What struck me about both of the readings for Mass today, is our inclination to sin. Even the best person, (even a saint), can fall sometimes. Moses was no exception to this weakness that all human beings have. Even though he was the greatest figure in the Old Testament, he was still tempted to sin and there were consequences for his decision to sin against God. He wasn’t allowed to actually see the promised land. Moses came all that way and went through so many trials and tribulations with God’s people. And, even though he was in excellent health, Moses wasn’t allowed to actually see the fruit, the goal of all his efforts for God and His people.
If you remember from Numbers 20:11, Moses struck a rock with his rod and water gushed forth in the desert for the Israelite people to drink. The problem was – Moses did not acknowledge this miracle was from God. He claimed to perform the miracle under his own power, and never acknowledged God. This is the sin that Moses committed that caused him to not be able to see the Promised Land.
When we move on to read the gospel today, it also talks about sin that is not committed by a stranger, but by one of your own:
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell 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. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” ~ Mt 18:15-20
I thought about this verse for several days last month. It seems a bit ironic that I have been asked to write about it today. What a coincidence!
I was in a discussion with a regional manager at work last month. Another employee down the hall overheard the conversation and rather than talk to us first about what was said, she went straight to the Executive Director to report it. We were both called to her office and confronted about what was said. After several minutes of discussion, we figured out that the employee that overheard the situation did not hear very clearly what was being said (her office was down the hall). If she had spoken to us first though, we could have cleared up the misunderstanding without involving our supervisor.
This event was embarrassing and I feel like it reflected poorly on me, even if it was later cleared up. I’m fearful that this incident will still be remembered. It can’t be taken back and I feel like it may have needlessly damaged my credibility and trustworthiness in my boss’s eyes, even though the misunderstanding was cleared up. I can only imagine how damaging it could have been to my reputation, if the employee that overheard this conversation had talked to other people about it.
To make matters worse, the employee that reported my colleague and I is known to be a very devout Christian. We work in a very secular environment and she is one of the few employees that openly talks about her faith. She reminds you of a “good girl” in school, a person that never does anything wrong and is very “by the book”.
I really wanted to remind her of today’s gospel verse, because she tries very hard to live her faith. But, I didn’t. I firmly believe that people grow in their faith life according to the will of God, through the action of the Holy Spirit. It was not my place to remind her of the scriptures.
My last thought about the scriptures today is this. Even good people make mistakes sometimes. It doesn’t need to be aired publicly, or involve any more people than is absolutely necessary. It would have deepened my friendship with my coworker if she had only come to me privately to ask me about this conversation. But instead, it damaged our relationship at work because she reported my conversation to my supervisor without talking to me first. I do not hold a grudge, but I will also not be as close to her as I was before.
The next time we see someone else doing something wrong, it would be good to remember the words of wisdom that Jesus taught us in today’s scripture. He knows human nature only too well, and sees both sides of the story.
