Preached on Sunday, September 10, 2017

Next month, I go for my semi-annual checkup by my Dentist.

Hopefully I’ll get a good report and go home with a new toothbrush

to help me continue to keep my teeth and my gums healthy.

The hygienist, who cleans my teeth has given me lots of good dental information over the years such as the best toothbrushes, best toothpastes, best mouthwashes, how to floss and how to whiten my teeth.

So during one of my cleaning sessions with her, I asked for her help on something.

I asked her, “How would you go about telling someone ... they had bad breath?”

I’m sure you’ve experienced talking to someone with bad breath … it’s not pleasant.

Perhaps it’s temporary … perhaps someone has just eaten garlic or onions.

Or perhaps it’s more on-going … like every time you speak to them.

What do you do?

Well, I wanted to know!

So I asked my Hygenist and I was surprised at her answer.

She admitted that she too found it difficult to tell someone they had bad breath!

Here she is ... a skilled professional in the business of Dental health and hygiene

... and even she finds telling someone they have bad breath ... difficult to do.

Bad breath indicates a bacteria problem in the mouth that is not only unpleasant,

but unhealthy too ... it can indicate disease and decay in one’s mouth. 

As a Hygienist, she’s fully aware of the problems that people have with their teeth, and gums … and she could be an agent of great help with guidance and advice …if only it wasn’t so difficult to broach the subject with people.

So you see, it’s not just me … many people … including people in the dental field,

and maybe you too …  find it difficult to tell others when they have bad breath.

Now many times the person with bad breath doesn’t know it …

and the reason their bad breath persists is because ...

the people they speak to ... are unwilling to call it to their attention.

Yes, that’s also one reason why people continue to commit sin in their lives …

because others who see the sin ... are unwilling to bring the sin to their attention. 

If you were raised by loving parents and you were taught the moral law of God … then you know the difference between right and wrong ...

between being good and doing evil … between living in grace and living in sin.

Well, God is counting on you ... to help others to see that difference ... too.

Just as many people who have bad breath don’t know they have bad breath ...

many people who are sinning ... don’t know they are sinning!

One of our Parishioners told me of a relative of his who is allowing her 16 yr old

son to have his girlfriend live with him in the same bedroom in their house!

When our Parishioner questioned the boy about this he failed to see how this was wrong. He had no idea that this was a sin.     So our Parishioner told him it was!

Can you imagine a mother allowing her 16 yr. old son ....

share the same bedroom in their home ... with a girl he’s not married to?

How will children ever know right from wrong when the parents don’t teach it?

So you see, there’s times when people really don’t know they’re sinning.

Another example might be when people have themselves sterilized …

either because they don’t want kids or they don’t want any more kids.

Neutering your cat or your dog is not a sin.

Neutering yourself is a grave sin.

Who says so? God! Yes, God speaking through his Church.

All three of our readings today demonstrate how God speaks to us.

In the early days ... it was through prophets like Ezekiel.

Right after the time of Christ ... it was through Apostles like Paul.

And Today, it’s through the Church on which Jesus bestowed His Authority.

Recall hearing two weeks ago, in Matt. 16, how Jesus established His Church

on the rock foundation of Peter and gave Him the keys to govern and guide.

Today, in Matt. 18, Jesus gives authority to the other Apostles as well, saying,

“whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Jesus’ Church is headed by the Pope & the Bishops,

all operating with Jesus’ authority to guide all people in God’s will …

teaching them how to live in God’s grace and avoid sin.

Society won’t always tell you the moral law of God ... the Church will.

So back to this topic of getting sterilized to prevent having more kids,

You have doctors out there, who while delivering a 2^nd child often ask,

“You weren’t planning on having any more were you?”

They may even ask, “Would your like us to tie your tubes while we’re in there,

or is your husband planning a vasectomy?”

You would hope that regarding such a permanent and life changing decision as this that people would want to know what God has to say about it.

You’d think that they would ask their Church for guidance in this area.

But sadly, many people don’t do this and so act in opposition to God’s will.

Today, God calls all of us to speak on His behalf … to guide people in His will.

In Ezekiel He says, “You shall warn them for me.”

This isn’t an easy thing to do.

It’s much like telling someone they have bad breath.

We’re aware of it … we know it’s going to hurt them down stream …

and yet we’re afraid to speak out and guide them in the right action to take.

Well, God gives us a huge incentive to speak on His behalf to others when He says in Ezekiel today, “If you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from (their) way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for (their) death.”

Wow! The person who chooses to sin will die for their sins … but if we see them sinning and don’t try to stop them, then we will be held accountable for their sin!

