William G.

“amen, I tell you: The locution is peculiar to Jesus. The term “amen” would ordinarily respond to the speech of another (“so be it,” “yes”), and come at the end. The Gospels show Jesus validating his own speech beforehand; an unmistakable sign of prophetic self-consciousness.”
― Luke Timothy Johnson, Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Luke: Sacra Pagina, Paperback

“But then the trouble begins. Jesus, not content to quit when he is ahead, points out that the gifts of God do not come automatically to those who attend the Temple And this is really too much! … The idea that the message is for worthless outsiders rather than us! The very notion that unbelievers will be the recipients of God’s favor and we will not! —Robert McAfee Brown”
― Justo L. González, Luke: Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible

“John sums up the matter bluntly. “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars” (1 John 4:20). To truly love God includes loving others with the same love God has for us and the same love God has for them. This is part of what it means to be a participant in the divine nature. It is, in fact, what it means to be Christian (Christ-like). “Whoever does not love,” John wrote, “does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8). Our capacity to love—to fulfill the greatest two commandments—is the definitive evidence that we are in fact abiding in Christ and participating in the perfect love of the triune God. Christians sometimes try to assess how they or others are doing on the basis of such things as how successfully they conquer a particular sin, how much prayer and Bible study they do, how regularly they attend and give to church, and so forth. But rarely do we honestly ask the question that Scripture places at the center of everything: Are we growing in our capacity to love all people? Do we have an increasing love for our sisters and brothers in Christ as well as for those for whom Christ died who are yet outside the church? Are we increasing in our capacity to ascribe unsurpassable worth to people whom society judges to have no worth? If there is any distinguishing mark of the true disciple from a biblical perspective, this is it!”
― Gregory A. Boyd, Repenting of Religion: Turning from Judgment to the Love of God

“what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:14–15). Here we see Jesus as an astute psychologist, who recognizes and exposes things that we only now have names for: status seeking, false motives, creation of persona, cultivating a self-image, and denial.”
― Richard Rohr, Dancing Standing Still: Healing the World from a Place of Prayer; A New Edition of A Lever and a Place to Stand