A Tip For Our Peace And Happiness (Twenty-Third Sunday In Ordinary Time)

A Tip for Our Peace and Happiness (Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Matthew 18:15-20,

Ezekiel 33:7-9,

Romans 13:8-10.

Reflection

Dear sisters and brothers,

This Sunday, we have a meaningful text from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 18:15-20):

“If your brother sins [against you],

go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.

If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.

If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you,

so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.

If he refuses to listen even to the church,

then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.

Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Again, [amen,] I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name,

there am I in the midst of them.”

Once, I was invited by a Christian Business Group to give a Christmas Message.  

After I was introduced I started my talk with a question: ‘what do you want in your life?’

Immediately, I continued…

You have a family.

You have a house to stay.

You have variety of food items whenever you want to eat.

You have different stylish clothes to wear.

You have a security of life.

You can survive without much difficulties.

You can go to the best hospitals when you are sick.

Your children study in international schools.

You lack nothing in your life.

Now, you take a moment and give me an answer to my question: ‘what do you want in your life at present keeping in mind all those luxuries that you enjoy?’

There was a total silence in the air-conditioned hall.

No one answered me.

I asked the same question again saying you can say anything that you want.

It might be impossible to say what you want but you can express.

After a meaningful silence, all of them, together, in one voice, answered: ‘we want to be happy in our lives.’

It came as a shock for me.

They were all well to do businessmen and businesswomen.

In spite of all the material wealth they had, they all wanted to be happy, an emotional wealth, that gives peace of mind in their lives.

Dear sisters and brothers,

We have a shelter.

We have food.

We have clothing.

We have a house.

But…

We are not happy.

Why?

Because, the material things cannot make us happy in our lives.

Only, the inner peace and contentment, can give us true happiness.

How do we attain that inner peace?

How do we have happiness?

In spite of Covid-19, the pandemic, we have a reason to be peaceful and happy in our lives and i am going to give a tip for our peace and happiness.

Today, Jesus speaks about it in two themes.  

They are:

1. Reconciliation, and

2. Prayer.

Reconciliation and prayer are interlinked.

Reconciliation and prayer are interwoven.

Reconciliation and prayer are together.

We cannot separate them.

One cannot exist without the other.

Now, let us reflect on how they are interlinked and interwoven.

1. Reconciliation:

What is the meaning of ‘reconciliation’?

Reconciliation is reunion.

Reconciliation is reuniting.

Reconciliation is bringing together.

Reconciliation is not alienation.

What do we bring together?  

What do we reunite?

What is reunion?

The beauty of these questions, is that it addresses about the final creation of God: ‘the Human’.

Yes,

Dear sisters and brothers,

We bring one another together in reconciliation.

We reunite with the other through reconciliation.

We have reunion in true reconciliation.

We can save our lives when we become a messenger of God’s reconciliation in the world.

We can save our lives by bringing one another together, by reuniting with the other, and by reunion with the nature as we hear (Ezekiel 33:7-9):

“You, son of man—I have appointed you

as a sentinel for the house of Israel;

when you hear a word from my mouth,

you must warn them for me.

When I say to the wicked,

“You wicked, you must die,”

and you do not speak up