Bound or Loosed
As a parent, how would you feel if your child went missing?
“Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost. "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." - Matt. 18:10-20
Just thinking of that question is enough to send chills up your spine.
What Jesus wants us to know is that God loves us so much that if any one of us goes astray, He will do whatever He can to get us back.
Yes, Jesus is particularly talking about children, the innocent ones, because they are most vulnerable.
What he is warning against is taking advantage of that vulnerability. How would he feel about someone who intentionally abuses a child?
We often think of Jesus from a different perspective. He is the one who told Peter to forgive seventy-seven times, but here, he is saying some things we do need to be raised to the community to address.
To forgive someone before they repent is to let them off without having them amend their ways. That isn't what Jesus is saying we should do.
When he tells the parable about the slave whose debts were forgiven, he makes a point about how the slave needs to behave afterward.
But having the power to address the sins of others is a huge responsibility. Jesus gives that power to his apostles, but he tells them they need to work together, and when they are together, remember that he is with them.
Maybe that's the thing we are forgetting these days. Jesus is among us when we gather, so maybe we should think twice about what we bind and what we loose.
More to come...