LOOK

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September 10, 2017
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

First reading (Ezekiel 33:7-9)
Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 95:1-9)
Second reading (Romans 13:8-10)
Gospel (Matthew 18:15-20)


There are three moments in LOOKING at our neighbor which are: LOOKING FOR, LOOKING AT and LOOKING AFTER


The first moment, LOOKING FOR, means recognizing our neighbor as brothers and sisters. In our first reading (from the book of the prophet Ezekiel), we hear of who the prophet Ezekiel is to be: a watcher, a keeper; and who the House of Israel is to be: the watched, the kept, the cared for. Today, have we understood who we have to be to our neighbor? Have we realized who our neighbor is to us? We are all called by the Lord to be keepers of our neighbors, and our neighbors to be brothers and sisters. Who are our brothers and sisters? Let us LOOK FOR them 

in our neighbors.

The next moment is LOOKING AT. Looking at means examining what situation our brothers and sisters are in and what they need that they may be guided in the life of Christ. We may find in our second reading (from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans), St. Paul speaks of the one thing that our brothers and sisters need and the only thing that we owe our brothers, and that is LOVE. If we do not KILL our brothers and sisters; if we do not STEAL from our brothers and sisters; if we do not ENVY or SPEAK ILL of our brothers and sisters, but we do not love them, then what in the world are we even doing? Doing nothing good is almost equal to or even worse than doing wrong. Doing nothing for them means we do not consider them as our brothers and sisters. We do not even consider them as our neighbors. How many victims of bullying, corruption and abuse have we approached, consoled, remembered? We know many victims, but many of us do very little to help. What do our brothers and sisters need? Let us LOOK AT their situation, and we will see that it is LOVE.

Then we are led to the next moment: LOOKING AFTER. Looking after is doing something after we have looked for and looked at our brothers and sisters. In our gospel reading according to St. Matthew, we hear of Jesus teaching His disciples how to love their neighbors, their brothers and sisters: by being in communion with them. When they have committed wrong against us, we talk to them and discuss things in private, to avoid shaming in public. We win our brothers and sisters over. And that, my brothers and sisters, is a manifestation of love, when brothers and sisters come together and look after one another. For where we are gathered in love an living in communion, there God is also, because God is love.

Let us learn from these three moments of LOOKING: LOOKING FOR our brothers and sisters, LOOKING AT their situation and needs; and LOOKING AFTER them as they would look after us, as in communion.

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