" And here I return to Christianity. Why be a Christian in the twenty-first century? Because it gives us a vision. And a hope. And a way. The language of the New Testament talks about the “kingdom of God.” Which is here, now. Which is what this world would be like if God was king and Caesar was not. The vision of Christianity for a just, sane, nonviolent world is not utopian. It is within our capacity. And such capacity requires that we take up the crucible of transformation. Transformation, individually and collectively, is the key ingredient for liberation. Without our participation in transformation and embodying lives of compassion, the kingdom of God will not come. It is up to us, and we are not alone. . . . . As a benediction, I close with this passage from the Jewish Sabbath Prayer Book: Days, pass, and the years vanish, And we walk sightless among miracles. Fill our eyes with seeing and our minds with knowing. Let there be moments when your Presence, Like lightening, illumines the darkness in which we walk. Help us to see, wherever we gaze, that the bush burns, unconsumed. And we, clay touched by God, will reach out for holiness and exclaim in wonder, “How filled with awe is this place. . .” Marianne Borg – intro to Days of Awe and Wonder, Marcus Borg. "