14th August >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Wednesday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Matthew 18:15-20) ‘Where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them’. (2024)

14th August >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Wednesday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Matthew 18:15-20) ‘Where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them’.

Wednesday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except USA)Matthew 18:15-20If your brother listens to you, you have won back your brother.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.‘I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.‘I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’

Gospel (USA)Matthew 18:15-20If your brother listens to you, you have won him over.

Jesus said to his disciples: “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.”

Reflections (7)

(i) Wednesday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

We can all take a wrong turning in our lives. We say or do something that hurts another person. It can be helpful at such times if someone, preferably someone we know and trust, gently points out to us where we have gone wrong. It takes courage to bring a wrong to someone’s attention and it takes humility to recognize that what the person is trying to show us is correct. In the gospel reading Jesus says that we sometimes have to bring a wrong that someone has done to their attention. He clearly saw this as one expression of the responsibility we have for one another. We are to help one another towards virtue. We are to support one another in our efforts to do God’s will. However, what Jesus says here has to be seen in the light of something he said elsewhere in the gospels. He tells us not to be trying to take the speck out of our brother’s and sister’s eye when we have a plank in our own eye. In other words, we are to be far more aware of our own failings than the failings of others. If we try to bring some wrong to someone’s attention, we do so out of a very deep sense of our own moral weaknesses. We are all sinners trying to help one another on the path towards the Lord. Jesus also states in today’s gospel reading that our journeying together, our efforts to help one another towards virtue, has to be rooted in prayer. ‘Where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them’. In prayer we open ourselves up the Holy Spirit, and it is only in the Spirit of the Lord that we can really support one another in our efforts to live as true disciples of the Lord.

And/Or

(ii) Wednesday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

In the time of Jesus, various Jewish rabbis claimed that, when two pious Jews sat together to discuss the words of the Jewish law, the divine presence was with them. In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus is presented as making a related but different claim. He declares that where two or three are gathered in his name, he himself is there in their midst. Jesus, in Matthew’s gospel, is Emmanuel, God-with-us. He himself is the divine presence among us. When his followers gather in his name, on account of him, he is with them as Emmanuel, God-with-us. Only two followers are necessary to ensure the presence of Emmanuel. When we gather in the Lord’s name to prayer, whether it is the prayer of the Eucharist or some other form of prayer, the Lord is there. We don’t have to enter into the Lord’s presence on such occasions, we are already in it. We only have to become aware of the one who is present among us. That is why attentiveness, awareness, is always at the heart of prayer, especially communal prayer.

And/Or

(iii) Wednesday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Jewish rabbis claimed that when two pious Jews sat together to discuss the words of the Jewish Law, the divine presence was with them. In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus declares that where two or three of his followers meet in his name, he shall be there with them. The meeting in his name that Jesus refers to is a meeting for worship, for prayer. As a church we gather not around the words of the Jewish Law but around the words of Jesus, and when we do that Jesus will be among us, and he will be among us as Emmanuel, God-with-us. The first reading portrayed the ‘glory of the Lord’, the presence of God leaving the Jewish temple; the gospel reading speaks of the presence of God, the presence of Jesus, God-with-us, among the disciples of Jesus. For the Lord to be with us whenever we gather to worship is a great privilege, a great grace. Yet, we are called to live in a way that is worthy of such a grace. The Lord who is present among us when we gather for prayer calls on us to reveal his presence to others when we rise from prayer and go about our daily tasks.

And/Or

(iv) Wednesday, Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time

The last verse of this morning’s gospel reading is one that has spoken to believers down through the generations, ‘For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them’. The saying highlights the value of believers coming together in the Lord’s name, whether for liturgical worship, other forms of prayer or some form of communal activity. No number is too small; any more than one will do. Even when two people gather in the Lord’s name, he is there in the midst of them. There is a real value in coming together in faith, even if it is only two people, because in doing so we create a space, as it were, for the Lord to be present. This saying of Jesus is one that gives tremendous value to all our gatherings, especially our gatherings for prayer, no matter how small those gatherings are. We can easily get preoccupied with numbers in the church. We bemoan the fact that fewer people are coming to Mass or to gatherings of faith whether for prayer or for other purposes. Yet, if even a minimum of two people ensures the presence of the risen Lord between them, then there is something there to truly celebrate rather than bemoan. Whenever the Lord is present in our midst, he is not there in a passive way. His presence is always an active, life-giving, transforming presence. There is a great deal going on when even two gather in the Lord’s name. There is so much more happening than just the physical coming together of people. The Lord is at work in their midst. We need never underestimate the value of our gatherings or their power to transform, no matter how small they are.

