Tuesday of Week 23 Year 2

As Christians, we sometimes come into conflict with a fellow brother or sister. Sometimes the conflict could be a small matter. Other times, it could be a serious matter. But whatever the matter may be, we should follow Jesus' advice as mentioned in last Sunday's Gospel, that our dealing with someone who has done something wrong should be done gradually. At first, alone with him or her, then get two or three witnesses, then get the community involved. This means that, as Christians, we should settle issues among ourselves, within our community.

However, some of us are still stubborn and insisting that we bring such matters, no matter how trivial it may be, to court, such as the local magistrate, or even high court. This is why St. Paul in today's reading admonishes us: "How dare one of your members take up a complaint against another in the law courts of the unjust instead of before the saints? As you know, it is the saints who are to ‘judge the world’; and if the world is to be judged by you, how can you be unfit to judge trifling cases? Since we are also to judge angels, it follows that we can judge matters of everyday life; but when you have had cases of that kind, the people you appointed to try them were not even respected in the Church. You should be ashamed: is there really not one reliable man among you to settle differences between brothers and so one brother brings a court case against another in front of unbelievers?"

The church has got a tribunal which has priests and lay people as judges and lawyers. People sometimes think that the tribunal is only for marriage cases, but it is much more than that. Cases between Catholics concerning an issue could also be heard. Why do we stubbornly and vehemently insist in getting unbelievers to judge our cases, as St. Paul questions us, when we have a tribunal which could do the same in a Christian way?