Our brains start with the wrong presumption. Forgiveness, not punishment, is the starting place for dealing with our neighbors. Peter’s asking the question we’re all thinking. Jesus is talking about restoration, healing, bringing people back together. Forgiving sin. He offers his followers a …
mercy
Mercy and “the real world”
Disciples, Apostles, and Saints! I’m frequently asked about “doing” the work of Jesus in “the real world”. Sometimes it is skeptical—suggesting the way of Jesus is good theory, but not practical or even realistic. And sometimes it is optimistic—suggesting that it sounds good, but we …
A Word: Normalize Mercy
The challenge of stumbling into Matthew 18 without its context is that we get the point Jesus is trying to make completely backward. Proper 18A | Matthew 18:15-20 There are two reasons why people completely misunderstand this passage. And misuse it. If these slim verses were …