Peter comes to Jesus with what sounds like a practical question. “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” It is such a human question. How many times? How long do I have to keep doing this? When...

There are passages of Scripture that comfort us, and there are passages that unsettle us. And sometimes, if we are willing to stay with them long enough, the unsettling passages may have more to teach us. Today’s Gospel is one of those passages. It begins with Jesus speaking about purity....

Immediately after feeding a multitude with five loaves and two fish, Jesus makes the disciples get into a boat. “Make” is almost too gentle a word. The Greek verb suggests that Jesus compelled them, constrained them, practically forced them into the boat. This is not a pleasant invitation to take...