the law for the justification of everyone who has faith (Rom. 10: 4), we need to love others as Christ loves us (Jn. 13: 34). The Love of Christ impels us (2 Cor. 5: 14). This Love supports us and sends us to our brothers and sisters. When we love our brothers and sisters, we are imitating Christ, who loves us without measures. The depth of Christian Love extends to the way we confront and correct our brothers and sisters who have erred. In the first reading, God appoints the prophet Ezekiel as a sentinel who watches over the People of God to warn them about the coming of the enemy. As well, the prophet is to warn and alert the sinners concerning the consequences of their negative acts, behaviors, and attitudes. The greatest enemy that poses a threat to our spiritual life and faith in God is sin. Sin imprisons the soul in total abandonment to God. God’s call to Ezekiel applies to us Christians. We have a moral obligation to correct grave wrongdoing, whether in the family (by kind advice), the workplace, or society (by whistleblowing). It is part of our norm of Christian conduct to offer correction with Love and respect. The old dictum, “hate the sin but love the sinner,” is a good guideline in many situations, as is St Paul’s principle: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” This is the essence of fraternal correction in a Christian family, as Jesus notes in the Gospel. When we look around us, some brothers and sisters are not behaving well. Many have caused us to fall short of God’s glory. What can we do about them? Indeed, we need to have a sense of individual responsibility in the way of conversion. Charitable correction and the spiritual welfare of others must be a priority in all we do with others. This demands that we exert ourselves to bring back onto the right path whoever has wandered off from the Christian community because of sin. Given that fraternal correction emanates from true charity and communion, prayer becomes an essential part of Christian life. Through prayer, we safeguard true communion, intercede for sinful brothers and sisters to conversion and reconciliation, and strengthen the bond of charity among us. Let us not forget that whatever we do as Christians to safeguard our bond of charity as brothers and sisters of Jesus as well as sons and daughters of God is assured the help and approval of God. May God gives us the courage, conviction, compassion, care, and Love to act in a Christian fashion and bring back the sinful brothers and sisters to the Christian family. Happy Sunday to everyone. God Bless You, Fr. Deniskingsley