Matthew 18: 15-20
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Jesus in Our Midst
For years I’ve begun my day with the Jesuit Prayer app, but today I became mindful of the “two or three gathered” with me around phones or computer screens to read the daily scripture, reflect and pray. We’re accustomed to gathering in church communities with fellow “pray-ers” we can see, so it’s easy to take for granted how technology is able to unite our prayer with a world-wide community of God’s holy people.
This Gospel passage describes a gathering around Jesus to listen to his teaching. That ancient gathering around Jesus has grown and now includes you and me gathered together, via technology, to listen to Jesus.
Today, as you pray around your device or screen, be mindful of your brothers and sisters in this Jesuit Prayer community joining you from all over the world and taking time in their day—just like you—to focus on the Word and on Jesus. Let us give thanks for Jesuit Prayer and other ways technology helps us grow our faith. Then let us remember that whenever and wherever we gather to pray—in our homes, in our churches and online—Jesus is in our midst. Thanks be to God.
—Diane Amento Owens was introduced to Ignatian spirituality in 2009 through the Midwest Jesuits’ annual Lenten Morning of Reflection. She offers spiritual direction with an Ignatian lens and is the author of Walking with Jesus to Jerusalem: A Lenten Pilgrimage of Hope.
Prayer
May we draw closer to you, O God, through our individual prayer and daily acts of service. May we also be mindful of our brothers and sisters around the world, and blend our voices and connect our hearts in prayer. May we agree that peace is the way, may we pray for peace, and each day may we be responsible for bringing a small slice of peace into the world around us. Help us focus on what unites us more than what separates us. Amen.
—Diane Amento Owens