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Listening Mark Part 1

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on November 6, 2023
Posted in: Presentations.
          1 The Ministry in and around Galilee (1:14 to 8:26)2 The Journey to Jerusalem (11 to 13)3 The Passion (14 to 15)
 

LISTENING TO MARK PART ONE

Three Parts: 

1 The Ministry in and around Galilee (1:14 to 8:26) Pages 1 to 7

2 The Journey to Jerusalem (8:26 to 13) Pages 8 to 14

3 The Passion (14 to 15) Pages 15 to 21

As we pick the Gospel of Mark as we did the First Sunday in Advent, we absolutely must keep in mind that this is not history. This is theology. We must avoid the temptation to wonder if Jesus really said this or that, if something really happened or if he really did something. For that matter, it is silly and waste of time to wonder how it did something. That is serious distraction that will rob us of the wonder and truth of what is being revealed. All of the Gospels owe their existence to the fact that the eyewitnesses were dying, and those who actually saw and heard Jesus speak were fast disappearing. Different from Matthew and Luke, Mark’s Gospel does not have time for Christmas. He is not writing a heart-warming story. In fact, you could say that he doesn’t have time for that sort of thing. It is a Gospel written in almost desperate haste, and you get that feeling right away. 

Mark is giving us a testimony to the church in crisis, and for me, this Gospel is as timely and important as it ever was. We may not be suffering great violent persecutions here, but there is plenty of it elsewhere. Yet, in my opinion, we are suffering persecution of a new sort. It is not violent, but it can be just as painful and distressing. Our persecution takes a different form. It is a subtle kind of emotional invalidation. There is little respect for what we believe and value most. Disregarded and blatantly ignored, we are sometimes simply dismissed as pious fools over looked and dismissed. It is a crisis if we care to take it seriously, and Mark’s Gospel speaks to that now just as he did to that early church in its suffering.

Rome, the center of Gentile civilization is the ultimate and final destination of Peter and Paul. Probably there, as a companion of Paul and a disciple of Peter, a man tradition has called, “Mark” set about the task of putting into writing what he could gather from Peter and any others who had actually heard Jesus speak. There is every reason to believe that Mark had some earlier writings now lost to us that would have recorded things Jesus said and things Jesus did. But for the most part, this is a one-source Gospel and the preaching of Peter is the source. 

As a piece of literature, it is short, blunt, and somewhat clipped in style. In some instances, the details vary from the other Gospels when describing the same incident. At first it seems to be a chronological report of the Lord’s life, but in the end, it is almost chaotic as it seems to dart abruptly from one location to another. Considering the source, what we have are the memories of the aging Peter. Mark, careful to leave nothing out, gives us Peter with no addition or subtraction. As a piece of literature then, it is a simple and direct record of what was remembered from what Jesus said and did. This is not to imply that somehow Mark’s Gospel is inferior to Matthew and Luke. On the contrary, he was actually a pioneer and preserved for us material that might have been lost had it not been for his writing. He selected, adapted, and presented traditional material, and he arranged it with great care. He wrote for a community with a firm Christian tradition knowing what he was about with great theological sophistication. 

This Gospel is written more as a sermon that serves to motivate. So, by telling the story of Jesus, Mark challenges readers to faithful discipleship. He wants to reveal God’s plan of salvation, and he presents that in and through the life of Jesus Christ. It is through human life that God saves the world. Ultimately it is a call to action that is most clearly heard at the conclusion as a call to action and conversion. His focus is on one’s personal choice to act.

When he wrote, a decision to become a follower of Jesus was very radical. It could mean disapproval and outright rejection from friends and family. It could require close fellowship with people previously shunned, slaves, Roman soldiers, Jewish nationalists, and public sinners. For the educated it could mean being laughed at for the absurdity of following a carpenter from a backwater village who was executed as a criminal. For some it could also mean imprisonment, torture, and death by the brutal Romans. Mark himself is one of these people whose life has been changed. He is excited about it, full of joy, and anxious to share his “good news”. 

He was writing for a mixed community with Gentile and Jewish backgrounds. Where they are is only a guess. Mark is not preoccupied with geographical precision. However, they are somewhere in the Roman Empire, probably Syria, which would be close to the events of the Jewish War. Because he is aware of the Gentile converts he takes great care to translate Jewish expressions, customs, and Aramaic expressions for those living in Rome. He wants to knit these two peoples closer together with Jesus as the bond of that union. Most believe it was written soon after or immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70. This traumatic event raised a problem for Mark’s community which he had to face. Some believed that the destruction of the Temple would be followed immediately by the end of the world, and that did not happen. This makes Mark very conscious of living “between the times.” Victory is the destiny of the faithful, but life in the here and now is real, and it can be grim. 

Of special concern for Mark is the power of Imperial Rome as he stresses over and over again the deeds, the strength, and the determination of Jesus to overcome evil forces. Conflict is constant in Mark’s Gospel, and Jesus is the cause of it. He is in conflict with the authorities both religious and political. There is conflict with the disciples who are overwhelmed by Jesus and his demands. They are hard of heart and full of fear. They constantly misunderstand. In the end, they fail him.  As with Matthew, Luke, and John, the ultimate focus and the motive for writing is the Passion, which may have been written first with the other chapters, written later, leading and pointing toward the Passion. One third of this Gospel is devoted to the last week of Jesus’s life. 

“Who is this?” is the question that drives Mark’s Gospel from the moment Jesus brings calm to the sea up to the moment when Peter finally speaks up and expresses the faith of the apostles, and on to one final moment at the death of Jesus. One of the most striking elements in this Gospel is the reluctance of Jesus to reveal himself as Messiah. He only refers to himself as the “Son of Man”. Jesus calls disciples to faith that requires suffering, and so until they pass through the suffering, there is to be no talk or mention of who he is. This is what gives rise to what students of Mark’s Gospel call “The Messianic Secret.” Yet, we know the secret and so do the first readers of Mark’s Gospel. What unfolds in this Gospel by watching the characters who do not know what we know is an unfolding of what Jesus must undergo and what that means for those who follow him. 

Mark is a storyteller with an eye for detail especially in the miracle stories. Details are abundant and given in a vivid style, and one incident follows on another in an almost breathless narrative. He also shows himself to be a rare and fine theologian.

