Reflection for Sunday – September 6, 2026

Readings: Ezekiel 3: 7-9; Romans 13: 8-10; Matthew 18: 15-20 
Preacher: Teresa Dunn

Recently I have been reflecting on what it means to love another. Love isn’t just a feeling; feelings change over time. We hear in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.” God sacrificed himself completely, giving not just a part of his life, but his whole life, out of love for us. He sacrificed himself so that we could share eternal life with him. This sacrifice came at a great price for Jesus; it is no different for us. Jesus shows us that love is not always easy; it sometimes requires us to do hard things.

True love requires us to be honest, even when being honest can cause separation or division with those that we love. Following Christ, is a narrow and hard path, Jesus is very clear about this. In today’s first reading, God gives a stern warning, that if he directs us to share with someone, and we don’t, that we too will share in the guilt of their sin.

Think about this in your own life; how often do you not say something when you see someone acting or speaking in a way that you know they shouldn’t because we don’t want to cause conflict but then afterwards feel weighed down about what we have seen or not done?  How many times do we turn a blind eye to a wrong because it is easier than having to deal with it, but others then suffer because of our inaction? Doing the right thing can be difficult, but this reading reminds us that not acting or speaking the truth not only affects the sinner, it affects us as well. When one person sins, the whole community is affected.  

We live in a world that is very centered on “self” or what we want or desire as what is best. But this is not the way Christ calls us to live. Matthew 16:25 states, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” This means that we put God and our neighbor before our self. The path forward is not about “what I want” but “what God wants” or “what my neighbor needs” even if what our neighbor needs is for us to speak out lovingly against what they are doing or how they are living as we hear in the first reading from Ezekiel, or if putting their needs before our own means we have to give something up. As disciples we are called to be an example of Christ for others. We are called to love, to sacrifice, and to forgive—just as Christ loved, sacrificed and forgives us.

In this gospel, Jesus gives us many examples of attempting to reconcile with others. Instead of thinking of this as a step-by-step guide on who to go to when conflicts arise, I like to think that it is an example for us, that we are never to give up on trying to reconcile with our brothers and sisters. God is always calling us to unity, not division. When Jesus says in this gospel “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven,” think of the weight that conflict, disagreements and unforgiveness bring in your own life. This is not how we enter heaven. If we hold onto bitterness, difficulty and resentment towards others, the effects of that go beyond our earthly life. They affect our entrance into our eternal home.

There are times when this all seems impossible, I know I have been there too, but Jesus reminds us constantly that nothing is impossible for God. When we keep Him at the center of our words, our actions, and our lives, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish together.

May we all love as God loves with honesty and compassion, sacrifice as Christ sacrifices giving freely of ourselves for others, and forgive God calls us to forgive every day.