Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time (September 10, 2018): Protecting ourselves from poison

In today’s first reading, St. Paul addresses the problem of unrepented immorality. A sinful behavior that we fail to overcome is like an infectious disease: It spreads. This is why Paul is shockingly harsh when he pronounces judgment on the church member who is sinning. He calls for ex-communication! But isn’t this contrary to Christ’s warning that it’s sinful to be judgmental?

Paul was concerned about how the sinner’s behavior was infecting others. To understand this, though, we need to first be aware of the definition of “sinner.” Those who are not living as followers of Christ are sinners, and those who unite themselves to Christ are saints (i.e., sanctified although still unperfected and capable of sinning).

Paul began his letter to the church at Corinth: “To you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy …” The saints at Corinth had adopted the attitude of “I’m safe, because I’m with Jesus; I’m not like that other guy, who’s a sinner.”

Do we put up with the sins of others because we believe that it’s not going to infect us? We think: Their sins are between them and God; it’s not for us to judge them or speak up and tell them how to live.

Poison kills best in tiny doses. Initially, the victim doesn’t notice that anything’s wrong. When repeated doses cause stomach cramps, the victim merely thinks he has the flu. By the time he realizes that his life is in danger, it’s too late. If we’re not grieving the immorality we witness and if we’re not offering God’s antidote, we’re contributing to the spread of evil. A small problem in a parish, for example, that seemingly affects only a few, is really arsenic that’s poisoning all the members of the Body of Christ. Only God knows how many have left the Church or chose not to get involved in a parish ministry or turned away from a religious vocation because of one person’s bad example.

In today’s Gospel reading, the Pharisees have an opportunity to be inoculated with the antidote of goodness and compassion, but they reject it. They’ve been poisoned for so long that they can’t recognize love when it’s right in front of them. Do you know anyone like this? We need to care so much about these people that we mourn their sinfulness while at the same time maintaining holy, healthy boundaries to protect ourselves and our families and our parishes from infection.

As it says in the responsorial Psalm, no one who does evil remains with God. Holiness is a boundary that separates saints from sinners. Notice the strong antidote that St. Paul prescribes for the adulterous Corinthian: “Deliver him to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved.” It’s an enforcement of the boundary for the sake of the saints and a final, desperate attempt to alert the sinner that he’s on the wrong side of the boundary. Excommunication might sound evil, but the sinner has already separated himself from the community.

Such people need to reap what they’ve sown so that they can learn from the consequences of their decisions. We’re not supposed to save them from it — Jesus is the Savior, not us. We’re called to use every means to reveal the truth and invite them to become holy, but when that fails to produce repentance, the best way to love them is to let them follow their demons into deeper misery where, we pray, they will finally cry out to God.

Today’s Prayer:

Thank You, Lord, because Your love heals all our wounds. Give me courage to let myself be loved by You and to love my neighbors as You love us, beyond consequences. Amen.

© 2018 by Terry A. Modica