More than any other Gospel, Mark emphasizes the miracles, healings, and exorcisms of Jesus. There are 678 verses in Mark, and 1/3 (198) recount miracles. If you like numbers and statistics, there are 18 miracles stories. Thirteen of these are healing stories. The rest are exorcisms. In our day, these raise some questions: Did those events really occur by supernatural intervention? “Do demons really exist?” “Do miracles happen today?” In Mark’s day, these were not questions. Demons existed and troubled people, and there were miracles everywhere. So, Mark never addresses those questions. Supernatural intervention, while extraordinary, was common to the time, and attributing certain illnesses to demons was equally common. We cannot go further with this without my reminder, something I have said time and time again in these talks about the Gospels. “This is not history! This is theology.” It is ridiculous to ask “What really happened?”. That is simply a distraction from what matters, and why we have the Gospel. There is no way to answer that question. What matters is, “What did this happening really mean?” 

With that, let us step into the Gospel of Mark.

The opening verse provides the title: “The Good News,” and for Mark, Jesus is himself the Good News that God has sent his Son to rescue humanity by serving and sacrificing his life. There is no infancy narrative. Mark has no interest in what happened before the Baptism of Jesus. For Matthew and Luke, the identity of Jesus is the point of their Nativity stories. They want to introduce Jesus through a location, his family, and the witnesses (Shepherds in Luke, Magi in Matthew). Mark accomplishes that with John the Baptist.

This story of Jesus begins in the wilderness of Judea. We have no idea where that is on the map, but the location has profound theological significance. The Baptist appears like Elijah to prepare the way. At the ninth verse, Jesus is introduced, to be baptized, and to be tempted. This is Mark’s way of establishing the identity and the authority of Jesus with a hint about what is to come as Jesus moves into Galilee.

The ministry in Galilee is dominated by one question: “Who is this?”. A series of remarkable events and words of Jesus raise the question. Jesus never declares his identity. Demons know, but they are silenced by Jesus who simply offers himself and his teaching for individual decisions and commitment. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

The ministry in Galilee has three parts, and the transition from one part to the next is marked by a response to Jesus. The first part concludes at chapter 3 verse 6: “The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” The second part concludes at chapter 6 verse 3: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him.” Again, he moves on after recognizing their rejection. Part three concludes the Ministry in Galilee and leads up to the climactic moment when Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah. With that, everything changes, the pace picks up, and Jesus heads toward Jerusalem. That’s the end of the ministry in Galilee.

With that outline understood, it only takes Mark 9 verses to establish the identity of Jesus. It happens at the Baptism which, in Mark, is not a public affair. The whole event is simple and direct, it is the Epiphany moment in this Gospel establishing the identity and authority of Jesus of Nazareth. It occurs by a vision and a voice. A verb in the passive voice is used by Mark here: “The heavens were torn open.” It is the same verb used when the Temple Veil is “torn” from top to bottom. In both cases, what has been closed is now open. The mention of the Spirit descending suggests that Jesus is greater than John, and that Jesus will Baptize with the Spirit. Both the vision and the voice are intended for Jesus alone. There is no mention that anyone else was present or heard the voice. This is a secret epiphany. Jesus knows who he is by means of an experience that is not available to the public. They must discover his identity by listening to what Jesus says and by watching what he does. The centurion who watches Jesus die will confess publicly what is here revealed privately: Jesus is the Son of God. The entire story that follows is the story of Jesus and of what God did through him. We ought to think about this in terms of our own Baptism. It establishes our identity.

That Spirit descending upon him immediately drives him out into the wilderness. Mark says nothing about fasting, and there are no details about temptations. There is nothing said about the outcome of the struggle either. What matters here is the number 40 as a reminder of Israel’s forty days in the wilderness and the forty days Moses spent on Sinai. The wilderness is a place where the forces hostile to God are found. Yet, God is present there too. The Greek word translated as “tempt” can also mean “test”. It is not likely that Mark would suggest that Jesus was “tempted” to sin. On the contrary, since conflict is so much a part of Mark’s Gospel, it would be much clearer to say that Jesus was “put to the test” which is a very different experience.

Then, almost as though Jesus waits for the Baptist to finish his work, Mark simply says that Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God. For Mark, it’s all about proclaiming which includes preaching and teaching. In the first verse of Chapter One, it is the “good news of Jesus Christ.” Now in verse 14 it is the “good news of God”. Mark tells us about Jesus. Jesus tells us about God.

Announcing that “the time is fulfilled” has several dimensions of meaning. At that time and in that place, God stepped into human history in a decisive way. The time is fulfilled. Ours is an invaded planet.  Mark links the time of John’s arrest with the time when Jesus starts preaching the gospel. The time of the prophet is over. Now it’s the time of Jesus. Finally, when the good news of God is preached, it is decision time: The time is fulfilled. The other Gospels have Jesus speak of a Kingdom that is present, already here. The Jesus of Mark’s Gospel speaks of a Kingdom that is about to appear. So, it’s decision time, repent and believe. “Time is up!” 

It is hard not to answer a ringing phone, and that is a good way to enter into this first incident in the public ministry of Jesus. He calls. The memory of this among the earliest Christians was a treasure. This story must have been used in the earliest preaching of the Church. With it, the second major concern of this Gospel after Jesus himself is introduced: this group of fishermen. It is told with sharp details making it easy to visualize. It’s all vivid and fresh: five personal names, the Sea of Galilee, the nets, the boats, hired servants, casting, and mending. This is their first encounter with Jesus making their quick response so remarkable. The only words are from Jesus. He calls. They follow. We don’t know anything about them, about their work or how they got along. Mark is interested in only one thing: the authority of Jesus and the response of disciples. In other words: What does Jesus say, and how will they respond.

It can be said that one purpose of Mark’s Gospel is to allow us to participate with the first disciples of Jesus in the gradual and growing recognition of who he is until we reach the conclusion to which the demoniac points in the first of the conflicts. It happens in a synagogue. Jesus first confronts and defeats the power of evil in the place of worship of the people of God. The scribes belong there. The unclean spirit does not. The presence of Jesus is a confrontation with both the Scribes, who have no authority compared to Jesus, and the unclean spirit. What is affirmed here is the amazing authority of Jesus which shows itself in teaching and a special kind of healing that shows itself as power over forces hostile to God. 

