One of the greatest skills to develop in our spiritual maturity is deepening the experience and practice of empathy in our lives. Catholic writer Henry Nouwen wrote in his book on Solitude, “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.” Our scripture portion from the Gospel of Mark illustrates the complete opposite, where power politics put into action a brutal and shocking plan of revenge. Join us as we wrestle with these two competing visions of how to use our influence in the world.
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