Church Discipline As An Act Of Love

The picture that accompanies this article depicts one of the most dramatic scenes in Church history. Emperor Theodosius I, fresh off of brutally slaughtering 15,000 people in the city of Thessaloniki for allowing a mob to murder one of his officials, is being prevented from going to Church. Standing firmly outside the doors of the Church is the Saintly Bishop Ambrose of Milan. According to tradition, Saint Ambrose refused to let the emperor into the Church on account of his recent sins. Ambrose put his very life on the line by denying communion with Christ’s mystical body to the most powerful man in the empire. If he had chosen to oppose a less devout emperor, he might have been killed on the spot. But Theodosius heard the criticism of his bishop and allowed it to fill his heart with contrition. After this event, the Emperor performed public penance in the cathedral in Milan, and he reportedly came to the church without his imperial robes and knelt in humility, seeking forgiveness. Eventually, Ambrose restored him to communion after this act of repentance.

This story is a classic example of what is called church discipline, and there are two reasons for this practice, both of which come directly from the Bible. 

1. It is for the good of the individual (1 Corinthians)

2. It is for the good of the entire Christian community (Galatians) 

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he addresses a community of believers that has been turning a blind eye to a serious sexual sin committed by one of their members. Saint Paul’s own words sum up the situation perfectly:

“It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body I am present in spirit, and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Cor 5:1-5).

The individual in question has begun a romantic relationship with his stepmother, and the Church in Corinth has done nothing to address his behavior. Paul responds to this man’s very public and ongoing sinfulness by telling the community to get rid of him. Not because Paul suddenly hates this man for his sin, but because he loves him and knows how destructive such an ongoing behavior can be. 

When I was twenty years old, I took a job as a camp counselor at a Christian summer camp. At that stage of my life, I considered this my dream job because it was at the camp I had gone to when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I had some anger issues that I was not able to manage, and within a few weeks, they decided it was best to let me go. While that moment caused me a great deal of emotional pain, it also served as the incentive I needed to take my faith seriously and turn over a new leaf. Serious sin is best overcome by serious consequences. This is why our parents punish us when we do something wrong. Good parents know that if we are pursuing things that are bad for us, then eventually bad things will happen to us. No good parent can sit by idly while their children do irreparable harm to themselves. The punishment is meant to deter us from dangerous behavior, not to keep us from something good. It is the same for Paul, who was a spiritual father to the Corinthians (1 Cor 4:15).

The second reason that the Church disciplines its members when they stray from the truth is that it is for the good of the entire community. In Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, he addresses another congregation he founded for having fallen prey to the false teachings of a group called the Judaizers. These Judaizers had convinced the Christians in Galatia that they needed to observe all of “the works of the law” to be saved. In response to this situation, Paul writes them a letter of fraternal correction, which is just a fancy way of saying correction from a place of love. He tells them that they have betrayed Christ by embracing a new gospel (Gal 1:6), and that anyone who teaches a gospel contrary to the one he received from Jesus Christ should be condemned (Gal 1:9). 

Paul further explains his condemnation of the Judaizers and their false teachings by comparing them to yeast. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough (5:9),” he says. In other words, even the smallest amount of false teaching can spread and corrupt the entire body of Christ. Commenting on Jesus' instruction to chop off our hand if it causes us to sin, Saint Augustine writes, “When those who distort or oppose the gospel rise up in our midst, it is our duty to correct them because dissent leads to disease.”(1) When false ideas are allowed to spread unchecked, they can cause great harm to the body just as a natural disease can.  

Scripture commands Church leaders to correct, and sometimes dismiss, those who teach things that are contrary to the faith (1 Tim 3:10), as does the Code of Canon Law.(2) Most recently, Pope Francis recognized the need for this kind of discipline, saying:  

"If someone flaunts an objective sin as if it were part of the Christian ideal, or wants to impose something other than what the Church teaches, he or she can in no way presume to teach or preach to others; this is a case of something which separates from the community (cf. Mt 18:17). Such a person needs to listen once more to the Gospel message and its call to conversion."(3)

What we believe and what we do have a direct effect on our personal holiness, just as what we eat and drink has a direct effect on our bodily health. For the Church, which is our spiritual mother, not to step in and discipline us when we start consuming or doing things that are bad for us would be deeply unloving. The ultimate goal of this kind of discipline is not to cut someone off from the life of the Church forever. Such a thing would be contrary to the logic of the gospel. However, the church must impose serious consequences on those who are going astray; otherwise, they will continue down that path.

1. Augustine of Hippo, Sermons on New Testament Lessons 31.4.

2. Code of Canon Law, 1365.

3. Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia, 8.297.