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Being passionate about one’s faith is not being fanatical. Being passionate about one’s faith is being inspired, actively seeking deeper understanding and being committed to living the values in our faith life. The problem is that anyone’s faith can become complacent, left unchallenged our faith may ultimately becomes stale. In Matthew 5:13 Jesus states, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot”.
Passion in our faith requires trust in God. I wonder if people worry that if they become more spiritual or faith-based God will ask them to do something they do not want to do. There may be some truth to that. If we open our eyes more, we may see more injustices in the world, if we open our ears to listen, we might hear the harmful and disrespectful messages which confront us or we may become more attuned to the cries of the poor.

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Jesus was very clear in his understanding of leadership. For example, His teachings on leadership are found in Matthew 20:26, where he states, "But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant." This reflects the principle that true leadership is about serving others rather than seeking power or authority.

It is sad when one sees good people put in positions of authority, only to have the power go to their head. They no longer listen but are seduced by power and come to believe that they alone have the answer.

There are several reasons why the wrong people get into leadership. For example, the Peter Principle is a management theory formulated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter, which purposes that in many organizations, employees are promoted based on their performance in their present roles until they are promoted to a position where they are no longer competent.

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Jesus, like any good lawyer never asked a question that he did not already know the answer to. After the disciples answer his question Jesus increases the heat by asking them who they think he is.

Peter responds with the perfect answer and Jesus points out that his answer is a reflection of God’s presence in his life. Unfortunately for Peter he continues talking and shows that while he gave the correct answer, spoke the correct words he really didn’t understand Jesus or His mission.

In these brief passages Jesus provides us with wise teachings about life.

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In today’s Gospel we have a description of a healing, specifically the healing of a deaf and mute man. Jesus orders the man not to tell anyone but Jesus orders falls on deaf ears, if you don’t mind the irony and the miracle is proclaimed anyway. Jesus must have known that the miracle would be proclaimed, and the people could not keep this a secret. Jesus probably couldn’t help himself. He is a healer. Not only would this man regain his hearing and ability to speak he could become an active member of his community. He would have opportunities that had been previously denied him. He would be taken more seriously by his community because he would have more access to knowledge, and he would be able to share his ideas with greater ease. Jesus not only healed him he restored him.
Jesus taking the man away from the crowd. He doesn’t say anything to the man. It makes sense as the man is deaf. Mark describes several actions, he put his fingers in the man’s ears, he touches the man’s tongue, he looks up to heaven. It has been pointed out that Jesus was communicating with the man in the only way possible, through sign language. Jesus wants him to understand as much as possible in a way that the man could. It is the same for us when we are blind or deaf to God's Call.

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Today’s Gospel reading is from a group of teachings where Mark describes Jesus challenging the Scribes and Pharisees about the practice of their faith. The Scribes and Pharisees were not doing anything wrong. They were literally following the law and the traditions of their ancestors. The point that Jesus is making with them is that they are focusing on little details and missing the more important reality.

I would like to introduce you to Lawrence Kohlberg. Kohlberg's work created a new field within psychology, and his theories became highly influential in the study of moral development. His research also provided the foundation for research on spiritual development.

Another influential researcher is James Fowler who wrote the Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning was first published 1981. The book was later revised in 1995. Fowler, a theologian, and developmental psychologist, proposes that faith is a universal process of meaning-making that evolves through distinct stages over a person's lifetime.

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This Gospel is likely one of the most difficult to understand. Understandably, his first listeners are struggling to comprehend this teaching especially because they were taking Jesus literally. Jesus develops the lesson inviting his listeners to think on the level of Spirit.

We have an account of a significant loss of disciples here. Many of the disciples found the teaching to be too much to understand and so they not only leave but John describes them as going back and returning to their former way of life. I guess you cannot blame them for leaving. Jesus was challenging them to think outside the box.

What does this mean? They weren’t doing anything wrong; they were giving up an opportunity to grow spiritually with Jesus himself. Could they come back?

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already figured out this is a very pronounced theme in John. This Gospel is likely one of the most difficult to understand. Without doubt, those who first heard Jesus speaking these words must have struggled to comprehend this teaching especially because they were taking Jesus literally.

We need to remember that Jesus has taught like this before, dramatic and in a style that portrays the passion that Jesus has. The famous passage from Luke 9:60, “let the dead bury the dead” or Mathew 19:9, “if your eye causes you to sin pluck it out” are just two examples of Jesus not speaking literally but with passion, he is trying to make his point. Today’s Gospel graphically makes the point that our God wants to sustain us and support us on a very deep and personal level. Anyone who sees God as a judge, or a God who obsesses with people following the rules needs to read this passage several times.

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Most loving relationships do experience the ebb and flow of relationships. Relationships go through periods of intensity and periods of distance. People sometimes like being close and other times they need their space. Its clear that God respects our space, but we can clearly see he is the pursuer in this relationship. Some people may feel God is distant, not involved much in his creation. I agree that may be how we feel but is it accurate? Just because God does not behave in the way we want or expect does not mean he is not present or caring. I urge you to spend some time reflecting on what God must do to get your attention.