September 10, 2023 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Year A

Paul T. Keil, 9-10 September 2023

23 ^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Season A

Peace be with you and welcome to our celebration of the Mass for the 23 ^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. You know folks, as I sat down and read this Gospel reading today and meditated on it for a while, personally, I was a little confused. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told people how thankful we all should be because Jesus Christ let us off the hook about judging others. I mean right here in Matthew’s own Gospel back in Chapter 7 Jesus says clearly, “Stop judging, that you may not be judged.” Oh, by the way, his guidance about non-judgementalism is a common thread throughout all four Gospels. Today however, we just heard Jesus give his disciples guidance that sounds an awful lot like they are supposed to judge and then act. So, what gives here Lord? Are we supposed to be judgmental Christians or non-judgmental Christians? And what am I supposed to do with this kind of a question during an 8- or 9-minute homily?

Well, before we try to peel back the layers around this perceived contradiction in Matthew, let’s look at our second reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans for a couple of minutes, where Paul says; “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another.” And then again, he says, “Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.” Generally, that’s the same thing Jesus said over and over when he was discussing the Mosaic Law with the Pharisees and Scribes isn’t it? And if you’ve heard me preach before, you’ve often heard me quote St Thomas Aquinas’ definition of this “pure love” Jesus and Paul are talking about. “Love is, willing the good of the other.” Friends – this must always be our start point as we read the Bible. Jesus made it really, really simple; love God and love your neighbor. And Aquinas clarified love of neighbor when he told us; “Love is, willing the good of the other.” Oh my, oh my! Such easy words to say but so very hard to put into practice.

OK, with this definition of love as our footing and start point, let’s go back to the Gospel reading. First of all, I followed the advice I give others when something I read in the Bible confuses me. I turn to expert scholarly commentary and here I found something about Matthew’s Gospel. Scholars tell us there are 5 great sermons or discourses by Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel. Today we just heard a small part of the “Church Order” discourse from Chapter 18. So, to put today’s Gospel in complete context, I would recommend you sit down and read all of Chapter 18 sometime soon. Could that be homework?

Jesus’ discourse is all about disciples caring for each other with respect to guarding the other’s faith, to seek out those who have wondered away from the fold, and repeatedly forgive those who have offended them. OK, you still might ask; what about this part of Jesus’ sermon we heard today. About going to someone who sinned and ultimately, if they don’t listen, treating them like a Gentile or a tax collector? Not only does that sound judgmental but it also sounds pretty final.

Well, here is an excellent example of why reading the whole of scripture is so important. First remember our anchor point about love. “Love is, willing the good of the other.” Next, listen to how Jesus starts this discourse in Matthew 18. We did not hear it in today’s Gospel, but this is important because it really puts the whole Chapter 18 sermon in context. “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Wow! My sisters and brothers, this simple sentence not only defines Jesus’ principal criticism of the religious hierarchy he was always butting heads with, but it provides us with clear direction for interpreting today’s Gospel reading.

Jesus is clear throughout the NT, final judgment always belongs to God but based on today’s readings, we are not supposed to ignore a fellow Christian who is spiritually in trouble with self-destructive behavior. Here are some guidelines to follow, however; don’t approach anyone with an “in your face” stance of moral superiority. That’s exactly what those Pharisees were always doing. Never use Scripture or the Church as a weapon of moral aggression. Always approach your brother or sister with love. Remember, love is, willing the good of the other.

We have a real challenge with today’s modern culture to deal with. We so easily fall into the “I’m OK, you’re OK” trap and morally don’t care what others are doing. It seems everyone believes they have the right to their own opinions about everything, don’t they? Whether it’s a personal lifestyle, to the definition of marriage, to when a human life actually begins, or when human life should end, it’s my right to decide. And what’s really sad is, people often use Jesus’ own words in the Bible about judging others to defend their own behavior, no matter how bizarre or self-destructive that behavior may be. Well guess what? Friends, here’s the message from our Gospel reading today, so listen up. If we remain indifferent to a friend’s moral failures or self-destructive behavior, we are NOT demonstrating Christian love. We are NOT willing the good of the other. And if you think moral behavior is subjective, go read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. The Gospel is not about judgement at all, it’s about pulling a wayward disciple back into God’s covenant love when they’ve gone astray.

So, what are we supposed to do when we encounter immoral behavior? First read today’s Gospel. Then, in a context of love,,, talk. Talk one-on-one. We so often do exactly the opposite though, don’t we? The individual whose behavior is destructive is often the last person we talk to. It’s just so easy and sometimes actually fun, to talk to others or even turn to social media when we find someone’s behavior objectionable. Our culture gives us examples of that every day, but the Gospel message is this; sit down eye-to-eye in an atmosphere of humble love talk and pray. The next step, if that doesn’t work, is what the 12-step process calls intervention. Two or three of you who sincerely love and are honestly concerned about your brother’s or sister’s spiritual well-being,,, talk and pray. And finally, after 2000 years we’re not worshipping in community in homes anymore, so “go tell the Church” is not an answer. Go to the community that cares because of love. And that may take many forms such as, professional mental health care or a support group.

