These meditations are unapologetically theological. I am, after all, a theologian. But I hope the reader will also discover that the theological character of these meditations does not mean they are without existential “bite.” I think nothing is more destructive for our ability to confess that the crucified Jesus is Lord than the sentimentality that grips so much that passes for Christianity in our day. Sentimentality is the attempt to make the gospel conform to our needs, to make Jesus Christ our