This goes right back to the Book of Genesis.

Recall how Cain asks God, “Am I my brother’s keeper!

The answer is yes!         We are our brother’s keeper.

If we see our brother or sister sinning ... we’re to take action to help them stop.

In our Gospel, Jesus tells us how to go about this.

He offers a 3-step process ...

with the first step being ... to meet with the offender one on one.

Reproving a person in this way is a sign of love and keeps resentment from growing between them.

If correction is not made, then bringing in one or two witnesses would be the next step ... still keeping the situation as private as possible ...

and preventing news of it from spreading throughout the community

But, if that doesn’t work, then Jesus says, “Tell the Church”, which as revealed today is the Bishops and Priests who carry Jesus’ authority to govern and guide.

So obviously, Jesus is positioning “the Church” as the highest Court of Appeals.

In all of this, Jesus is saying that we ... need to take action

when we see our brother or sister sinning.

We cannot stay silent and let them continue in their sin. We must reach out to them.

For, God will hold us ... responsible for their sin ... if we don’t act to help them.

Now we don’t have to be heavy handed … we just have to be clear.

Recall Dad’s guidance at the Thanksgiving dinner table, “You never learned that here”

Here’s another situation that some people don’t know about: the necessity of Baptism.

Like walking around with bad breath and not knowing it,

There are people walking around who are unbaptized and think nothing of it.

God is expecting you to be an agent in that person’s spiritual health.

By telling them Baptism is essential for Heaven ...

you can play a part in ... their eternal salvation. 

You see, God wants us to look out for our Brothers and Sisters in every way ...

but especially in calling others back from sin.

If you know of someone contemplating an Abortion ...

you must reach out to dissuade them from going forward with that action.

For it is murder and if unrepented will bring death to their soul.

If someone in your family has stopped going to Mass or Confession ...

 you must reach out to them and invite them back for they are in grave sin.

If you know of someone who is cohabiting …

living together as man and wife outside of Marriage ...

you must call them to stop because ...  

fornication is a grave sin that brings death to the soul.

In a similar way, there are many couples living in an unblessed marriage who need to be invited to approach the Church to find a way to have their marriage blessed.

Society says it’s OK.      But God’s Church says it’s not OK.

The constant call of Jesus is to come into ... or come back into … His Church.

When we see people involved in objective moral evil, it’s our duty to advise them of their actions and call them to do the Good.

This is not necessarily easy to do!

Not long ago, a woman called me very troubled about the state of her Dad’s soul because he was in a sinful relationship. Her Dad, who was not Catholic was divorced and remarried three times.          According to his Pastor, everything was fine.

But this woman, who was a convert to the Catholic faith, knew that it was not fine ...

 that he was guilty of the sin of Adultery.

Now, she had just established a good relationship with her father ...

and she longed for the chance to tell him the truth.

and when she did ... he got up and walked out on her.

In tears, she called me asking what to do!

I commended her courage ...

and I gave her some Bible passages that she used in a sweet note to her Dad.

Thankfully after three weeks they were back on talking terms!

And now maybe the truth that she shared with her Dad will percolate ...

and move him to repent and change his ways.

I sat next to a rep in our Sales Office when I worked on the West Coast who would regularly exclaim “Jesus Christ” when he got upset in a phone conversation or after he hung up. So one day I leaned over to him and said, “You know that’s a serious misuse of our Lord’s precious name.” and as time when by, he stopped saying it!

Tom Townes had a phrase that he uses often, “I need to confront the situation.”

Well, by God’s design, all of us are called … to confront sin ...

out of love for those who are sinning.

If you see someone abusing Drugs or Alcohol, or other people ...

If someone you know is looking at Pornography, or considering an abortion,

or using contraception, or committing fornication or adultery,

or cohabiting, or living the gay lifestyle ...

you are responsible for confronting them ...

and calling them to turn away from their sin .

You don’t have to be heavy handed. You just have to be clear.

Deliver the message with love.

God says, “You must warn them for me.”

We’re all called to confront sin.

How do we confront it?         With the truth!

Jesus is the Truth!

We guide others in the Truth ... out of concern for their immortal soul.  

If you meet someone with bad breath,  suggest that they see a dentist

to assess their health and provide any necessary treatment.

And if you meet someone who is objectively sinning, suggest that they see a Priest

to assess their spiritual health and provide any necessary guidance.

Pray for the courage to tell someone when they have bad breath.

Doing so can really help them

Pray for the courage to tell someone when they are sinning against God.

Doing so will really help them too ... both now and forever.