SCRIPTURE READINGS 
Twenty-third Sunday, September 6, 2026

Biblical Readings Online Here 
(Year A in the three-year cycle of readings) 

Truth-telling is a means to community peace. This sentence challenges concealing or burying differences to bring about harmony. St. Paul would not have insisted as much as he did on unity, fraternal love, and orthodoxy unless the qualities were so often under threat by refractory members of the local churches. To cite only one example, the Corinthian community was so obsessed with social status that they fought over the prestige of the “who” who baptized them (1 Corinthians 1:10-17).  

Glossing over problems is not what Jesus advises about disruptive behavior. As the first step upon learning of serious misbehavior of a church member, Paul recommends that we “go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.” No publicizing, no venting, no recourse to authority. Why? Because the smaller the circle of people involved at this stage, the correction is more likely to be successful. 

“If he listens to you, you have won him over.” That is victory, but it is not a victory for you and a defeat for your fellow community member. It is a victory for both of you. Since no one has been humiliated and lost face, the correction has a much better chance of permanence. But if that private meeting fails, there is a second step. Meet again and take with you one or two others. In legal procedure, you need two witnesses. The procedure is more formal this time. Establish facts and get the narratives straight (a requirement that is easily violated as more egos are in play). If this second step does not work, then “tell the Church.” “Telling the Church” means going to community leaders and asking them to intervene. If the person will not listen to them, then the person should be asked to withdraw from the community. Church leaders have this authority: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18). The goal is not to punish but to lead the offender to conversion and re-integration into the community. Even today, Canon Law follows the principle, “The supreme law is the salvation of souls” (Latin Salus animarum suprema lex). Let our prayer be: Encourage the fervent, enlighten the doubtful and bring back the wayward. 

Richard Clifford, S.J., has taught biblical studies for 55 years, most recently at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry, Boston College, and has written many scholarly and popular books and articles.