Life in America works differently. Independence is an individual thing, and it extends to personal spaces. I work in the hospital, and occasionally I find it embarrassing when I see some parents’ nonchalant attitudes toward their children’s welfare. Without considering the risk of infection, some parents bring their children to visit a family member or a sick friend and allow them to crawl on hospital floors without adequate supervision. When you try to intervene, motivated by the love we should owe one another, someone asks who appointed or authorized you to teach them good parenting. And I understand; this behavior is part of the low-context cultural norm common in the Western hemisphere, where everyone seems to mind their own business or needs a permission note before intervening in another person’s life, even when delaying help may result in harm—a sharp contrast from many communities in Africa.
However, today’s first reading tells us something different: God makes the Prophet Ezekiel a watchman for his people (Ezekiel 33:7-9). They were not his children biologically. They were a community. A watchman cannot remain silent when danger is approaching simply because speaking up may make someone uncomfortable. Sometimes, love requires us to see, speak, warn, and care, even when our intervention is not welcomed. To say something when we see something is actually considered American!
The entire weekend’s readings bring this responsibility together beautifully. Jesus teaches us to address another’s wrongdoing privately, not to embarrass or condemn, but to restore them. In the second reading (Romans 13:8-10), St. Paul gives us the reason: Love does no wrong to a neighbor; hence, this love is the “fulfillment of the law,” and the gospel acclamation (2 Corinthians 5:19) reminds us that God has entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation for one another. Therefore, loving one another does not always mean keeping quiet, looking away when things are going wrong, or saying, “It is none of my business.” Sometimes love means having the courage to speak when someone is heading toward danger, to correct without humiliating, and to help without expecting anything in return.
As we celebrate the Holy Eucharist this weekend (9/6/26), love compels us all, regardless of wealth, age, education, or power, to take responsibility for one another. You may be rejected, insulted, misunderstood, or even humiliated for standing up for what is right, but stand anyway when love requires you to do so. Refrain from using your concern for personal freedom or respecting another person’s space as an excuse for indifference. Additionally, do not use correction as an excuse for arrogance or control over others. Always speak with humility, act with compassion, and remember that the goal is never to prove that you are right; the goal is to help another person become whole. That’s part of how each of us could become true watchmen for others, and by loving our neighbor, we fulfill God’s law and commandments.
