Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time, August 13, 2025

Gospel

Matthew 18:15-20

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."

Reflection

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

How many times have you heard this reading? It sounds really good, Jesus has given us a good method to help us resolve conflict with our christian brothers and sisters. That is the condition of this method, that the person we are trying to reconcile with is a christian brother or sister, right? Because it says if he refuses to listen first to me, then to one or two others, then we tell the Church. Who is the Church in this reading?

The people Jesus is addressing here are His disciples. Those people closest to Him. The people that want to follow Him. Those people who gather together and pray. Even though His disciples wanted to follow Jesus, they were also sinners. They must have had problems with their fellow brothers. It is human nature to want to condemn someone for doing something against you, however, Jesus is reminding his disciples that there is a responsibility that comes along with being a part of community. Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Are you a part of a Christian community?

Jesus knows our human weaknesses and wants us to work out our problems. Together, through prayer we can do so much more, because Jesus promises to be with us, where two or three are gathered in His Name.