When I get emotional about something I think somebody has done to me, I try to think before I start hurling a few hasty, bigoted thunderbolts. I simply leave the judging to the Lawgiver.

Something is not working. The impasse that faces us in trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict needs a fresh approach. After being involved with Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking efforts for the past 18 years, I am feeling called to return to the text.

As we ponder in Lent the conflict of Jesus with the empire, we readily see how disturbingly contemporary the issue of this text is. The empire will hardly ever tolerate such a well-instructed, obedient advocate of alternative.

The Gospels -- and several other passages of the New Testament -- state explicitly that God killed Jesus. God sacrificed his only son for the redemption of man according to Scripture:

In memory of the beautiful little children and adults whose lives were cut short by a manic monster, let us evoke our childlike innocence and bring more goodness into the world.

In joy, in sorrow, in disaster, in triumph, we live with a God who waits with us -- who begs us to wake up and pay attention to how God moves in our very human day-to-day lives.

Can we visualize with prophetic daring, like Isaiah rather than Joel, strategies to equip our soldiers to turn swords into plowshares? Can we imagine, this Veterans Day, effective ways to train them to make peace -- and be at peace themselves?

In a violent and polarized world, I am convinced that God wants -- and the world needs -- churches that are truly welcoming.

The NY Times recently reported that some advisers of presidential candidate Mitt Romney urged him to reverse the Obama Administration's ban on the use of torture. I'm writing to urge that we join in calling on Mr. Romney to explicitly and publicly reject that advice.

It's quite presumptuous for a Christian to write about an Israeli political issue in the context of a Jewish holiday, but I do so as someone who has been blessed immeasurably by Jewish thinkers and public figures.

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.

The radical presence of God cannot be controlled or programmed; it can only be experienced.

I'm not so sure that the reality of Christ has a Return On Investment that would be attractive to the big banks. They are two very different ideas of what's "priceless."

The death of Osama bin Laden and the recent budget debates in Washington give us lenses into the tension between the support for war and movement toward fulfilling Isaiah's vision.

Budgets are moral documents by nature. They reflect the priorities of individuals, households and even nations, exposing our real notions of who and what is valuable.

We all possess what the prophet Isaiah called mouths as sharp as swords. As violence once again strangles our nation's soul, the prophet's words remind us to put the swords back in their place.

Remember the power of light when you go out into the darkness after hearing these words -- and pray that you and those around you may become instruments of peace.

And Yom Kippur is rolling around again. Let us let God's leopard loose on Yom Kippur. May we in Isaiah's name let "subversive" prayer leap from the letters in the prayerbook.