When 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.”
Perhaps, one of the hardest things to do is to correct someone because we are afraid that he or she will not accept and get angry. Indeed, to correct someone or to accept criticism from others is a big challenge in our relationship with another in the family or in the community. A small correction of misbehaves for instance can be turned into a ‘cold war’ if it is not addressed wisely. Sometimes we just let our friends or families keep repeating the same mistakes because we are afraid of approaching and correcting them.
The gospel of this Sunday reminds us that it is okay and it is a must to correct our brothers and sisters’ mistakes. I like the term “fraternal correction” because it describes well the reason behind our correcting one another’s mistakes. “I correct your mistakes because you are my brother.” I scolded you because you are my sister.” I criticize your actions because I love you and I don’t want something bad to happen to you.” There is love and must be love the motivation of our critic or correction.
Finally, each one of us is not perfect and that is why we need support and love for one another. Let us be humble to accept some fraternal correction and be dared as well to give a good correction to others. Let us put love as the basis of our advice to one another. By doing so, we as a community grow together in faith, hope, and love. Indeed, the community is always a place of celebration and forgiveness.