Tuesday August 13th: Humble yuhself!
August 13, 2024
‘Miss Mary’ meant many things
August 14, 2024
“For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.”
Matthew 18:15-20
When someone offends us, we often air our displeasure to everyone else except the person in question. If we are honest, we seldom refer to the source of our distress.
To assist his disciples and us in dealing with this, Jesus advises us to first seek out the source of our discomfort and stress and dialogue with them. This calls for listening, sharing, and sometimes adjusting our ideas, on both sides. Often, that is all it takes and as Jesus says: “You have won back your brother or sister.”
When the matter is not resolved Jesus suggests we pull one or two others in to give a different perspective and if that collapses then open it up to the wider community. We may find ourselves on the outskirts, however, when we refuse to change. Discretion and compassion must be at the heart of our dealings.
We can apply this model to every conflict situation in our lives – in our families, workplace, country, and world, knowing if two or three are gathered in God’s name “God will be there with them”.
