Jesus did not give the parables to teach us how to live. He gave them, I believe, to correct our notions about who God is and who God loves.

We should do whatever we can to cut through the scum that has grown on our understanding and rediscover freshness.

Thunderously, inarguably, the Sermon on the Mount proves that before God we all stand on level ground: murderers and temper-throwers, adulterers and lusters, thieves and coveters. We are all desperate, and that is in fact the only state appropriate to a human being who wants to know God. Having fallen from the absolute Ideal, we have nowhere to land but in the safety net of absolute grace.

Jesus gave us a model for the work of the church at the Last Supper. While his disciples kept proposing more organization - Hey, let's elect officers, establish hierarchy, set standards of professionalism - Jesus quietly picked up a towel and basin of water and began to wash their feet.

We need faith and the mind of the Lord Jesus to recognize something of lasting value in even our most ordinary tasks.

The Christian sees the world as a transitional home badly in need of rehab, and we are active agents in that project.

If God doesn't want something for me, I shouldn't want it either. Spending time in meditative prayer, getting to know God, helps align my desires with God's.