The burning of houses of worship, the bombing of clinics, the shooting of children by children, the baiting of races, the vilification of immigrants, the gating of neighborhoods, all lead me to wonder if it is in our nature to always divide ourselves against ourselves. But when I sit a while with the Beatitudes, I am taking a tonic for what ails my soul; their restorative powers remind me that not only does God speak a universal language of unconditional love, he expects us to do no less.
— Erik Kolbell, What Jesus Meant