And/Or

(v) Wednesday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

We can often be impressed by numbers, and that is true even within the context of the church. We look to see how many are coming to Mass or how many are signing up to this event or to that ministry. Jesus’ way of looking at things is somewhat different to ours. Numbers did not seem to be an issue for him. He understood the value of the one; he spoke of the shepherd who left the ninety nine sheep to go in the search of the one who was lost. In this morning’s gospel reading he declares that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is there in the midst of them. The smallest gathering in a tiny church is just as significant as the huge congregation in one of the great Cathedrals or Basilicas of the world. In these days of declining numbers within the church, the gospel teaches us to appreciate the significance of those present, regardless of how few, rather than allowing ourselves to become too discouraged by those who are not present. The Lord is present where two or three are gathered in his name, and if we are open and responsive to the Lord’s presence among us, few though we may be, he will draw others to himself through us.

And/Or

(vi) Wednesday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus’ message in today’s gospel reading takes it for granted that within the community of his disciples, people will invariably take a wrong path. He was very aware that the church he was forming would not be a community of the perfect. It would always be a community of sinners who are striving to be better. As a result, Jesus suggests a procedure for helping others who do wrong to come back to the right path again. The one to whom the wrong is done is to have it out with the person responsible for the wrong. If that doesn’t work, one or two others are to be brought along to address the person in the wrong. If that doesn’t work, the whole community of believers is to get involved. Jesus’ suggested procedure may not be valid in every situation for every age. Yet, the underlying principle holds true. Jesus is declaring that we have some responsibility for each other’s well-being, not just physical well-being but moral well-being. He looks to us to help each other towards goodness. We have a role to play in helping one another to be more loving in the way Jesus was loving. It is not that some of us are the moral superiors of others. We are all sinners and we each need other members of the believing community to help us on our way towards God. Being human, being Christ-like, being loving, is a complicated business and we all make mistakes in the process of learning to do it right, and we need to find a way of standing together in that process. When we stand together in this vital work of helping each other become all that God wants us to be, Jesus promises us in today’s gospel reading that he will be with us. We are not on our own. ‘Where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them’.

And/Or

(vii) Wednesday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

The last line of today’s gospel reading, in particular, has spoken to believers down the centuries. Jesus says, ‘For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them’. Even when we are on our own, we know that the Lord is with us and within us. When older people were isolating early in the pandemic, they were never away from the Lord. He doesn’t do social distancing. Yet, Jesus clearly saw a special value in people of faith meeting together in his name. The Lord’s way of being present to us when we gather in his name is different to his presence to us on our own, having its own distinctive quality. Believers have always felt the need to gather; it is as if the Lord is drawing us together. We are members of his family of faith; in the gospels he refers to his disciples as his brothers, sisters, mother. It is natural for family to gather together, and that is just as true of the family of faith. What Jesus says in the gospel reading suggests that the numbers who gather isn’t so important. He seems to set the bar very low when he speaks of two or three gathering in his name. Yet, he clearly sees a great value in such a small gathering. We tend to be big into numbers. If a gathering falls below a certain number, we can be tempted to think it isn’t worth continuing with it. Yet, Jesus values any gathering in his name, even the minimal gathering of two or three. It is worth holding on to that truth, especially in these times when we can be preoccupied with the fall in the numbers coming to Mass. A gathering of two or three matters to the Lord and it doesn’t have to be for Mass. Any gathering of people in the Lord’s name, because they belong to him, mediates the Lord’s presence.

Fr. Martin Hogan.