23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time A - 6th September 2026 

This week’s Gospel has Jesus telling the disciples what to do when there is a dispute between people who know each other – neighbours, ‘brothers’, members of the same community. Sometimes it is not easy to work out differences with those closest to us. The first thing to do is to discreetly go and talk to the person concerned about the problem. They have done or said something wrong and it needs to be addressed and dealt with by both parties. The important thing emphasised by Jesus is that it has to be one to one. This also works both ways – we do not want others to berate us in front of others so we must treat others as we would want to be treated ourselves. 

 

The key point is that we are to listen to each other: each person needs and deserves to be heard. Each person is wanting to express and hear the truth of the situation and truth to one may not be the same truth as another. In listening to each other we learn about the other person and what makes them tick. Understanding where they are coming from, hopefully, helps us to understand the reason for the disagreement or dispute. 

 

However, life is not always that easy. Sometimes we can’t get through to the other person. This may or may not be their fault - it may not be anyone’s fault. In this case it is necessary to bring in reinforcements – some other people. We all know though that bringing in others can be risky because the offender feels ‘got at’ or ganged up on. That is not the reason for the joint effort. The efforts of more than one will hopefully be more successful. 

 

For me Jesus is teaching us some valuable lessons. One is that we do things quietly, one to one at first. The second is get help if you need it. The third is that everyone is worth making the effort for – we must not give up on them, even when they are apparently in the wrong. Jesus does say that if they do not listen to the community they are to be treated like a pagan or a tax collector. As we know, these people were not held in good regard in the time of Jesus. Although He says this, we know that Jesus Himself never gave up on anyone – tax collector or pagan or Samaritan. 

 

Fourthly, the important thing to remember is what Jesus says at the end of this Gospel: ‘where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.’ We need to bring Jesus to each of our difficult situations and ask for His help. Next time we fall out with someone, we can reflect on Jesus’ way of dealing with the situation and, hopefully, the difficulty will be erased. 

 

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