15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. 18 “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. 19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
St. Clare of Assisi as a young girl came under the influence of Francis of Assisi and, in spite of her father’s opposition, took vows. She founded and became abbess of the Second Order of St. Francis for women, which today is known, in her honor, as the Poor Clares. She established her first convent in San Damiano, near Assisi, where Francis had his vision of the crucifix telling him to shake up the Church. Because it was not considered acceptable at the time for women to be mendicants like the male Franciscans, the Poor Clares are a contemplative order who practice radical poverty – indeed, even the order as a whole is not supposed to own anything (although Pope Urban IV modified this rule later in the 13th century). St. Clare herself is credited with twice saving the city from invasion through her prayerful intervention. Interestingly enough, St. Clare is also the patron saint of television since, when she was near death, she mysteriously saw Christmas mass from a distance.
Today’s gospel, however, focuses on her job as abbess since it provides rules for how a Christian community should deal with personal relations between its members. If someone has hurt another, the victim should first speak to the offender in private – always with the aim of reconciliation. It may be difficult for us to swallow but the person who has been sinned against is to take on the role of the Good Shepherd and seek out the person who has hurt them (but note that reconciliation can only come about if the offender admits their fault and apologizes). If this fails, then the person should ask another to intervene with them and if this fails, then the church (at least in its local manifestation) should intervene. If the offender continues to refuse to admit wrongdoing, then the person can be expelled from the community.
Verse 18 sounds like the power given to Peter in chapter 16 so what had earlier been applied only to one man is now extended to the Church as a whole. In the case of a head of a community, binding and loosing applies to a lot of things, including decisions about what constitutes godly living and thus about what constitutes right and wrong in the community. Since St. Clare was famous for the power of her prayer, it’s not surprising that this reading ends on that note. The strength of a community, any community but in this case a religious one, depends on harmony among its members – and this can only come about if people are ready to forgive each other. If such a community prays together then their prayer has great power. Indeed, this reading ends with Jesus’ assertion that he will be present wherever two or three people meet in his name.
St. Joseph's Paris: Bible Study Website 