There is a lot going on in Capernaum. First an exorcism in the synagogue, and then later that day at the home of Simon and Andrew there is a healing in Peter’s home. One involves a man and the other involves a woman. Then there are more healings in the evening that leads to the closing sentence: “He would not permit the demons to speak because they knew him. This is the first report of what is often called: “The Messianic secret.” With that day at an end, Jesus goes off to pray. The disciples track him down and want him to return to the crowds for more healing. Jesus insists that the goal of his ministry in Galilee is to preach. “That is why I came” he says.

Having established why he came and confirming his authority, a preaching tour begins, and with the first healing on this tour, the roll of faith is introduced. Mark gives us a glimpse into the motivation of Jesus who was “moved with pity” at the sight of a leper. However, more is being revealed in this episode. The words of Jesus, “I will” affirm that God wills healing, and that Jesus comes as the great physician. Then comes the stern command not to tell anyone because he wants to be known as more than a miracle worker. The crowds gathering are a hindrance to his mission.

With the first event in Chapter Two, the term, “Son of Man” is introduced, a connection between sickness and sin is raised, and the first rumblings of a conflict are heard as the scribes appear. The setting is important. Mark tells us that Jesus is “at home.”  Something different from other healing stories happens here. There is no touching and no request as a paralytic is lowered through the roof.  Jesus recognizes faith and says, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” With that the authority of Jesus is revealed and the fuse of controversy is lit. As proof Jesus then says, “Take up your mat and walk.” What we have here is a revelation of God’s forgiveness and the authority of Jesus. There is no evidence that the man had faith, but it is clear that the friends did. Their faith plays an important role.

As this first part of the Gospel continues, Levi is called, and Mark tells of growing controversy over eating with sinners and fasting. We know nothing about Levi, and he is never listed among the apostles. All we know is that Jesus calls him even though he is an outcast and therefore a sinner. Jesus eats with him. The episode provides us with a pronouncement: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” A controversy over fasting follows and provides another pronouncement: “Fresh skins for new wine.” We can only imagine how encouraging these pronouncements were to the early Church in its struggle between Gentile converts and faithful Hebrew converts hanging on to their old ways. It suggests something we know to be true but may need a reminder: Relationships are healed when people eat together. Then comes a sabbath healing of a man with a withered hand adding to the controversy. Growing opposition from religious leaders leads Jesus and his disciples to withdraw from danger. The crowd follows and Mark gives us a sense of that crowd by listing the places from which they come. It becomes a sort of “State of the Ministry” report, but the crowds have no idea who Jesus is. The unclean spirits do.

After removing Jesus from the crowd, Mark uses a verb that is translated in various ways: made, ordained, appointed, named, or chosen. The object of this verb is simply “twelve.” This is a tricky spot in the Gospel because the persons named are both disciples and apostles, “the twelve” in Mark means something more than “the disciples” but something less than the “apostles.” Mark gives their names, but three of them get surnames. They become an inner circle among the twelve. With that, this section ends as Mark writes: “Then Jesus went home.”

In Chapter Three, the Kingship of Jesus becomes the focus. What we see is that Jesus leaves his identity up to the crowds, the religious leaders, the disciples, and his own family. So, it begins in a “home.” The religious leaders accuse him of working with Satan. His family accuse him of being out of his mind. Two important pronouncements emerge from this episode: one comes from the family confrontation when Jesus says: “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.” The second pronouncement concerns the “unpardonable sin.” That sin is to recognize a supernatural power at work in Jesus and yet to call that power unclean or evil. It is unforgiveable because it rejects the very agent of God’s healing and forgiveness. Mark uses the imperfect tense of the verb here, and that is significant, “Because they were saying he has an unclean spirit” suggests that this is a habitual action, a fixed attitude, a firm decision not just skepticism. It is deliberate, and that’s what is so sinful. It is the obstinate rejection of God’s Holy Spirit alone that is unforgiveable. Only those who set themselves against forgiveness are excluded from it.

Now he moves to the lake where he begins to teach in parables. There are three of these: two about seeds and one about light. Mark wants us to understand that there is a large crowd, and Jesus is presented as a “Teacher.” This is the first and longest of the teaching moments, and the location suggests that Jesus is “fishing” throwing his net broadly. 

The word parable in Greek is used more broadly than in English. We make a difference between “parable,” “allegory,” and “saying.” In the New Testament,” parable” refers to all sorts of comparisons, proverbs and riddles. After the first parable about seeds being thrown all around, there is an explanation. It is not likely that this is really Jesus explaining the parable. More likely, it is Mark interpreting the parable for the church. For insiders, parables serve as revelation. As he, probably Mark, interprets the parable, the purpose is exhortation – getting the listener to ask: “What kind of soil am I?” Consistently throughout this section there is expressed the need to “hear.” “Listening” is what Jesus teaches. Parables reveal the Kingdom of God, but reveal it as a mystery. They do this by drawing attention to the mystery and miracle in everyday activities and events like sowing seeds. It is an invitation to see and to hear God in daily life and in familiar texts like this one, to sit still and contemplate quietly until the commonplace wakes our minds and hearts to wonder.

Now remember where Jesus has been for this time of teaching: “The Lake.” As evening comes, a weary Jesus takes to a boat to escape the crowd, and a storm comes. Jesus is sleeping. Disciples are fearful. There is a pattern to the miracle stories in Mark’s Gospel: 1) a problem, 2) a solution, 3) evidence that a miracle has occurred, 4) a response of wonder. This calming of the storm fits that pattern. The command of Jesus is very strong. Many translations in English do not carry that sense. “Quiet Down!” or “Stop It!” would be closer to Mark’s Greek, and then he raises a question that is important at this point, the question of Faith.