OK, say all of that fails. What exactly does, “treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector” mean? It means don’t be seduced by someone else’s immorality. Don’t empower their destructive behavior. My friends, Jesus Christ himself sat down and broke bread with sinners all the time. It drove those self-righteous Pharisees nuts and they finally crucified him. You never hear Jesus tell the prostitute, “Just keep on doing what you’re doing,” however. His message is always one of repentance and love. He didn’t turn his back on the sinner but it’s always the sinner who walked away from the encounter changed, not Jesus.

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23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time August 30, 2026

By Teresa Stephens • September 2, 2026

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16th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 19, 2026

By Gail Johnson • September 2, 2026

Paul T. Keil, 18-19 July 2026 16 th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Season A Peace be with you and welcome to our celebration of the Mass for the 16 th Sunday in Ordinary Time. OK, some of you may remember I’ve said before, in Matthew’s Gospel, Chapters 5, 6, and 7 comprise the whole Sermon on the Mount, but did you know Chapter 13, where we are today, is often called the Sermon of the Parables. In this single chapter Matthew strings together seven separate parables from Jesus. Today we just heard numbers two, three, and four. Last weekend we heard the first one with the Parable of the Sower and what happens to the seeds scattered in different places. Next weekend you’ll hear the final three parables from Chapter 13 so, be sure to come back. So, what is Jesus saying in these readings. Last week we heard the parable about seeds as an allegory for Jesus’s words falling on a path and being eaten by birds, falling on rocky ground and withering with no roots, falling into thorns and being choked by life’s anxieties, and falling on fertile soil to bear fruit. Today we have Jesus giving us another parable about planting seeds and again, just like last week, Jesus’ disciples ask him to explain the parable. And since He stops to explain both parables about planting, he just might be trying to emphasize something important here for his disciples, and for us. One thing is clear in these parables however, God’s Kingdom will always coexist in this physical world with forces opposing it, like the wheat and the weeds growing together. Now many religious people struggle with this condition. Some see it as predestination. A weed in the wheat field or a seed in the rocks must represent people predestined to go to hell. That’s what it literally says, right? Still others ask in frustration; this is God we’re talking about, why does God’s Kingdom have to struggle with opposing forces at all? Why doesn’t God just get rid of the evil? Well, our old friend, St Thomas Aquinas wrote quite a bit about good and evil coexisting in our fallen world. He said sometimes the two are so tightly interwoven that you couldn’t have certain types of good without certain types of evil. For example, he said simply, “there would be no virtue of the martyr without the cruelty of the tyrant.” Friends, God delights in our freedom, our intelligence, and our cooperation when we freely make the decision to accept God’s love. Without free will we cannot choose to love. Jesus’ explanation of the wheat and weed parable certainly helps when he says; “The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels” and in the next verse he says; “The Son of Man will send his angels.” There is a very important take-away here every single Christian should remember. Eternal judgment belongs to God alone, not to anyone else – period. This is a consistent message Jesus gives us in all four Gospels but unfortunately, there are those who sometimes forget this simple divine fact about humanity’s relationship with the unlimited creator of the universe. We may perceive an individual as being bad or even intrinsically evil but judgment for their immortal souls belongs exclusively to God. I always like an old adage that goes like this, “if I ever get to heaven, I may be surprised by who I see there, and they may be even more surprised to see me.” I’ll admit, over the years for a long time, as I’ve meditated on this parable about weeds and wheat or last week’s parable about seeds, especially the ones falling into thorns choked by worldly anxiety, there was something always bothering me. You see, if we’re not careful both parables can make life, heaven, and hell sound kind of random or worse yet, they can make God’s love sound like it is exclusively reserved for preselected people. I know now however, there is nothing further from the truth. If you’ve lived life for a while and think back to times when you were say maybe,,, struggling in school, or first dating, or trying to make ends meet while raising a family, or competing for promotions at work, or trying to buy that first house, you realize there may have been times when your life wasn’t very spiritually fruitful. In fact, I now realize there were times in my own past when thoughts of God, salvation, or prayer were nowhere in my daily routine. I even wonder; was there a period in my life when I was one of those weeds or a seed in the thorns? Thankfully, with reflection on the whole of Scripture, guidance from the Church, and maybe some help from the Holy Spirit I realize now these parables are not “either / or” propositions. God doesn’t intentionally create some people as weeds and some people as wheat nor does God throw souls into the wind to randomly fall in the thorns, or on stony ground, or in fertile soil. If you’re not careful, you can come to those conclusions, however. You can read the Bible too narrowly and pick out verses here and there that help support your personal image of what you want God to be. Those tend to be the same people who like to do God’s judgment work for him. Here’s the thing; some of us here today may have actually spent some time as those ugly weeds but at some point, with God’s help, we decided to change and now we’re wheat growing in that good old fertile soil. My sisters and brothers, sin must never be viewed as a permanent state. Like we heard from the Book of Wisdom today, “you gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.” This is the greatest gift of our Christian faith; God loves us all so much, even great sinners, God is always ready to forgive. So, here’s a challenge and homework for us all today. Most of us know people out there from all age groups, but especially some of our youth, who may be temporarily living life like the weeds in our parable today or maybe tangled in those thorns of life’s tribulations. First and foremost, we must be confident, sin is not a permanent state of life, second, we don’t judge, third, pray for them no matter how nasty they may seem. And finally, if we’re really, really brave, we offer them a hand to pull them up and out of the weeds, rocks, or thorns into God’s fertile soil.