We Are Enveloped In Peace, Whether Or

The Outstretched Arms Of Jesus Exclude No One, Not The Drunk In The Doorway, The Panhandler On The Street, Gays And Lesbians In Their Isolation, The Most Selfish And Ungrateful In Their Cocoons, The Most Unjust Of Employers And The Most Overweening Of Snobs. The Love Of Christ Embraces All Without Exception.

When We Wallow In Guilt, Remorse, And Shame Over Real Or Imagined Sins Of The Past, We Are Disdaining God's Gift Of Grace.

In Love's Service, Only Wounded Soldiers Can Serve.

The Way Of Trust Is A Movement Into Obscurity, Into The Undefined, Into Ambiguity, Not Into Some Predetermined, Clearly Delineated Plan For The Future. The Next Step Discloses Itself Only Out Of A Discernment Of God Acting In The Desert Of The Present Moment. The Reality Of Naked Trust Is The Life Of The Pilgrim Who Leaves What Is Nailed Down, Obvious, And Secure, And Walks Into The Unknown Without Any Rational Explanation To Justify The Decision Or Guarantee The Future. Why? Because God Has Signaled The Movement And Offered It His Presence And His Promise.

If We Maintain The Open-mindedness Of Children, We Challenge Fixed Ideas And Established Structures, Including Our Own. We Listen To People In Other Denominations And Religions. We Don't Find Demons In Those With Whom We Disagree. We Don't Cozy Up To People Who Mouth Our Jargon. If We Are Open, We Rarely Resort To Either-or: Either Creation Or Evolution, Liberty Or Law, Sacred Or Secular, Beethoven Or Madonna. We Focus On Both-and, Fully Aware That God's Truth Cannot Be Imprisoned In A Small Definition.