(Source from The Word Among Us)

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:18)

Jesus’ words sound familiar, don’t they? That’s because two Sundays ago, we heard him say the same thing to Peter. Then, Jesus was giving Peter the keys to the kingdom and establishing him as leader of the Church (Matthew 16:18-19). Along with that position, he was giving Peter a specific ministry that came with a special authority and grace: the power to bind and loose. That ministry continues today in Peter’s successors.

In today’s Gospel, however, Jesus seems to be doing something different. He’s speaking to all his disciples, and he extends this call to bind and loose to all of them—and in a way, even to us.

While most of us aren’t priests who hear confessions, we are all called to forgive. Jesus wants us to understand that both our forgiveness and our failure to forgive have an effect on people. By our words and the thoughts in our hearts, we can keep someone bound in condemnation or judgment. But we can also “loose” them by forgiving them. And forgiveness always releases people from the chains of guilt or shame. This means that we can help them experience the freedom that Jesus wants for them. We can continue his “ministry of reconciliation” in our corner of the world (2 Corinthians 5:18).

How amazing that Jesus trusts us to share in this sacred calling! He doesn’t want anyone to remain trapped in sin or in unforgiveness. He knows the danger that sin poses to our souls. That’s why he urges us to “cut off” and “throw away” anything in our lives that leads us astray (Matthew 18:8). That’s why he never stops seeking after his lost sheep (18:10-14). And that’s why he calls us to forgive “seventy-seven times . . . from [our] heart” (18:22, 35). Because as we forgive people who sin against us, we won’t just be freeing them. We’ll be “loosing” ourselves from those chains, too.

“Jesus, help me to forgive today.”