Jesus said, "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”- St. Matthew 18:15-17
Christ’s work of atonement involves bringing about unity between God and man, and also between individuals. It is His healing power that can restore broken relationships, and in today’s Gospel He instructs His disciples – including us – about how to mend that which has been damaged.
Perhaps most importantly, He says that we shouldn’t brood about it, or let it fester within us. If we have been wronged by someone, Jesus says the first step is to speak directly but privately to the individual who has done the harm. Letting a grievance boil under the surface can poison our mind and heart and make it more difficult to go directly to the source of the difficulty.
If we want to resolve a difference, Jesus instructs us to do it face to face, and if that fails, then we should go to another person who would be able to bring wisdom and insight into the situation. We can see that Christ’s method of restoring a broken relationship is by seeking the help of other Christians who would bring prayer into the difficulty, and a search for reconciliation based on Christian love and wisdom.
The Lord Jesus wants to set us free from resentment and an unwillingness to forgive. The love of Christ can heal us and set us free to do good to all those around us – even those who may have caused us pain and grief. While we are able, we must never give up on praying for others, even for those who may have caused us offense. With the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit we must show to everyone around us the grace and power of God's healing love and wisdom, so that in Christ what was broken might be made whole.
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Painting: "Christ and the Sinner"
by Andrei Nikolayevich Mironov, b. 1975