Having crossed to the other side where the longest and most detailed exorcisms take place, the demon addresses Jesus as the “Son of God” giving us the main point of this event, that Jesus can heal because he is the Son of God. By his authority he sends the demons back to their place, the depths. This is Gentile territory, and we should not miss the message of the location. In this alien place, the authority and power of Jesus is just as great as in a synagogue and even more amazing. We might also notice that no one asks Jesus to do anything here. He operates on his own authority, and he will confront evil or sickness wherever and whenever he can. The people who witness this are afraid. Who wouldn’t be? The man who had been wild and confused now sits calmly and serene in the presence of Jesus. In the midst of a disorderly violent world, Jesus brings order and peace.

So, we’ve seen so far that Jesus can handle storms in nature and demons. Now we shall see that he can also care about more human woes. Mark employs a technique that creates suspense for us. Now back across the lake, he is headed to the home of a Synagogue leader named, “Jairus” whose daughter is dying. The trip is interrupted by an unclean woman who is bleeding. Suspense! Will he get to the home of Jairus in time? As we find out, he does not. She dies. But that is no problem for Jesus. Now he confronts death itself. What he says about her sleeping should not be understood to suggest that she only appears to be dead. The text affirms that in the presence of Jesus, death itself, real death, is but a sleep. With his command that they give her something to eat, a warm and human Jesus is affirmed. As often happens, the episode concludes with a warning to tell no one.

Jesus then goes home. Remember that his family have already tried to stop him, so what happens at home should come as no surprise. He goes to the synagogue and takes his turn at teaching, and it does not go over well, providing us with one more of his pronouncements: “No prophet is acceptable in his village.” Overfamiliarity is a hindrance to healing, so he can do very little there and leaves. It is not that Jesus cannot heal when there is no faith, but it has a restrictive, dampening effect on his work. Mark tells us that he left to continue teaching. This is his work and ministry: teaching. There is a message here buried in the details that God does not always chose to work with the exotic or “professional” but sometimes in those we know very well, our neighbors.

Mark now shifts to the apostles. It began with just four, then he named some of them disciples. Now, he sends the Twelve to extend the work of Jesus. These followers do not understand him. They do not share his way of obedience to the will of God. They are always, up to the end, never fully understanding. They vow to follow him, but they fail, and their failures are greater than their successes. Yet, Jesus does not wait. Flawed as they are, he sends them out, and we can hardly miss Mark’s message to a flawed and often failing church. This is the first and only time the word “apostle” (one sent) is used. Notice that it is a communal mission. They go two by two, not one by one.

Before they come back, there is an interruption. Suspense again? John the Baptist is killed, and Mark uses this to foreshadow what will happen to Jesus as well as those who assume his mission. When the Twelve return, Jesus takes them off to a deserted place, but the crowd chases after them setting the scene for the “Feeding” miracle, which is the only miracle of Jesus that is reported in all four Gospels. Mark has two feeding miracles. It all happens with five loaves of bread and two fish. Mark gives us a shepherd’s image as Jesus has the people to sit down on green grass telling the disciples that they should give the people something to eat. We ought not to miss how Mark widens the ministry of Jesus beyond healing miracles. Jesus is attentive to every human need. He feeds people. When it comes to the Church and its members doing what Jesus did, there is a message here. Even though Mark uses eucharistic language having Jesus look up to heaven, bless, break and give, this ought not be spiritualized. He is feeding hungry people.

Typical of Mark’s gospel so often reflecting a rush, he says that “Immediately” Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and head to the other side while he dismissed the crowd before going up on the mountain to pray. The pattern of rushing and then praying is already clear in this Gospel. Then comes a storm, and it’s almost hard to tell what frightens the disciples more, the storm or the “ghost” they see.

This is a classic Epiphany moment, a manifestation of Divine presence. The words: “It is I” confirm this, and the verb, “pass by” is another biblical way of describing a divine, saving presence. Not calmed by these words, Jesus gets in the boat with them. While the wind and sea are calmed, there is no hint that the fears of the disciples were calmed, and Mark makes it clear that they do not understand anything. In contrast to them, the people on the shore where they land recognized him immediately.

Into that scene comes Pharisees and some Scribes. Mark says that they come from Jerusalem, and that detail is like a storm cloud on the horizon beginning the final conflict with adversaries in Galilee. The controversy is over what is clean and what is unclean and the interpretation of the law governing this. The disciples had not washed their hands, but the question is really about lifestyle, and the formal rigid lifestyle proposed by the Pharisees allows the neglect of parents, and Jesus exposes this hypocrisy. Suddenly, a Greek woman, a Gentile is on the scene, and the question about clean and unclean moves from things to people. Even though Jesus refuses her at first, her attitude and faith open the mission to the Gentiles. This is followed by the curing of a deaf-mute, and it is the last of a string of miracle stories concerned with the question of Jesus’ identity. It concludes with another order not to tell anyone, but the crowd says: “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

With that, chapter eight begins in this way: “In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat.” The dialogue between Jesus and the disciples reveals their lack of understanding. How in the world could they ask the same question: “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy this crowd?” How dull are they? Did they learn nothing from the previous feeding story? Another feeding story is told. There might be two reasons. The first would be for the sake of emphasis lest we think that Jesus is just teaching and talking all the time. The second reason is that it introduces an interesting noticeable diminishing of power as the eighth chapter unfolds. Here he feeds fewer people with greater resources, and there is less left over. Do not miss the subtle image connection here between Jesus and Moses as people in the desert are adequately fed. We see him avoiding a verbal challenge from his rivals, the Pharisees. The crowd is still not comprehending no matter what he does. It takes two attempts to heal a blind man, and there is an inadequate confession from a follower. We begin to see some vulnerability as he faces his upcoming death. Then it’s back to the boat. The destination is unclear. Mark says Dalmanutha. There is no such place identified in history. Now we are in Gentile territory affirming the mission to the Gentiles.

Moving on, the Pharisees show up and totally exasperate Jesus with a request for a sign. Back to the boat, and in that boat, Jesus teaches them about the sign of the feeding and the bread, and Mark records their lack of understanding in the words of Jesus: “Do you still not understand?” I suspect that the rest of the trip was made in silence. With verse 27 of chapter 8, the Disciples and Jesus set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asks the big question: “Who do people say that I am?”  After their report, the really big question is asked: “Who do you say that I am?”   Drum rolls, trumpet blasts, and flashing lights should sound at this point in Mark’s Gospel. It is the turning point as Peter says: “You are the Messiah.” Now mind you, this comes from someone who does not understand. He has no idea what the Messiah must really be like and what the Messiah must do. The next part of Mark’s Gospel will begin to explore that with the first prediction of the Passion followed by the Transfiguration. We will take up the second part of this Gospel when we return to Ordinary Time. With this much, you should be ready to listen to the beginning of Mark’s Gospel during this season.

The Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on November 4, 2023
Posted in: Homily.
3:30pm Saturday at Saint Peter the Apostle in Naples

Malachi 1: 14-2:2, 8-10 + Psalm 131 + 1 Thessalonians 2: 7-9, 13 + Matthew 23: 1-12

November 5, 2023 St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Naples, FL

Of all the texts in Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 23, verses 1 to 12 (That is this one.) is the most difficult and challenging text for me to preach. Every three years when the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time rolls around, I think about getting a sore throat or a fever and staying home. For years, this has been the case. Then suddenly, back at the end of September, I started to think about a sudden short vacation in early November. Maybe my family would like to see me? But, here I am face to face again with Matthew 23, forced to dig deeper into this text and stop doing what we all do way too often: think, I hope they are listening to this. For you, “they” may well be priests. For priests it’s usually Bishops we hope are listening to this. We all like to blame someone which is usually a way to deflect attention away from our own faults. Calling someone else a hypocrite because they don’t do what they say is way of keeping someone from noticing that we are not so consistent either. What I have come recognize with these verses is that this is about me not someone else.

The simplest way of hearing or reading these verses is to see them raising the question of Authority. These scribes and Pharisees Jesus attacks here are the “authorities.” When something or someone is “authentic”, it means being connected to the author of things. When you see the words Author and Authority together, you suddenly get it. The issue with the scribes and Pharisees is that the connection was broken between them and the author of things. That’s why Jesus Christ was so authentic, and why the people kept saying that he speaks with authority. The people heard God speaking through him. He was the real thing. 

Herein lies the challenge to us. We have to be real. We have to be honest; first of all, with ourselves, and then with others. That is humility.  The simple basic truth about who we are and what we are. We are not phony or fake, just real and true.

All of us seeking to better live the virtue of Humility will only arrive there when we know who we are and stop pretending, wishing, or faking it. It’s about honesty. Part of that means being open to feedback or criticism no matter who says it whether we like it. If someone says something that hurts, before getting in a snit, the humble will set aside the offence and think if there is any truth in what they have said no matter how they said it. 

In the Gospel scheme of things, the greatest leaders and teachers are those who share their vision of faith not in words alone but by the power and authority of their example, in the honest integrity of their lives, in their commitment of service toward and respect for those in their charge. There is real joy to be found in an authentic life that is honest, true and humble. For these people of faith, it is the service, the act of doing good that brings that joy, not in some recognition, applause, or award. The real award simply comes from bringing the love of God into the lives of others.

The Solemnity of All Saints

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on October 30, 2023
Posted in: Homily.
Saint Peter the Apostle at 12 Noon

November 1, 2023 at Saint Peter the Apostle Parish in Naples, Florida

The Gospels have beatitudes scattered all through the life of Jesus. Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it. Blessed is she who believed that the promises of God would be fulfilled. Blessed is the breast who nursed you, and all through the Old Testament there are many more.  What Matthew has done is collect some of these proclamations and woven them into the first of several talks or discourses Jesus gives in Matthew’s Gospel. If the teaching of Jesus were condensed into a dozen verses we would have it all, everything he taught and lived.

The trouble with these verses is that they have become so familiar that we hardly give them any more deep and serious reflection. Perhaps a new version might give us more comfort and reassurance, because that is what they are intended to do in Matthew’s Gospel. These are not goals to be achieved, but words spoken to reassure and comfort those to whom they addressed. Maybe this would work for today:

You are blessed when you are at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God.

You are blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

You are blessed when you are content with just who you are – no more, no less. That is the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that cannot be bought.

You are blessed when you have worked up a good appetite for God. He is good and drink in the best meal you have ever had.

Blessed are you when you care. At the moment of being care-full, you find yourselves cared for.

You are blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

You are blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That is when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

You are blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s Kingdom.

Not only that: count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens: give a cheer, even, for though they don’t like it, I do. And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten in this kind of trouble.

The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on October 28, 2023
Posted in: Homily.

Exodus 22: 20-26 + Psalm 18 + Thessalonians 1: 5-10 + Matthew 22: 34-40

October 29, 2023 at Saint William Parish in Naples, Florida

There is a great temptation we all face to separate love of God from love of people. We may well go out of this church today and demonstrate how we have separated the two by the way we get out of the parking lot. Those opponents of Jesus will not let up. Last week it was all about coins and Caesar this week is about law not surprisingly raised by what Matthew calls, “a student of the law.” It’s one of those be careful what you ask for moments. He asks for one law and gets two. In sitting with this text, we should take note that when Jesus says the second is like the first, the word like not mean imply they are separate. It means they are the same. They are equal in importance and inseparable. A door hangs on two hinges. If one is out of alignment it will not swing properly or open easily. If love of God and love of neighbor are out of balance, our lives will be badly aligned.

In spite of what Jesus says, love of God and love of another human person are tough to imagine. I find a command to love God a little puzzling. First of all, if love is spontaneous and free, how can it be commanded? God, being God after all does not need our love, nor is God changed by our love as a neighbor, a spouse, or a child is changed by love.

We know what love of neighbor looks like. All you have to do is watch people married for fifty or sixty years who are content to sit quietly in each other’s presence. It’s also an act of gratitude for years of simply staying together sharing sorrows and joys.

In this commandment a serious challenge that pushes our limits. There is a teaching here that without love for an “other”, especially a stranger and even our enemy, we become caught in a one-dimensional kind of self-love. That’s wrong! Without contact with people whose experience, culture or faith tradition stretches us, we live trapped in a self-affirming hall of mirrors. The God who is bigger than we can ever imagine commands us to love an “other” lest we fall into narcissistic idolatry. Loving someone like us is no big deal. It does not even require a commandment. It’s really kind of self-love that might not be very healthy in the long run.

Saint Ignatius left behind a kind of “how to” list at the end of his Spiritual Exercises called: “Contemplation to Attain the love of God.” He didn’t mean how to attain God’s love for us because that’s a given. He did mean our love of God which always needs coaching. First on the list is the simple reality that love consists more of deeds than words, that lovers give what they have to each other. Then he says that we have to place ourselves in the presence of the Lord asking the Lord to wake us up to the gifts we have received and to stir up our gratitude. After that he offers four concrete ways of getting in touch with those gifts of God.

  1. Review your life story, calling to mind my own creation, redemption, and other personal gifts.
  2. Consider how much we ought to offer God. Ignatius does that through his famous prayer: “Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and all my will – all that I have and possess. You, Lord have given all that to me. I now give it back to you.”
  3. Consider how God is present in all creatures giving them existence; giving life to plants, animals, giving humans emotions and intelligence, and finally how he dwells in me making me his temple, since I am created as a likeness and image of the divine Majesty.
  4. Finally, there is a focus on how God works for me, cares and provides, protects and comforts and how all good things around me are just a partial reflection of their source.

As Matthew says at the end of this episode, “That’s all there is.” Without love, there is nothing, nothing at all, and without love we are nothing.

The Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on October 20, 2023
Posted in: Homily.

Isaiah 45: 1, 4-6 + Psalm 96 + Thessalonians 1: 1-5 + Matthew 22: 15-21

October 22, 2023 at St. Peter and St. William Parishes in Naples, Florida

We are living through a time of catastrophic change, turmoil, the dismantling of former systems and ideology, and extreme uncertainty. I think that is why our civil leaders seem so inept and paralyzed. It is probably why we are so polarized around three ideologies: liberalism, conservatism, and socialism. Left to themselves, these are all extreme and not very pragmatic. It is not too farfetched to conclude that the systems we have in place are broken and unable to address much less solve the problems spiraling out of control before us? If we get really honest with ourselves, we ought to admit that there is no perfect way. A really sincere and honest follower of Jesus Christ can never find a happy home here. Jesus knew that it would be different which is why he put forth God’s vision for the world in the Beatitudes. It would be nice if it all could just come together as one, without disharmony or discord. Practical sense and wisdom continue to tell us that it won’t. It is why the central symbol of our faith lies in the torn and mutilated body of a man hanging on a tree. What can be perceived by a non-believer as a gruesome defeat is for the person of faith a tremendous victory! We live with contradictions, but not with fear.

More than ever before we are called to embrace God’s vision for the world working for justice, peace, and integrity, all the while preserving the sacredness of human life at every stage. We cannot neglect returning to God the very image God has placed upon us, and we do that by restoring that very beautiful image in all our brothers and sisters. None of us are objects to be manipulated, ridiculed, or berated. We are all God’s children who need to find our way back to the innocence we once knew at our conception. This is no pipe dream. It is real, and it is possible.

Those who have come to that Temple to trap Jesus want to get him to take a side in some political dilemma. He won’t go there. We ought not miss the point that this happens in the Temple, in God’s holy place. He dismisses Caesar and turns the issue to God. We’ve all heard all kinds of speeches and sermons about this text assuming wrongly that it is about the separation of the Church and State. The idea would never have entered their minds at that time. Jesus is talking to people who pay their taxes to keep the peace with Rome, but do nothing, give nothing, and have no thought about why or how to give to God. They have forgotten how to do that.

This confrontation over a coin is not a solution to the controversy of church verses state. This is not some easy way out of what may well be the purpose and meaning of life, to give to God what God is due. When Jesus says: “Whose coin is this?” they all know it is Caesars, because all money belongs to Caesar. The real question his is, “What is God’s”?  We know the answer. Everything.

So, how do we give back to God? We could start by putting the will of God ahead of our own will. We could ask ourselves some tough questions like: “Is it God’s will that God’s children be separated by skin color, where they are born, or what language they speak? Is it God’s will that we take human lives? Is it God’s will that anyone should be hungry? At the same time, we can start giving back to God when we listen to each other without judgement or criticism, hearing their pain and their fear. We also give back to God when we realize that our resources need to be protected and shared because they really belong to God. They are not ours. When that happens, we might begin to realize that “success” is not about power or domination, but about opportunity and abundance. It’s not about what I can keep for myself but about what I can do for others with what I have. That might go a long way toward losing our sense of entitlement and lead us to the virtue of humility.

Today, Jesus Christ appeals to us all to look beyond the simplistic politics and all the black and white legalisms and ideologies of the day and realize that we are called to embrace values centered in a faith that sees the hand of God in all things. There is nothing socialistic, conservative or liberal about that. We do not live in two separate worlds. How we live in the world of Caesar may well determine how and if we shall live in the world of God.

The Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on October 13, 2023
Posted in: Homily.

Isaiah 25: 6-10 + Psalm 23 + Philippians 4: 12-14, 19-20 + Matthew 22: 1-14

October 15, 2023 I will be at Saint Gregory Abbey in Shawnee, Oklahoma this weekend.

At an earlier time in my life, I was on the faculty of a Catholic High School staffed primarily by the Sisters of Mercy. There was a dress code. It did not exactly amount to a uniform, but it was specific in terms of color, collars, skirts, and hair styles. When I was assigned there at age 28, I had very long hair. You may find that hard to believe, but there is evidence in the archives. It was the early 70s. The Sisters wore habits and veils. At the very first faculty meeting before the school year began, I showed up in shorts and a Tee shirt. It was August in Oklahoma for heaven’s sake. Sister Mary Wilfreda, the Principal and I had never met. She was also new there. When I walked in, her eyes nearly popped out of her wimple, and it was not long before she asked me how I was going to enforce the dress code looking like “that.” In response, I said: “Sister, I do a lot of things these young people are not going to do like drink a beer now and then and drive a car. They need to get over it.” She grumbled something and went on with the meeting. I learned a lot of things from that assignment about myself, and Sister Wilfreda and I became good friends.

When I look back at those times, I recognize that an insecure 28-year-old, not yet comfortable in his new role and identity needed to stand out and “do my own thing.” I guess it was just part of maturing, but I know that I had more trouble enforcing the dress code than the Sisters did.

