The cross you see in the header was carved by my friend Steve. He also constructed the dry-stone base that surrounds the cross. During construction he had stones spread around the cross – “How do you choose a stone?” I asked. “Each stone knows where it is supposed to go” was his quiet and playful answer.

As a friend was present with his father in his last days of life, he told me, “As someone said to me, my role is to help him walk Home”. Whatever our age or stage in life we are all ultimately on the same walk. And we need food and friendship for the journey.

I mentioned last week my confrontation with Jesus’ challenge about what lurks in my inner being to shape my actions and attitudes. His list can feel crushing, but I think he was just being realistic about the need for an invasion of his presence in our being to transform the situation. He knew that we don’t only have the evil lurking but the potential for good as well.

Our diminishing respect for one another as real God-infused human beings is expressed in the misuse of power, money and privilege. We respond by creating more rules for business, social interaction and against whatever troubles us. But what we need is inner character that lives respectfully and kindly toward others. No law will produce character.

A recent business study demonstrated that eating lunch at our desk makes us less productive. The study concluded that taking a lunch break from work renewed our creativity and fruitfulness in the afternoon.