“At the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry as presented by Mark, God declares God’s love for Jesus, the Son, the Beloved. . .  the center of our faith. And that same Jesus spends his whole ministry showing us how much God loves the rest of us as well.”

“The Savior of the world whom we worship, the fully human and fully divine Son of God, started out his human life as a refugee.”

“God has bestowed grace upon each of us as individuals, and upon all of us together as the human race.”

“The coming of the Word of God into human life, into human flesh, was a new act of God so that our lives themselves could be made new.”

“Mary was willing to devote her whole body, everything she had, to answer God’s call and help realize God’s redemptive vision for the whole world.”

“I invite us all to include in our personal spiritual practice asking ourselves every so often, ‘Who is Jesus Christ? Who is Jesus Christ for me?’”

“God has sent his most powerful messenger, his own son, to show us the way through the desert, the wilderness of bad news, and to bring us home.”

“In becoming human in Jesus Christ God becomes present, God shows up for us, in a new and powerful way, and our lives are changed forever.”

“Those of us who do identify as Christians are being reminded that that the lives we live are more telling than the identities we claim.”

“Jesus tells us that the best use of the gifts God has given us is to invest them in the transformation of human life.”