At first reading the story Matthew shares with us today seems a little unfair. The guy with no wedding garment did not seem to have a lot of advanced notice. Yet, in the culture of that time, the host would have provided the proper garment. Nonetheless, the man refused to put it on. I like to think he wanted to do his own thing. Perhaps draw attention to himself? If so, he was successful, and ended up without desert. There is something about our culture that makes this parable more troubling than unfair. A lot of us still want to do our own thing. We like to pick and choose and we call that freedom even though the consequences of our choices cause a problem for others.

I believe this parable comes as a challenge to the “do your own thing” attitude especially when it comes to rules, customs, decorum, and even laws. The do your own thing attitude is everywhere around us and sometimes we’re in it. I’ve never lived in a community where more people run red lights than here in Collier County. The attitude shows up in church as well with picking and choosing how we act or what applies to me or what applies to you.

The whole point of the dress code at that School was to create a unified “team spirit” of working together. One of the High School seniors who gave me the most trouble over the dress code was also on the Basketball Team. After weeks of arguing with him over his attire, I got the Coach to take his uniform out of his locker forcing him to practice and play the next game in his street clothes. After that I never needed to say another word.

This parable reveals that it is the will of God that we all come together as one family of faith accepting the invitation to the feast. Some ignore and some refuse. Some make all kinds of silly excuses perhaps waiting for a better invitation. Those who do come to the feast must come with the intention of belonging, blending in, and being part of the whole body. Picking and choosing what to believe or how to act, does nothing to strengthen the unity. All it does is call attention to one’s self all the while ignoring the identity of the community because I can do my own thing. It does not work. It insults the one who has called us to be together, and it makes us the center of attention rather than the one who provides such a lavish feast.

The Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on October 6, 2023
Posted in: Homily.

Isaiah 5: 1-7 + Psalm 80 + Philippians 4: 6-9 + Matthew 21: 33-43

October 8, 2023 This homily was not delivered as I will be on vacation

The scene we call the Temple cleansing has just taken place, and Jesus stands before his adversaries with this Parable. They knew and he knew the Isaiah story we just heard, and they got the message that they were out, that the vineyard was being passed on to others. Jesus makes a big change to the Isaiah story. In that one, God destroys the vineyard. In the updated version Jesus tells, it is not the vineyard that is destroyed.

That’s all very fine when it comes to the context of this parable, but it has little to do with us today unless we want to make it a warning to leaders of the church or of nations. However, doing so gets us off the hook and just continues the scourge of our times, blaming and finger pointing.

The fact is, the vineyard, this world created by God, cared for and loved by God has been placed in our hands. We are the ones who have inherited it. Here in this vineyard, God has chosen to take flesh and be revealed to us with one expectation, that we care for it, nurture it, and produce some fruit. We don’t have to earn it. It is a gift to us. It is not ours. Yet, we are responsible.

We can either understand the message spoken to us through these words as a challenge to care for the precious and fragile environment or we can more immediately hear it as a challenge to bring in a harvest, good fruit, from this Church. If we choose to understand this parable in the first way, it looks as though we are repeating the mistakes made by those selfish tenants in the story. Already prophets who speak to us about this are too often silenced, mocked, and dismissed. Even our Holy Father is mocked by too many as he fulfills his role teaching us and speaking about our carelessness for this earth always ignoring the un-intended consequences of our actions.

If we hear this parable and see the Church as God’s vineyard where again God is revealed time and time again, there is a challenge to recognize that we really are in charge here, and something more is expected of us than simply showing up now and then. This Church must be alive and filled with living, joyful people. This Church must continue to be place of welcoming compassion, generosity, and justice. This living Church, which we area, must always look to the future not to the past listening to the cry of those who suffer from the ills of these times gathering the lost, forgotten, avoided, and shoved aside into a great harvest for the one who expects unity and peace.

Listen to the top song hits in any country these days, and you can be guaranteed to hear about spurned love. Isaiah’s love song is what we heard today. It begins with what seems like an actual friend who loved his vineyard lavishing tender care. Then, just like those hit songs, it transposes into discord when the vintage season comes and the yield is only bad fruit.

The song is over now. The friend turns to his audience, the people of Jerusalem, the people of Naples, inviting them, asking if there is anything more that could have been done. This parable is really a love story revealing God’s unrelenting, tireless love for us. We can easily become possessive rebels who want people and possessions to serve our own ambitions with no thought of offering service to someone else. By deafness to the prophets in our own times, we run the risk of becoming self-condemned tenants of God’s vineyard. Yet this loving God has sent his Son to us not because we are deserving, but because we are loved. There is still time to respect, treasure, and return that love. That would be very good fruit indeed. 

The Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on September 29, 2023
Posted in: Homily.

Ezekiel 18: 25-28 + Psalm 24 + Philippians 2, 1-11 + Matthew 21: 28-32

October 1, 2023 Not delivered in person. I am away from Naples

Years ago, I lived with a Vietnamese Priest who was a refugee with a frightening story about his escape from Vietnam in a stolen boat that was fired upon as they slipped away in the darkness and drifted for several days on the open sea. At first, we had some trouble understanding each other not just because of language limitations, but because of cultural differences. In church order, I was his superior even though he was twenty years older than I was. That rich Asian culture has deep respect for senior authorities which I was in his eyes. The age and culture in which he grew up would never allow or tolerate saying “no” to a superior. He never told me no, and it caused a lot of confusion until I caught on. I would ask him to take a Mass. He would say, “Yes” and never show up. I would ask him if he was coming to dinner and the same thing would happen to the frustration of the lady who provided us meals. He was a good and holy man. He drove me crazy. I can never hear this Gospel without thinking of him, and that experience has given me a slightly different way of understanding what is happening here.

That son who said Yes, just like Father Bao always did, was not bad because he didn’t do anything. In fact, to the people who first heard this parable, he was good because he was respectful and did not insult his father by saying, “no.” That other one who was disrespectful to his father by saying, “No” is also good because he did what was asked of him. This thinking could leave us wondering what’s the point of the parable, because in some ways, both did the right thing. Yet, neither of them did it the right way.

