The Word we study has to be the Word we pray.

By and large, the gospel of grace is neither proclaimed, understood, nor lived.

Jesus comes for sinners, for those outcast...and those caught up in squalid choices and failed dreams.

Put bluntly, the American church today accepts grace in theory but denies it in practice. We say we believe that the fundamental structure of reality is grace, not works - but our lives refute our faith.

For Ragamuffins, God's name is Mercy. We see our darkness as a prized possession because it drives us into the heart of God. Without mercy our darkness would plunge us into despair - for some, self-destruction. Time alone with God reveals the unfathomable depths of the poverty of the spirit. We are so poor that even our poverty is not our own: It belongs to the mysterium tremendum of a loving God.

The life of Jesus suggests that to be like Abba is to show compassion.

All I have learned through trial and error is to stay alert and aware, especially God smiling @ our silliness.