Jesus comes among us, in our all division, not to instruct, comfort or inspire but to die. In doing so, He answers the sum of our self-regard, stupidity and cruelty.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that Jesus's presence is not for guidance or motivation but rather for the ultimate sacrifice, addressing human flaws.
Richard Coles emphasizes the profound nature of Jesus's sacrifice, interpreting it as a response to humanity's inherent flaws like self-centeredness and cruelty. Instead of merely providing comfort or guidance, Jesus's willingness to die signifies a deeper engagement with our moral shortcomings, serving as a poignant reminder of the weight of our collective actions.
In practice
During a sermon, when discussing the meaning of sacrifice and love for others.
People can only live fully by helping others to live. When you give life to friends you truly live. Cultures can only realize their further richness by honoring other traditions. And only by respecting natural life can humanity continue to exist.
The line between disorder and order lies in logistics.
You'll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race.
Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity.
The world did not have me in mind; it had no mind. It was a coincidental collection of things and people, of items, an I myself was one such item...the things in the world did not necessarily cause my overwhelming feelings; the feelings were inside me, beneath my skin, behind my ribs, withing my skull. They were even, to some extent, under my control.
We grow tyrannical fighting tyranny. . . . The most alarming spectacle today is not the spectacle of the atomic bomb in an unfederated world, it is the spectacle of the Americans beginning to accept the device of loyalty oaths and witch hunts, beginning to call anybody they don't like a Communist.
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