Wednesday 19th week in ordinary time
"Mt 18:15-20"
If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
God, as a loving Father, corrects His children because He loves them and wants them to improve. And to make sure that His children get the corrections, He asked brothers to correct each other. This practice is called fraternal correction and has been a tradition in the Church since the very beginning. Everyone needs corrections because we are not saints but we want to be. And everyone means everyone.
Among the recommendations given by St Paul to the Christians at Corinth is to "exhort one another"; and he gave a good example of it. The Apostles had had the first Ecumenical Council and decided that the converts to Christianity who did not belong to the Jewish tradition didn't have to follow Jewish customs, like eating meat with traces of blood in it. St Peter and St Paul were having lunch in Antioch-on-the-Orontes. We don't know the menu, but they may have served, among other things, roasted rabbit, pork steak and eel from Orontes (the river crossing Antioch). St Peter was surrounded by Christians; some of them were Jews who had come with him, along with gentiles who lived there in Antioch. Then St Peter was unsure whether or not he should follow the Jewish tradition and have only the salad and the fruit, not to disappoint them. St Barnabas saw it... and did the same. The Christians from Antioch were a bit offended by this behaviour. But St Paul put his foot down and didn't hesitate to correct St Peter himself.
St Peter could have protested: 'I'm the prince of the Apostles!' or 'Look who's talking, you stoned St Stephen!' But he was humble instead and accepted the correction. He wasn't perfect, but he wanted to be. Mary, my Mother, you can teach me to be humble and accept all the corrections that will help me become better.
