What can be the consequences of the prophetic calling to speak the truth? How do prophets have to accept the consequences of their truth-speaking?

Paul says something remarkable rather simply today—worth noting, since Paul says a lot of remarkable things that sound like gobbledygoop when translated from Greek to English by way of Latin, as these texts come to us. In Romans, Paul shows off a lifetime summarization of his Christology, which gets quite esoteric at times.

“If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church.

It was more than two or three gathered in his name—seven to be precise—but it was the smallest gathering for Mass that I had ever attended, in the smallest chapel I’d ever seen, and I was struck by how intimate it was, how much it felt like a real meal, how strong Jesus’ presence in our midst seemed. After all, the priest assured us, “God keeps his promises.”

Our God is always ready to forgive us. Let us turn to God for that forgiveness.

We must be saved together. We must reach God together. We must present ourselves to him together. We must not expect to find God without the help of others. We must all come back together into our father’s house. . . . We must work a little for others. What would he say to us if we arrived separately?