We whine about things we have little control over; we lament what we believe ought to be changed.

To some, the image of a pale body glimmering on a dark night whispers of defeat. What good is a God who does not control his Son's suffering? But another sound can be heard: the shout of a God crying out to human beings, "I LOVE YOU." Love was compressed for all history in that lonely figure on the cross, who said that he could call down angels at any moment on a rescue mission, but chose not to - because of us. At Calvary, God accepted his own unbreakable terms of justice. Any discussion of how pain and suffering fit into God's scheme ultimately leads back to the cross.

The Quakers have a saying: "An enemy is one whose story we have not heard." To communicate to post-Christians, I must first listen to their stories for clues to how they view the world and how they view people like me.

Love is an overarching style of relating to another.

The Old Testament anticipates [Jesus] all the way through.

A God wise enough to create me and the world I live in is wise enough to watch out for me.

Pain narrows vision. The most private of sensations, it forces us to think of ourselves and little else.