Mercy: The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life.
Nessan, Craig L.
Mercy: The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life. By
Walter Kasper. New York: Paulist Press, 2014. Translated by William
Madges. ISBN: 978-0-8091-0609-7. xvi and 270 pages. Cloth. $29.95.
Jesus means divine mercy. How encouraging that Cardinal Walter
Kasper acknowledges the centrality of God's mercy in Jesus Christ
with reference to the Joint Declaration (12-13, 79)! As testimony to the
achievements of ecumenical rapprochement, the references to Luther are
appreciative, whether regarding his Reformation breakthrough (100) or
for his interpretation of Mary (209, 217).
Kasper undertakes a comprehensive, systematic treatment of the
meaning of mercy, retrospective, and prospective. He grounds his
examination deeply in biblical sources, Old and New Testaments, with
special attention to the message of Jesus. God's very name reveals
God's mercy, as do God's option for life and for the poor.
Jesus' birth brought near God's mercy to the little ones, even
as his beatitudes and parables resound with merciful promises.
Jesus' existence for others culminates with his taking upon himself
the sins of all people, revealing on the cross the depths and costliness
of God's own mercy.
Cardinal Kasper is at his most eloquent in his systematic
reflections: "For love entails becoming so one with the other that,
as a result, neither the beloved nor the lover is absorbed in the
other.... The paradox of love is that it is a unity that includes
otherness and difference" (92). The author advocates the way of
mercy as the meaning of the Christian life. The value of the church in
the world is to be measured by an ecclesial practice of mercy, which is
undermined wherever the church contradicts its own identity. The church
is called to foster a culture of mercy in the world, including
addressing the contradictions of economic globalization (184-186).
Kasper draws upon Roman Catholic social teaching and concludes his book
by highlighting Mary as "the mother of mercy" in accord with
the dogmatic traditions of his church.
In this inspiring book, Kasper appeals to the breadth of Roman
Catholicism in service of the evangelical heart of the Christian
message: "Mercy is the reflection of God's glory in this world
and the epitome of the message of Jesus Christ, which was given to us as
a gift and which we are to further bestow on others" (218).
Craig L. Nessan
