To arm ourselves to the teeth and make self-protection our greatest value makes it harder to love, at least to love those most different from us. The result could be our inability to be swept into the breadth and fullness of love residing in the heart of God.

For many, America's "pool of promise" -- higher education -- is turning into a sinkhole of debt. What would it look like for students to take hold of the injustice of the university and financial system, to claim it even as they rise above it?

Jesus confronts Peter with the moral injury of the past. Through a ritual reenactment of that scene, Jesus walks Peter through his past and ushers him into a brand new future. Somehow healing begins, and new life bursts forth. May it be so with all who suffer moral injury.

If Christians believe that salvation concerns only a state of mind, then what does it matter if we feed the hungry, or take care of animals or practice chastity?

If President Obama really means to lead us in a new direction of hope and change and compassion and kindness, he ought to keep on saying it -- and he ought to get louder and louder.

Jesus expressed a wide range of emotions with his followers, but love was the foundation of them all. It was easy and honest and clear. It was fervent without shame or restraint.

Jesus is a king who never rose so high that he couldn't see those who were down low. If we would see Jesus, we will look in places kings seldom go.

President Barack Obama has been unwavering in his faithful lifting up of "all" even in the face of unrelieved Republican animosity as well as some frustration on the left at his open hand.

What is the church but a bakery outlet, offering the real Bread of Life? A hungry world is lining up and looking for something to fill the gnawing emptiness in the pit of its collective heart.

The story of Judas exposes the intricacies of betrayal that we would rather ignore or to which we rarely admit. Judas reminds us that sometimes the origin of our hurt lies deep within ourselves.

When I read the lectionary passage from the Gospel of John for this week, I scratched my head. This week's text is the third of the "bread passages" in our lectionary cycle. There is a lot of bread this summer. And it's about now that many preachers and congregants start asking, "Bread, again?"

That is often Jesus' way. He pushes his way into our most stormy, frightening, lost moments to show us the way, to give us hope, to hear him say, "It's me. It's all right. Don't be afraid."

Much of our servant ministry comes from the biblical image of the shepherd leading his sheep. The shepherd will do and should do anything, including laying down his life, for those he has in his care.

If religion, my religion, can twist the truth, the Gospel of love, to the point where a man expresses such hate to his own dying child, I despair of that religion.

The would-be prophet cowers before the throne and whimpers, "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips." No posturing. No preachiness. No self-righteousness.

Sin is not about breaking rules. Rather, it is resistance to the creative power of God. Those who thought that they were on the side of God are revealed to be profoundly wrong. We might even call them hypocrites.

The church can be a tough place. We hear things that we don't like; we see things that we don't approve of; we are forced to pray with people with whom we don't agree.

Politics is supposed to serve the common good. These biblical texts remind us that good politics -- that is, faithful politics -- are rooted in love.

LONDON -- The British Library has paid 9 million pounds (US$14.3 million) to acquire the St. Cuthbert Gospel, a remarkably well-preserved survivor of ...

Thomas is not to blame for this label. He made a reasonable statement in an unreasonable, once-in-a-lifetime resurrection situation. What's fascinating is how comfortable we are in letting Thomas be so trapped.

He isn't merely a perfect icon to admire but an example to follow in how to fully engage one's capacity for relationship with God.

Jesus confronts us with a radically different identity and identity-forming process, as he journeys toward the cross.

John's Gospel highlights a tension in the library that is the New Testament. The velvet rope keeps changing position, with self-appointed bouncers appearing at random keeping "those people" out.

For some Christians, the radical accessibility of God in all arenas of life is consistent with an expectation that politicians wear religious commitments on their sleeves. For others, membership in a pluralistic society demands more humility and tolerance.