Deep in my heart I believe that as a church we are called, as Jesus once said, to be "a house of prayer for all people," where, as my slave ancestors used to sing, "there is plenty good room for all of God's children."

That conviction is not based on a social theory or capitulation to the ways of the culture. Rather, it is born of my belief that the outstretched arms of Jesus on the cross are the ultimate sign of the very love of God reaching out to embrace and welcome us all.

To believe that is to commit to God's work of creating what some have called the beloved community. It is to pray not only with our lips but with our lives, as Jesus taught when he said, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

But the way is not easy. The road can be rough. This path is not painless. The work of love is hard, but it is both the hard work of healing and the harbinger of hope.

This is the way of the cross, and this week called Holy is a solemn reminder that the way of the cross is the way of life, the very road to resurrection.

VOL: What a crock!