Truth be told, I wasn’t sure whether to put this post under the category “Good!” or to invent a new one called “Cute!” – because it certainly is that. But I also think there is something good and true about the interaction between this mama dog and a young boy with Down Syndrome. His name is Hernán; the dog’s, Himalaya. They live in Buenos Aires, and the video was posted by Hernán’s mother, Ana, who writes in a comment to someone who set an edited version of this video to music: Hernán, is a bit withdrawn and flees from physical contact. He does not like be touched, but Himalayan (the dog) insisted so patiently, and...

Somewhere along the way of my early career in ministry, it dawned on me that the central task of preaching is simply to tell the truth. Actually, to tell the truth twice. The first truth is the truth of our lives. Our hopes and disappointments, our accomplishments and set backs, our dreams and fears. What matters is that it is true – deeply, candidly, courageously true. The second truth is God’s truth – the truth of God’s unrelenting mercy, grace, goodness and love. The truth of God’s acceptance of us just as we are. The truth of God’s profound and sacrificial love made manifest in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus...