I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Matthew, ch. 16

One might reasonably look at the Church throughout history, and especially since the emergence of biblical fundamentalism in the early 20th century, and presume that what it means to follow Jesus is to maintain what we’ve received and make sure nothing ever changes.  In fact, we might even believe that it’s better yet to actually re-gress into a nostalgic conservatism that clings more surely to our own past than to God’s future.

The gospel for this week, however, suggests that Jesus’ intention for us — as Peter Gomes notes — is that we be not so much agents for continuity, as for change.  When Jesus charges Peter and the disciples to follow in his mold of ‘binding’ and ‘loosing’ (i.e. taking up his ‘yoke’), he’s giving to them and to us both the rights and the responsibilities of proclaiming an informed and compelling gospel for today — in this time and this place — never fearing God’s future by clinging to our past, but embracing God’s future by relinquishing those things that limit us and keep us stuck.

In the spirit of binding and loosing, we at Holy Trinity do our best always to keep the main thing the main thing — to maintain a constant conversation about what matters most in the early life of a re-emerging faith community.  Now, doubtless, we’ve probably let go of some things that might have been helpful to hang on to.  But the desire to ‘travel lightly,’ has helped us to be both more discerning and more responsive in our efforts to hear and follow God’s Holy Spirit.

It can be scary, at times, for sure — not leading, but being led.  But it’s the nature of true discipleship when we say ‘yes’ to the Messiah, the Son of the living God.