2026-09-06 - BE A SENTINEL FOR YOUR BROTHER Author: Fr. Camillus Nwaigwe
6th of September 2026
23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
Ezek 33:7-9
Rom 13:8-10
Mt 18:15-20
There was a time when growing up was truly a communal experience. If a child misbehaved in the neighbourhood, a neighbour could correct or even punish that child. When the parents heard about it, instead of quarrelling with the neighbour, they would often say, "Thank you for helping me to train my child." The child knew that there were many eyes watching and many people who cared about his or her upbringing.
Today, things have changed. A teacher disciplines a child for serious misbehaviour, and instead of asking the child, "What did you do?" some parents first ask the teacher, "Why did you punish my child?" Sometimes, even when a neighbour draws attention to a child's wrongdoing, the response is, "Please, mind your business. That is my child."
We have increasingly become a society where everybody wants to mind his or her business. We see wrongdoing but say, "It doesn't concern me." We see someone destroying his life but say, "He is old enough to make his own decisions." We notice a friend going in the wrong direction but remain silent because we do not want trouble.
But the Word of God presents us with a different understanding of community.
What is a sentinel?
A sentinel is a person appointed to keep watch, guard others, and raise an alarm when danger approaches. A sentinel does not watch merely for himself. He watches because the safety and wellbeing of others have been entrusted to him.
That is exactly the image God gives Ezekiel in today's First Reading, "I have appointed you as a sentinel for the house of Israel."
Ezekiel's responsibility was not simply to observe what was happening. He was expected to see danger and warn the people. If he saw someone heading towards destruction and failed to warn that person, God held him accountable.
This means that, as Christians, we have a responsibility towards one another. Sometimes love requires us to say what is difficult to say. We may need to warn a friend whose choices are destroying him, correct a child who is going astray, or speak to someone whose actions are causing harm.
But Jesus teaches us how to do it, "Go and tell him his fault between you and him alone." Christian correction is not about embarrassing or exposing someone. It is about restoring the person. In an age of social media, we must be careful not to turn correction into public humiliation.
St Paul gives us the spirit behind it, "Owe no one anything, except to love one another." We correct because we love; we warn because we care; we speak because we desire the good of the other.
The three readings therefore give us a complete message:
Ezekiel: You have a duty to warn.
Jesus: Correct with wisdom and seek restoration.
Paul: Let love be the motive.
Therefore, being a sentinel does not mean becoming a judge over everyone. It means caring enough to speak when silence could lead someone to destruction.
And when someone corrects us, let us not always see an enemy. Sometimes, the person correcting us may be the sentinel God has placed in our lives.
Be a sentinel for your brother: see the danger, sound the warning, and do it all in love.
Happy Sunday and God bless you
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