Will you be a watchman?

God said to his prophet, Ezekiel: You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me.  . . . .  If you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself. (Chapter 33)

As our society became more prosperous in the last fifty years, it also became more secular. For many, God is no longer considered relevant. While they admit the existence of a God, they do not consider God as present or needed in their life. Many have turned away from Christianity and the practice of faith. Consequently, the faith is not being taught or passed on to younger generations. Both Catholic and other Christian pastors (they don’t want to be identified as Protestant or non-Catholic any longer) have awakened and now realize the great diminishment in their congregations. Where are the watchmen today?

Scripture serves notice: we are called to be watchmen, to help others turn from destruction and turn toward the one source of hope, Jesus our Savior. The prophet, Ezekiel, tells us that if we do not dissuade a wicked person from his evil and misguided way, we will be held responsible. What about those who are basically good people who simply no longer subscribe to organized religion? Good people who live quiet lives, not hurting anyone, living in peace? Who is going to bring them back to Jesus?

One day a man approached St. Francis of Assisi and said, “Brother Francis, I am in a quandary. In the Bible it says we should rebuke sinners, but I see people sinning all the time. I don’t feel like I should go around rebuking everybody.” St. Francis thought and then said, “What you must do is live in such a way that your life rebukes the sinner, – how you act will call others to repentance.”  Setting a good example is important, sometimes even more important than verbally assaulting the sinner. For example, a man went into a restaurant and the waitress seated   him at a table next to three girls. They were talking loudly and swearing up a storm. It sometimes seems like woman’s equality means imitating the worst in men. The man wanted to say something, but he held his tongue. When his dinner was served, he bowed his head and made the sign of the cross. The swearing stopped! He and everyone else ate in peace all because the man reminded them of the presence of God – even there in the restaurant!

However, situations arise where sin is openly manifested and there is great scandal. Scandal occurs when a person does what is considered wrong and there is no one who will openly confront the evil situation. Then it appears that it is permissible for others to do the same. Where is the watchman in these situations? In Matthew’s Gospel, 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.’”  (Chapter 18)

Because we have a responsibility to all our sisters and brothers, we must draw firm lines between what is acceptable and what is not, while always being ready to welcome the return of the repentant. Our authority to correct another must be based on the love that we have for one another, from our commitment to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is known as fraternal correction. Jesus tells us to love our enemies. Sometimes we feel helpless or afraid to say something to the ‘public sinner.’ St. Francis de Sales suggests that before a situation deteriorates to the point where it is nearly impossible to patch up the hurt (wrong), one might better extend love toward the offender. Francis de Sales suggests that one can catch more flies with a spoon full of honey than a cup full of vinegar. When someone offends and really annoys you, try love and kindness.

The command to love one another is a real challenge to Christians today. When one is hurting and nursing the wounds of sin, forgiving and loving the offender does not appear to be an option. It is easier to hold a grudge. It is easier to say bad things about the offender with the result of justifying yourself in their eyes. However, Jesus’s command to forgive the offender not just once or seven times but seventy times seven times is not an option. Because we are weakened by sin, we struggle with the Christian ideal of extending loving forgiveness. Our failure to live up to Jesus’s command is largely die to our lack of trust in the presence and the power of grace in our lives. We must train our wills to embrace the command to love even when inclined to hate and get even with the offender.  The strength to overcome our inability to love even those who offend us the most is found in the gifts Jesus gives to us: the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist.

In these sacraments of love, we recall that Jesus gave his life both as proof of his love for us as well as an example of the kind of love we must imitate. As he laid down his life for us, he expects us to do the same regarding those who offend. But this is only possible because of the victory claimed in the resurrection. In other words, the will is strengthened by the grace of God as we enter the death and rising with Jesus. Forgiveness and reconciliation with those who offend us mirrors the forgiveness and reconciliation that we experience in God’s grace.

St. Francis de Sales’s advice is to do “all through love and nothing through force (or fear).” God will not force us to adopt His way, but He will give us the help needed to live His way, the command of love. This is what is means to be a watchman.