Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18:15-20.
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.
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.' 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.
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.
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.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
Reflection:
What Jesus told us in this particular gospel is quite difficult to do. He told us to confront those people who sinned against us and inform the person about his fault. This might be agreeable if the sin committed by our brother is not that serious. If our brother would commit serious sin against us, would it not you will plan for a revenge? You will probably look for an opportunity to get even with him. However, Jesus called us to be like Him. A true christian can always forgive. As human we can always hold grudges against people who committed sin against us but it is clear from Jesus that we must forgive so that the Father in heaven would also forgive our trespasses against the Father. If we are the one who committed sin against our brother, we must also be openminded to accept our faults. It clear from the gospel that if you will not accept your fault, the offended party can call others and if still you will not accept your fault you will be treated as a Gentile or a tax collector. If both the offender and the offended parties would take the advice of Jesus, surely peace on this earth would reign.
On the other hand, the last line of the gospel calls for a community prayer. It is guaranteed by Jesus from this gospel that when you pray together, He is in the midst of us. It is good to pray together and the easiest people you can call for a prayer are your members of the family. However, if you are living alone, you may start praying with your colleagues but some of your colleagues might have different faith. In this instance, you really need a community for you to engage in a community prayer. Remember when you pray together the assurance of your prayers to be granted is 100%.
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