In the midst of the reconciled: the change of course and destiny in the Kingdom

(Mt 18:15-20)

"The verb the evangelist uses for 'they will be reconciled' is synphōnēsōsin: there is a reference to a 'symphony' of hearts" [Pope Benedict, Vespers at the Conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 25 January 2006].

This new malleable energy has a mysterious grip on the heart of reality - which is always stronger than we are; it unfolds the plot and proposes, but here, conversely, it welcomes us.

That is, it disturbs us with discomfort... which, however, is already the therapy. Because every tear leads to the deep layers of our primordial being, our seed and its own world of relationships.

And then the soul loosens up, becomes less tortuous, follows a direction it was not thinking of; it finds the intoxicating road of deep attunements, it abandons the bad path.

It prefers the Way that corresponds to it, more than identifications: all the idols that previously had the upper hand, which - despite appearances - struggled with our essential destination.

- Without escaping from oneself, but only from external conventions, Together we can move from one-sidedness to wholeness, from banality to fullness; to the reason why we are in the world; to the destiny of being that we are.

Perhaps we could not perceive it before, because the eye bounced between the walls of the usual domestication.

And ephemeral, habituated thought did not destroy the idea [without perception] of ourselves; idea without hearing, which did not fade away.

Fraternal correction clutches at our throats, but it is that bitterness that brings back the essential; it is that anxiety (if accepted) that truly heals us.

After the destruction of Jerusalem, the contrast between the world of the synagogue and the new fraternities in Christ was growing.

Converts to the Lord Jesus from the Judaizing communities of Galilee and Syria were experiencing a time of great tension, even within their families of origin.

At the same time, the influx of pagans was beginning, who were gradually accentuating their detachment from Judaism - both in the external confrontation, between synagogue and 'ecclesiology', and in the internal debate in the small assemblies.

It was not at all easy to rebuild relationships and bring people from different backgrounds into dialogue, with a cultural background marked by adherence to archaic forms of religiosity; devotion that made them obstinate in everything.

But the Risen One sees far ahead.

In the spirit of Faith that supplants the narrow-mindedness of impulsive or idolatrous convictions, Mt seeks to sustain the conviviality of differences in his communities.

The evangelist does this by emphasising reconciliation, and the right position of those who wished to make themselves a living sign of the Lord's Presence.

At the threshold of the tiny churches, newcomers often failed to find a serene welcome; rather, they had to undergo examination and rigmarole by malphilic veterans, and live in an atmosphere of suspicion.

Those at the top of the class, always punctilious in the defence of their beliefs and prominent positions, felt the presence of some brethren of faith (freer than themselves) as an encumbrance and a burden.

Many heathens who were initially confident and motivated by expectations of candour were also turning away, annoyed by the mistrustful climate of the legalists. Legalists who in fact tended to reproduce the same competitive atmosphere as the ancient religions.

Other defections were also motivated by the emergence of grey areas and internal scandals.

Some perhaps took advantage of the management of goods, or despite formal conversion remained selfish and withheld their own - usurping the dignity of the Minims and defacing the atmosphere of cordiality.

Almost all of them [the same ones who wanted to corner the new or erring ones] squabbled for precedence, creating a climate of resentment that accentuated friction and dampened the Faith, even to the point of historically ruining it.

Matthew suggests dialogue, which attempts to understand the motives of the other.

Indeed, in the early Judeo-Christian realities, the climate was perhaps overly scrupulous. [Later excommunication also became a weapon...].

Thus detachment from the community was also foreseen, but the knowledge remained that the sinner was still not separate from God, even 'outside' the particular church: "Where two or three are gathered together in my Name..." (v.20).

This is the centre of the new pedagogical conception - no longer 'religious' and mass, but of living and personal Faith.

The expression 'in my Name' indicates that Jesus himself had his hands full with the judges of his time.

All real. Even an exclusion can unite one to Him and make Him come alive concretely.

If the true - not vague - Christ remains the pivot of the fraternity, the Father will grant the return of the excluded brother.Of course, this can only happen if the excluded one experiences that community leaders first seek human confrontation - not being princely, but rather following the same position as the Master: 'in the middle'.

Equidistant from everyone, and every now and then with a nice change of duties - an event foreseen by the new canon law, but totally disregarded on the ground - because still only the chosen ones can actually put their noses into the things that matter, and hands and feet into the leading roles.

Those who still make us see Jesus alive today do not stand 'above' others; they do not take the lead, nor do they place themselves 'in front' [so that some are close and others always far away].

People among people. We are called to rediscover the weld between honour to God and love for our sisters and brothers - not only of conforming faith.

Love calls for love, forgiveness spontaneously attracts forgiveness - not out of effort, not out of good manners or duty, but as a channel for new preparatory energies and twists to enter the world.

Fragrant sign of the Church is the reversal of roles and fates. The 'victory-or-defeat' alternative is false: one must come out of it.

To internalise and live the message:

What convinces people to forgive or make fraternal correction, perhaps the example of gratuitousness and the way church leaders position themselves? 

Do they correct each other amiably or is there envy and friction?

In your community, are those who claim to represent Christ in the middle or are they always head and shoulders above the table?