Perhaps there is another question to be asked here. Which son was most concerned with the family’s well-being? This story really ends up being about action, about doing something. Polite words, pious gestures, bumper stickers with scripture quotes, are all empty when not backed up by committed activities. As we have all heard from our parents while growing up, “Actions Speak Louder than Words”. Only those who act, even if they are slow to respond, have done the father’s will. 

The truth is there is a little of each son in all of us. Sometimes we say, “Yes” and never go. Sometimes we say, “No” but eventually do go. This Gospel is meant for us just as much as it was for those scribes and Pharisees to whom it was first spoken. We tell the story once again to help us, no matter how long it takes, to do the Father’s will which means doing something with God’s undeserved gifts.

The Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on September 23, 2023
Posted in: Homily.

Isiah 55: 6-9 + Psalm 145 + Philemon 1:20-24, 27 + Matthew 20: 1-16

September 24, 2023 at St William and St Peter Catholic Churches in Naples, FL

This is really a cool parable to hear right now as the Auto Workers go out on strike. And since I firmly believe that the Gospel is for the present time and not some history book of old sayings. Jesus Christ just spoke this parable to us just as really as he did once before to his disciples, the “in group.” Perhaps more than any of the parables, this one shakes us up, and I can remember hearing it when I was a lot younger and thinking: “That’s not fair. Those guys who worked the longest should get the most.” When that thinking starts, you know there is something deeper going on here, and a message that just might rub us the wrong way.

If you move around in this scene and look at it from the perspective of each character, some interesting ideas emerge. What about that land owner? He needed to get the job done, and as the day went on, he realized that he didn’t have enough help, so he went looking for others. He promised a fare wage, and he kept his promise.

What about those workers hired in the morning? They were promised a fair wage. What are they complaining about, a generous land owner? Yet, equal pay for vastly unequal work does not seem right. But maybe this parable is not really focused on wages but on motives.

What about those workers who came on the job late in the day. It’s easy to think they just didn’t get up in the morning and were too lazy to get to work, but maybe they had been looking for work all day desperately going from one place to another until someone finally hired them. We don’t know why they were not working in the morning. What we do know is that all their needs are the same – feeding a hungry family.

When you move around inside the story, it seems to me that one thing comes clear. The owner of the vineyard was more interested in supplying their need than in measuring their contribution to his task. His judgement was not based on how hard or long someone worked, but rather on each one of those workers’ right to life and just wage to support that life.

This is not about capitalism and meritocracy nearly as much as it is about justice. That urge to say “Not fair” can overwhelm the many messages here and avoid the challenges. We all like to calculate our own worthiness. It’s comforting, but it does not always lead us toward a real just society. The growing wage disparity in this world should be troubling to us challenging us to call into question what’s really fair and what’s really just. How can those two things really be opposed by any disciple of Christ? The dignity of human work and the importance of a just wage is something too rarely considered these days until we can no longer ignore the multimillion-dollar bonuses and salaries collected by CEOs who sometime are more concerned about profit and keeping share- holders happy than the needs of those who make those profits.

In the end, this parable is really about generosity, leaving us to wonder what’s wrong with those complaining who got what they were promised. Resentment has no place in the heart of any disciple. Are they jealous of someone who seems to be more generous than they are?

This parable comes after the story of the rich young man and Peter’s claim to have given up everything wanting to know what he is going to get out of it. Like those parables, this is really about relationships, the owner and the workers or between the master and disciples. Ultimately it is about getting the mission accomplished not the rewards. We have work to do. We don’t need to be looking around at what anyone else is doing. There are too many empty pews in this church.

The Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on September 15, 2023
Posted in: Homily.

Sirach 27: 30-28:7 + Psalm 103 + Romans 14: 7-9 + Matthew 18: 21-35

September 17, 2023 at St Peter and St William Churches in Naples, Fl

Jesus speaks to us today about Mercy, which is much deeper and far more rich and healing than forgiveness. Peter, probably trying to look grand and magnanimous comes up with what, to him, must seem like a large number. Jesus will have none of his silly counting ideas and he proposes to us something greater than forgiveness. Forgiveness is a great gift, but there is something greater. Mercy goes further than forgiveness because it is underserved, and it comes without asking. It is a pure gift, an incredible gift that must be accepted. Through this parable Jesus teaches us that because God is merciful we must, in turn, be merciful to others. We have no right to ask for mercy if we are not prepared and willing to give it, and that is what we see in this parable. 

All of us face situations when we struggle to let go of bitterness, anger, or resentment. We sometimes feel that if we forgive someone who has harmed us in any way, they get “off the hook” with no consequences. So, we fool ourselves into thinking we will take the “high road” and let them suffer without our forgiveness.  Then too, we begin to think that if we just forgive again and again, people will just walk all over us. So, we offer ourselves more “realistic” advice. “I’ll forgive maybe once, but three times, and you’re out.” All the while we ignore what God has said through the Apostle, Paul in his Letter to the Romans: “Beloved, do not look for revenge. Leave room for my wrath.” 

Forgiveness comes from a humble person. The prideful can never forgive because it requires dying to self, our pride, our desire to be right, our thirst of revenge which is really our desire to play God. When we get trapped in this mood of righteousness refusing forgiveness, we need to pray for mercy like never before lest we condemn ourselves when we pray as Jesus taught us.

There is a great tragedy if we exempt ourselves from the law of Jesus, the law of love and forgiveness. If we establish for ourselves a new reality; if vengeance and retribution are what we embrace, then that’s what we are left with, a hardened heart. There is always the risk that a hard heart might become so hardened that even a kind and merciful God could not soften it.

Forgiveness is never a business deal. I’ll forgive you if you do such and such. This is when mercy enters experience. With mercy there is no “if”, no conditions. We give what we hope to receive. Perhaps if we look at it this way, we give mercy creating an empty space in our hearts. It is into that empty space that the Lord himself can refill what has been given away.

Forgiveness, and its motive, mercy is really a decision we make. It is a decision to be different from the offender, a decision to not let what has been done to me dictate how I act to that person or anyone else for that matter. It is mercy that takes the arithmetic out of Peter’s idea of forgiveness. A parable about the Kingdom of God tells us that mercy is for those who are merciful. Those without mercy shall live without the Kingdom of God.