The prophet has been called to be a watchman for Israel, someone who sees and points to the nation’s failings so that they can mend their ways.
It was the call spelled out in chapter 3 and it is repeated here like brackets around the first half of the book. God reminds Ezekiel that however unpalatable it is to point out another’s wrongdoing, that is the prophet’s call and it is the way that both will receive God’s blessing. But Ezekiel is also to remind the people that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather wants all of them to turn and live.
New Testament: Romans 13.8-14
Paul draws the threads of his argument in Romans 12 and 13 together by pointing out that the Christian ethic is love of neighbour in action. It is this that fulfils the Law, that does what God wants. Earlier in the chapter Paul has claimed that Caesar’s empire rules by fear and violence. Here he stresses that God’s kingdom is marked by love. The second half of the reading is couched in apocalyptic language highlighting the coming of the dawn of the new age, where the empire’s deeds of darkness have no place. Rather, we are called to be like Christ – using the bold image of putting him on like an outer garment – so that we fulfil the Law as he did.
Gospel: Matthew 18.15-20
What happens when someone in our circle is living in such a way that they deny their confession? Jesus’ teaching here follows on from warnings about not putting stumbling blocks in the path of the weak or the young (18.1-14).
The words ‘another member of the church’ (NRSV) are not in the original; this section is more about interpersonal relationships than church discipline. Jesus says we each have the responsibility to gently correct one another (taking due note of the warning in 7.1-4). When disciples stray because of sin, we need to name it in the hope that the one straying will see that their actions violate the values of the kingdom and repent. If they will not listen to us, then we should take someone else so there are witnesses of our concerns and the brother/sister’s response. Perhaps the witness will decide that we are wrong, not our brother/sister! Only if someone persists in blatant sin do we tell the rest of the community. The picture is of the community gathered together for fellowship and teaching.
Verses 18 to 20 put this in context. The community we are part of is not just a club, it is the kingdom of God; Jesus is at the heart of it – so how we live matters. Jesus’ words echo the language previously used of Peter (16.19): every disciple is equally able to discern the mind of God in Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 2.15). Here the passage comes full circle and picks up the question about status: we are all equal.
‘Binding’ and ‘loosing’ are about things and issues, not people (the words are gender-neutral), so probably refer to the actions of the straying brother or sister. Jesus says that we are able to discern right and wrong behaviour (because we have heard his teaching; see Matthew 28.20) and have a duty to point it out. The clue to how this works is in the tense of the verbs relating to heaven (v.18). They are future perfects, indicating that we are let in on what God has already decided – that is, through prayer and the Scriptures, we discern God’s mind and communicate that to each other and God, asking him what he wants us to ask him (v.19). This is possible because we are the community of Christ (v.20). Jesus looks beyond the resurrection to when he will truly be our Immanuel, God with us all the time, at the heart of all our gathering, however small (cf. Matthew 1.23; 28.20).
The links between the readings
God is committed to drawing disparate people into a community founded on his values. For Ezekiel and Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, this is about calling out sin where we see it in the hope that an individual will turn and mend their ways. For Paul it is about embodying love of neighbour; in doing that, we start to look like Jesus – not just as individuals but as churches.