Treat him like a tax collector: Aug 12

Lectionary gospel, Aug 12, 2026
Matthew 18:15-20

“If he refuses to listen even to the Church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” Matthew 18:17

I’m sure Matthew’s ears perked up when Jesus was explaining how to treat an unrepentant brother – “treat him like a tax collector?” “Like me?!” Matthew must have been puzzled.

Sometimes what looks like an insult, turns out to be something else entirely.

“Treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.”

In the Rule of Benedict, the book used to guide monastery life since the 6th century BCE, when a fellow monk has so seriously broken trust so at to be banished from the monastery, the Abbott is instructed to “exercise utmost care and concern for the wayward monk.” The Abbott is to send “mature and wise monks who, under the cloak of secrecy, may support the wavering sister or brother, urge them to be humble as a way of making satisfaction, and ‘console them lest he be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.’ (2 Cor 2:7)” (Rule of Benedict, Chapter 27)

“Treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.”

Jesus spent a lot of his time on earth with Gentiles and tax collectors, so treating a wayward brother like one seems an odd “punishment.” Jesus’ relationship with Gentiles and tax collectors was often one of compassion and generosity.

The wayward sister or brother or monk may have broken trust and relationships, but they have not broken our ability to love, learned from the one who loves us.

Gentiles and tax collectors all are we and like the wayward monk, we are cared for, urged to be humble, and always welcome home.