If you do not live a gospel that calls you to a life of sacrifice and service, you are living a shallow, selfish, shoddy substitute that promises much and demands little.

This week's texts give off both green lights and red lights: the hopeful green lights of salvation and redemption (in Hebrews) and the ominous red lights of sacrifice and service (in Mark and Isaiah). The ongoing challenge of discipleship is to acknowledge both these colors as we encounter them, not abandoning or avoiding atonement theology in our rush toward creation theology, responding appropriately to green signals and red ones.

One obvious color-coded signal emerging in society is the new sensitivity to "green issues:" ecologically minded, environmentally sensitive issues. Accelerated by Earth Day II, "Clean and Gr…