Everything is in the Bible, indeed!
This Gospel made us conscious of the art of fraternal correction- a Christian mandate. It is our duty and responsibility to correct our brothers’ and sisters who are committing bad/evil/wrongdoing.
The Gospel gives a Clear Instruction how to properly do it.
First action:
Fraternal Correction is to be DISCREETLY DONE: One-on-One. But what is sad, these days for our immediate (re)action is to “Marites” the wrongdoing of our brother or sister, what is worst we find it fun doing the “Marites” (gossiping). We feast on someone’s tragedy- a very Ungodly, Unchristian and inhuman act. This Sunday reminds us what is Godly to do: Don’t “Marites” but correct the wrong action done by your brother or sister by yourself discreetly!
2nd Action: if one-on-one does not work, bring 1 or 2 friend(s) to help you in correcting your brother/sister. Unfortunately, our ways today are very different, we intentionally call others over a cup of coffee with an agenda of spreading the wrong act. Minions of “Marites” will spread to troops of “Marites” until the whole community knows the wrongdoing. In effect, your brother or sister will be publicly scrutinized, treated with indifference and branded as a bad person. This is a very cruel act to do even a wrongdoer doesn’t deserve. Again, the proper action to be done prescribed by this Gospel is to call one or two Friend(s) to do Fraternal Correction not “Minions of Marites”!
Third Action: if same result- time to inform the church and the church (the congregation) will act accordingly. So beautiful if this is what is done. Realty check it is not! We deliberately put in social media the wrongdoing of our brother/sister! The general public of the four corners of the world will be thoroughly knowledgeable of your brother or sister’s wrongdoing. And what good social media can do about it? None at all but destruction to your brother/sister- you amplify a wrong act which hardens the heart & kills the hope for a Change! In short you pushed him/her to do more bad things and it’s worse for you (Marites) for your action makes you answerable when your judgment day will come! Thus, think harder before resorting to “tech-aided-marites”.
This gospel is so beautiful Standard Operating Procedure, I think this is the basis of all procedures that are done in legal cases or even in human resource.
Most importantly, in our daily Christian life this must apply- if I am to share my experience I can be a living embodiment of its importance- years back I was a ” young man growing badly”. I never listened but I let my contemporaries listen to me! Plain and simple- don’t correct me if you don’t want to be knocked off.
This is how it was until such time – My classmates made an agreement that they will make me change my ways- as a group they talked to me in a good way with a very deliberate intention of making me understand my actions were that bad and iI have to change.
And it works- they changed me for good! I’m glad they did that. They have done their mandate to do FRATERNAL CORRECTION!
It is a challenge for us to do the same- to do fraternal correction as prescribed in this Gospel- doing such we can change a person to be the BETTER MAN.
