Heard in full sound, the Gospels tell about the establishment of a theocracy, and portray what theocracy looks like with Jesus as king.

All human governments are intended by God to do justice and mercy - to look after, in particular, the needs of the poor and disadvantaged.

Art is love creating the new world and justice is love rolling up its sleeves to heal the old one.

The rule of love, I say again, is not an optional extra. It is the very essence of what we [Christians] are about

The only sure rule is to remember that the Bible is indeed God's gift to the church, to equip that church for its work in the world, and that serious study of it can and should become one of the places where, and the means by which, heaven and earth interlock and God's future purposes arrive in the present.

But the voice goes on, calling us, beckoning us, luring us to think that there might be such a thing as justice, as the world being put to rights, even though we find it so elusive. We're like moths trying to fly to the moon. We all know there's something called justice, but we can't quite get to it.

Swords don't glorify the creator-God. Love does. Self-giving love, best of all.