Walking with Jesus: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time A

For Sunday, September 6, 2026

Ezekiel 33:7-9, Romans 13:8-10, Matthew 18:15-20


I love Peanuts, my favorite comic strip. It’s so entertaining, instructive, and often holds a great Christian message. It’s amazing that, even though no adults ever appear in the strip, it really is viewed as a comic strip for adults. One memorable episode concerns Linus and his sister Lucy. Linus has just told her that he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. “You, a doctor? Ha, that’s a big laugh!” exclaims his loudmouthed sister. “You could never be a doctor! You know why?” As always, she answers her own question: “Because you don’t love mankind, that’s why.” She skips merrily away. In the last frame Linus yells back, “I do love mankind — it’s people I can’t stand!”

Paul’s short passage bears repeating: “Brothers and sisters: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ... Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.” [Romans 13:8, 10]

Last week we learned that each person encounters crosses that come up in their lives. How do we live with them? Do we recognize that Jesus suffered willingly to be an example of love to each of us? What’s the lesson? Accountability. It isn’t easy to call people to an accounting of their living, but the ultimate moral demand is: How do I best show love in this moment of my life? This is what disciples are called to do. It’s hard as a parent, teacher, leader, pastor. It’s not easy to take direction kindly; this is a heavy but necessary cross to bear. It requires saying I’m sorry for my non-loving words and actions ... I apologize for my bitterness and resentments. As disciples we must be agents of reconciliation to others and, especially, do our part in repairing the rifts in our own lives. As St. Thérèse of Lisieux, called The Little Flower, wrote: “I am called to be love.” Have I done that today? Why not? Jesus did — good point! Am I listening, or am I non-responsive?

The readings today spotlight the issue of sin in the community and how to address it. Sin entraps us so much: It doesn’t just stay with one sin but continues its self-destructive way. Ezekiel witnesses firsthand the effects of sin in a world tangled by wars and exiles among the many consequences of sin on a national level. We just don’t recognize the spread of sin so thoroughly in our own world and history. But that’s what it is: Name it, claim it. Ezekiel takes the love of God very seriously. Do we? Or do we justify sin’s destructive effects with “legitimatizing excuses?” Am I faithful in being God’s disciple of love?

At the heart of both Jewish and Christian faiths is a vision — a way of thinking that values all and a way of living that embraces what the real meaning of life is: loving, as Jesus taught and showed. Paul echoes the Old Testament: “Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore you shall love the Lord your God, with your whole heart and with your whole being and with your whole strength.” [Deuteronomy 6:5] “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” [Leviticus 19:18] This is the entire meaning and purpose set forth in the Ten Commandments: Jesus’ command of loving God, self, neighbor. Paul consistently argues that keeping the Commandments is not a requisite for faith but that faith is a requisite for keeping the Law. How? By loving … total self-giving. Love takes all sorts of different forms depending on the circumstances. Love means being faithful to our commitments as well as respecting others’ commitments. Love holds life in the highest regard. It overcomes anger and revenge — so when one truly loves another, one desires only what is good for that loved one. Am I living love in this way?

Matthew addresses the procedure to be followed when dealing with an erring member of the community. Reconciliation within the community is such a pressing concern that its maintenance is essential — love cannot allow another way. The process involves three steps: The one who has been erred against goes privately to the erring one in an attempt to resolve the situation. Such resolution is a form of love. If that first step doesn’t work, community members join in, making the hurt, injury or injustice known. If reconciliation still is not reached, the third step is to present the matter to the entire church assembly. Here lies the importance of community: If the errant person doesn’t respond, he faces separation from the community. Matthew offers a challenging bit of advice: Disciples of Jesus must be engaged in this difficult process of effecting reconciliation. Why? As we well know, differences of opinion, misunderstandings and actual offenses stand to alienate people. This comes about in families, neighborhoods, parish communities — even governments and political parties. Where is love? Is it hiding or am I not aware of it? Why not? Isn’t love what life is about? Heaven is all about love!

So I reflect on:

• Psalm 95 reads, “Oh, that today you would hear His voice … do not harden your hearts.” How do I know I’m hearing God’s voice?
• How often do I relish gossip instead of a face-to-face conversation with love?

Sacred Space 2026 states:

“Parish choirs are great places for temperament to rise to the surface. Jesus had a lovely, practical touch when He encountered some of the same. He gave us a sacrament of reconciliation which provides grace as well as space for harmony to survive within assemblies. Being brave enough to attempt or suggest reconciliation may be one way forward, but even better may be the ability to be sensitive to the failings of others, knowing that we have quite a few of our own.”