Dear Friends in Christ,
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.” These words that we hear in today’s gospel may present one of Jesus’ greatest challenges for most of us. The thought of actually finding a time to go and sit down with someone and tell them why we are upset with them can be an intimidating proposition for many reasons. We may fear that we’ll lose our temper, we may be uncertain as to how the other person will react, we may think that bringing up something difficult will not do any good, and on and on.
From merely the human perspective, we’d like to have a good way of dealing with problems like this, since they happen all the time. Holding the anger inside of us only tends to make us feel worse, while giving in to simply talking about the problem with everybody else (gossiping) has its own problems. In the spiritual order of things, Jesus makes such a big deal out of this point not only because he wants to help us find a better way to make it through life’s problems (which he does), but also because unresolved conflicts create obstacles to kind of unity Jesus desires for his Church.
“I pray…that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you” (Jn 17:20-21). These words of Jesus to his apostles before he goes to the Cross tell us, in fact, that the unity of the Church was something he very much thought was worth dying for. As a parish community, we are called to live unity in faith, hope, charity. This is far more than merely agreeing on the same policies and procedures. The kind of unity that Jesus asks is one that becomes a great sign to all people of how the love of God has gathered us together and has changed us. If we are to be one, then we must be willing to reconcile the offenses between us.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Thomas J. Byrne