Admonishing sinners: the third spiritual Work of Mercy with Carlo Miglietta

The Works of Mercy through the eyes of a biblical scholar

This morning, July 17, 2023, begins the two-week meeting involving friends of spazio + spadoni from Italy, India, Burkina Faso, Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Albania, India.

The Works of Mercy will be discussed; therefore, each day one work will be explored in depth, accompanied by biblical scholar and friend Carlo Miglietta.

The third spiritual Work of Mercy is “to admonish sinners”.

The biblical scholar points out that whoever performs this work is like:

• God: “As a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you” (Dt 8:5); “Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you” (Ps 81:8); “Therefore you correct little by little those who trespass, reminding them of how they have sinned, so that they may believe in you, Lord” (Wis 12:2); “Turn and live” (Ez 18:32); “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways!” (Ez 33:11; cf. 18:30); “For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Heb 12:6; cf. Prv 3:12).
• Jesus: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Mt 3:2); “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15); “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations” (Lk 24:47).
• The Prophets: Nathan, who admonishes David, murderer and adulterer (2 Sam 12:1-15); Isaiah: “Turn back, come!” (Is 21:12); Ezekiel: “Turn back, and turn away from your idols” (Ez 14:6)…
• Tobit: “Turn to him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Tob 13:6,8).
• John the Baptist: “Bear fruit worthy of repentance… I baptize you with water for repentance” (Mt 3:8,11); “Herod had arrested John… on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had been saying to him: «It is not lawful for you to have her!»” (Mt 14:3-4).
• Paul: “I preached that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of repentance” (Acts 26:20).

The biblical scholar also reminds us that whoever admonishes sinners listens to the Word of God.

Below are some excerpts:

• “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” (Mt 18:15).
• “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (Jas 5:20).
• “If someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently” (Gal 6:1).
• “If you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul” (Ez 3:19).
• “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Tim 4:2).
• “If it is to serve, let him serve; if it is to encourage, let him encourage” (Rom 12:7-8).

The biblical scholar leaves us at the conclusion of this work with a thought-provoking challenge, a question: do we know how to be “fishers of men” (Mk 1:17), identifying those who admonish sinners and proclaiming to them the beatitude of Mercy that reads “Blessed are the merciful” (Mt 5:7)?

Admonishing, an act of love

Etymologically, “to admonish” derives from the Latin: “ad monere”, which means to give an admonition, a warning, an exhortation. In the biblical sense, however, the sinner is one who misses the mark of their actions, who has a shortcoming.

This Work of Mercy becomes important when relating to a person who, while making a mistake, does not realize it but remains convinced they are doing the right thing, often with catastrophic consequences, especially for their own life. Correction must not take the form of judgment, but must be translated into a service of care and attention to the lives of others. Three fundamental ingredients are needed: love, listening to the Word of God to be certain of having seen the mistake correctly, and discernment to choose the right words, the right moment, and the right approach.

Source: Carlo Miglietta – Le Opere di Misericordia