Faith-Fraternal correction-St Cyril of Alexandria

HOMILY WEEK 12 06 – Year II

Faith, Fidelity and Fraternal Correction:

Optional Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria

(Lam 2:2-19; Ps 74; Mt 8:5-17)

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Four words – Faith, Fidelity and Fraternal Correction, capture the message of today’s liturgy.

We are invited to place our complete trust in the Father and Jesus, be faithful to the Word of God, and ready to correct anyone we see straying off that path.

It begins with faith. We are given a model of faith in the gospel. A Roman centurion, a pagan, appeals to Jesus to heal his servant with faith so strong he doesn’t even ask him to come to his house – he believes Jesus can heal his servant with a word, at a distance. Jesus marvels at such faith, and his servant is healed “in that hour.”

It is telling, however, that Jesus critiques the weak faith of the Jewish religious leaders, the “heirs of the kingdom,” who will be “thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The Pharisees, chief priests and scribes were the ones who should have been most prepared to recognize and welcome Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, yet their unbelief and hypocrisy was what bothered Jesus the most, leading Jesus to predict the destruction of the temple (Mark 13:2).

The destruction of the temple pales in comparison to the desolation described in the first reading from Lamentations, and in Psalm 74. Everything is destroyed and in ruins, brought to the ground. The psalm especially uses strong language: the enemy has destroyed the sanctuary, roared within the holy place, set up their emblems, hacked the wooden trellis with axes, smashed the carvings, desecrated the dwelling place of God’s name, etc.

Biblically, this desolation is seen as flowing from the infidelity of the people. We know from the time in the desert during the Exodus and over the ages, the people were never faithful to the covenant of an intimate, humble, obedient relationship with God – they always fell for the false gods of possessions, prestige and power. They never trusted in their special relationship with God, intended to transform them into a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a people set apart as an icon of God here on earth, meant to draw all the nations back to the one true God.

Infidelity is not reserved to the people of that time. It exists today in many forms. It may be people in positions of power who are not honest and seek to feather their own nests instead of working for the common good. It may be a parent who wants to smother and be friends with his or her children, instead of parenting and disciplining them. It may be a husband who is taking his wife for granted, and who is uncommunicative, not meeting her needs. Or vice-versa, it may be a wife who is not picking up her share of the responsibilities.

For all of us, it may be not worshipping God as we should, not really loving others as we should, not really accepting ourselves as we are, not really forgiving others from the heart, and above all, not really loving one another as Jesus has loved us. We all need to grow in the faith of the centurion, be faithful to the teachings of Jesus, make changes in ourselves where needed, and be ready to correct others if necessary.

In Lamentations, blame is placed squarely on the shoulders of the false prophets who provided false, deceptive visions and misleading oracles to the people. More glaringly, the text states they “have not exposed others iniquity to restore their fortunes.” That is what we would call “fraternal correction” – speaking out to challenge and correct a brother or sister we see doing something morally wrong.

The prophets failed in this regard. Instead of speaking the painful truth, and speaking truth to power, they were spouting platitudes the leaders and rulers wanted to hear and that would ingratiate them with the population. This common failing persists to this day. It takes great courage and stamina to take a stand and speak out when someone is not living up to their calling, vocation or commitment.

Fraternal correction is not in vogue today, but it should be. Looking back over my own life, I now appreciate friends who were able to let me know who I was and what I was doing that I was not aware of – my tendency to control, my stubbornness, my impatience – all became more conscious to me after they gave me that feedback. Fraternal correction is actually a gift of genuine love and caring – someone loves us enough to reflect back to us our own painful truth so we can heal and grow.

That healing is reflected in Jesus’ own healing ministry. After healing Peter’s mother-in-law, he spent the evening healing all who came to him. In the words of Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” We must do the same for one another.

Today, the church offers us the option of honoring St. Cyril of Alexandria, who spent his life doing God’s will. Cyril was a patriarch of the Eastern Church and a Greek theologian. In 412, he succeeded his uncle as archbishop of Alexandria and used his power and wealth to champion his cause – the defence of the doctrines of the Church. At the Council of Ephesus in 431 in great Christological controversy against Nestorius, Cyril held that the relationship between the divine and human in Christ was so closely united that the Virgin was actually Theotokos (Mother of God). This controversy engaged Cyril until his death in 444. In 1882, he was declared a doctor of the Church.

The Eucharist, as Ron Rolheiser OMI writes, is our “one great act of fidelity.” May our celebration strengthen our faith in Jesus, deepen our obedience to his word, open us up to our own healing, and empower us to love others by being willing to correct them whenever necessary.