One of the things I learned as a New Zealand migrant is confrontation. Many Kiwis will tell you straight to your face if they don’t agree with you or are unhappy about what you’ve done. After that, they’re OK. But we, Filipinos, generally operate in a different way—we don’t disagree or confront a person to their face. But we would talk about it behind their back.

I have read that Asians generally confront in a roundabout way, whereas Western people go direct to the point. One of the reasons is that Asians are communal, so we don’t want to upset the spirit of our group.

Our verse today instructs us to “tell him his fault between you and him alone.” And in Ephesians 4:15, we are exhorted to “speak the truth in love.” In short, we keep our hurts or disagreements to ourselves only up to the point where we can talk to the person—in private—lovingly. From experience, that means prayer, a time to cool down, and the use of a gentle voice.

Joyce Roa (jsosoban@gmail.com)

reflect

What’s your attitude toward confrontation? Do you keep everything bottled up in until you burst?

Dearest Father, help me to confront someone with detachment and kindness, and with a humble realization that I, too, am a sinner.

Saint Benilde, pray for us.

The death of Moses marked the end of an era for the Israelites. It ends their wandering in the desert and now they are free to enter the Promised Land under the guidance of Joshua. Let us remember that as great as Moses was, he was only a man. His greatness stemmed from his obedience to God, albeit at times he was somewhat reluctant to follow His will. This is the greatest lesson we can learn from his life.

¹ Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the headland of Pisgah which faces Jericho, and the Lord showed him all the land—Gilead, and as far as Dan, ² all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, ³ the Negeb, the circuit of the Jordan with the lowlands at Jericho, city of palms, and as far as Zoar. ⁴ The Lord then said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give to their descendants. I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over.” ⁵ So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the Lord, died as the Lord had said; ⁶ and he was buried in the ravine opposite Beth-peor in the land of Moab, but to this day no one knows the place of his burial. ⁷ Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated. ⁸ For thirty days the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab, till they had completed the period of grief and mourning for Moses. ⁹ Now Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, since Moses had laid his hands upon him; and so the children of Israel gave him their obedience, thus carrying out the Lord’s command to Moses. ¹⁰ Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. ¹¹ He had no equal in all the signs and wonders the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and against all his land, ¹² and for the might and the terrifying power that Moses exhibited in the sight of all Israel.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 66:1-3, 5, 8, 16-17

R: Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!

¹ Shout joyfully to God, all you on earth, ² sing praise to the glory of his name; proclaim his glorious praise. ³ Say to God: “How tremendous are your deeds!” (R) ⁵ Come and see the works of God, his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam. ⁸ Bless our God, you peoples, loudly sound his praise. (R) ¹⁶ Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare what he has done for me. ¹⁷ When I appealed to him in words, praise was on the tip of my tongue. (R)

Gospel | Matthew 18:15-20

One of the more difficult aspects of Christian living is striking a balance between giving and receiving correction. Humility demands us to be open to correction when we sin. It is actually a good thing to be warned when we are on the wrong path. Similarly, when we help bring someone back from a life of sin to one of holiness, we cover a multitude of our own sins. Yet in both of these examples, the most important aspect is humility and the willingness to accept that we are not always right.

Gospel Acclamation

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read 2 MACCABEES 11 - 12 today.

The Theatre of the Absurd has a hands-down winner—Waiting for Godot. Two men, Vladimir and Estragon, waited every day beside a tree for a man named Godot. Godot sends word every day that he would come in the morrow, but nothing happens. 

This prime representative of the Theatre of the Absurd makes much of nihilism, of existential loneliness, of meaninglessness and futility in general. It suggests the futility of holding on to hope even when it seems meaningless and useless.

Much of the world today is caught up in the throes of something similar. 

The Philippines experiences the seeming hopelessness about the political culture, now deeply mired in dynastic politics, where no more than a few hundred families call the shots which, of course, everyone loves to refer to as “public service.” Some big guy even suggested last year that the Philippine Congress has become the most corrupt in the world.

Every time elections come around, it looks like we are all “waiting for Godot,” that is, waiting for nothing. But we have a choice today between “waiting for nothing” and “making things happen.” We need to take it upon ourselves to do right: rebuke the wrongdoer, call upon others to stand witness, and call upon the Church—the people of faith who, together, can make things happen.

I have been an educator for almost fifty years now. And while it was easier to teach decades ago—and things are now a whole lot different on account of the call-out and cancel culture and the ideology of woke-ism—I have never for once lost hope in the power of words and the power of the Word.

I continue to hold on, for “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst!”

Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

reflection question

What are you waiting for and hoping to happen in your life?  

Lord, I believe in the power of prayer. I have hope that all my waiting will not be in vain. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ___________________________________________