I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity.

To be nonpartisan doesn't mean we're nonpolitical.

We say it is idealistic to think we can continue to live the way we live - with 5% of the world using half the world's resources, with $20,000 a second being spent on war.

Somehow Jesus's reputation has survived all the embarrassing things that Christians have done in his name.

How can we worship a homeless man on Sunday and ignore one on Monday?

Let's keep refusing to accept the world as it is and insisting on building the world we dream of. Don't let the haters have the last word.

So even as we see the horror of death, may we be reminded that in the end, love wins. Mercy triumphs. Life is more powerful than death. And even those who have committed great violence can have the image of God come to life again within them as they hear the whisper of love. May the whisper of love grow louder than the thunder of violence. May we love loudly.