The world says, The more you take, the more you have. Christ says, the more you give, the more you are.

When you remember me, it means you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are. It means that you can summon me back to your mind even though countless years and miles may stand between us. It means that if we meet again, you will know me. It means that even after I die, you can still see my face and hear my voice and speak to me in your heart.

The magic of words is that they have power to do more than convey meaning; not only do they have the power to make things clear, they make things happen.

That's five friends, one each for Jesu's wounds, and Godric bears their mark still on what's left of him as in their time they all bore his on them. What's friendship, when all's done, but the giving and taking of wounds?

It's all so verbal in the Protestant church. You've heard these words a million times before. Maybe people are leaving the church because they find the church has nothing that they're looking for.

Faith is stepping out into the unknown with nothing to guide us but a hand just beyond our grasp.

To remember the past is to see that we are here today by grace, that we have survived as a gift.