The reading from the Letter to the Colossians, one of the Easter lectionary options, encourages us to "think of what is above, not of what is on earth." With a North Korean missile launch in mind last Sunday, President Obama announced in a speech in Prague that the U.S. will embark on an ambitious plan to markedly reduce the number of nuclear weapons around the world. If he succeeds, words from the Acts of the Apostles read this Sunday-"he went about doing good"-will certainly apply.

Obama told a cheering crowd estimated at 20,000 or more that the United States is ready to lead an international effort to reduce atomic arsenals and the threat they pose. Speaking hours after the North Korean missile launch, which drew international concern and condemnation, Obama outlined a plan toward a goal he admitted was decades away.

"As the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon, the United States has a moral responsibility to act," he told the crowd gathered in Prague's historic Hradcany Square.

Obama laid out a process to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, ban nuclear testing, and put loose fissile material out of the reach of terrorists. Until weapons and the material to make them are fully secured, Obama said, the U.S. will maintain its nuclear arsenal to deter adversaries.

Obama promised to negotiate a strategic arms-reduction treaty with Russia by the end of the year that would dramatically reduce the number of nuclear warheads. A few days earlier, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed during meetings in London to produce a new arms-control treaty to replace the current Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expires in December.

Obama's plan also called for peaceful uses of nuclear power through an international fuel bank that would be available to every nation that renounces nuclear weapons.

He said he supported Iran's right to pursue nuclear energy, providing the regime agrees to regular and thorough inspections. Finally, Obama said he hoped to host a world summit on nuclear weapons within the year.

Source: An article by Christi Parsons and Tom Hamburger for the Chicago Tribune