So, how do we forgive those who have hurt us? In addition to what I shared on Sunday, this point is really helpful and important.

In the first century, Jesus was considered blasphemous  because he was forgiving people of their sins. On several occasions in the Gospels, he would declare, “You are forgiven!” The retort of the religious leaders was, “Only God can forgive sin!” It is one of the reasons Jesus ended up on the cross because he was deemed a threat to the religious practices of the day. i.e. forgiving sins, healing on the Sabbath, etc.

This Scripture of binding and loosening can be interpreted many ways but I am going to focus on one important implication of this Scripture. Jesus is inviting us to participate in the work of the Kingdom of God on earth with him. In other words, we are not on our own. We have the work of the Holy Spirit in us, among  us, and through us, accomplishing greater things than we can think or imagine. That is precisely why Jesus declared, remember, when two or three gather in my name, I am with you. The work of forgiveness and reconciliation is dependent on the presence and power of God doing exceedingly greater things in and through us, than we could ever imagine. God’s work, our hands, our voice, our hearts, our lives.

Theologically, this means we are invited into the continuous work of the Trinity which never gives up or gives in to despair. The work and relationship of the Trinity was described by the early church Fathers and Mothers as perichoresis. A Greek word which means, “moving about and around.” There is mutual respect, mutual submission and mutual love. This is the place of perfect peace and harmony. We are invited into this relationship of never ending grace and joy.

When we are doing the hard work of forgiveness, may we never forget we are not alone. The Trinity is empowering us to do what is seemingly impossible on this earth.

This soul training exercise is a good way to participate in the process of forgiveness. And as we do this, even when we don’t “feel” like it, we will begin to see the work of God in our own lives transforming us and empowering us to do what we never thought possible.