Wandering Elder

John Lennon, in his song Happy Xmas (War is Over) sang, "So this is Christmas, and what have you done?"  The way he sang those words has always haunted me.  Especially the opening line.  "So this is Christmas."  John, not known for his overt Christianity, sings the song as if he is asking those who do believe in this time as sacred to the Christian story, "So here it is.  So what?  What have you done with it?  What does it mean to you?"   He then sings that the war is over "if you want it."  Again, I wonder if it is a question directed at us alleged followers of Christ: do we really want peace?  World peace?  A Prince of Peace? Or are we only wanting peace when it suits our interests? I don't know if that is what he meant, but it troubles me all the same.   That's because I find myself asking similar questions as Brother John.  Are we sleeping?  Are we paying attention?  Does this season have any deeper meaning than shopping?  I don

If there is a phrase that has been over-used during the last year, it is "double down."  Throughout much of the election cycle the phrase was used to mean one of two things: (1) to become more tenacious, zealous, or resolute in a position or undertaking or (2) to engage in risky behavior, especially when one is already in a dangerous situation.  Usually these definitions were used in the reverse order - someone makes a claim that is patently false and puts themselves in a dangerous situation politically, then becomes more tenacious in defending the initial position, no matter what the actual facts might be.  The term works, but it worked too well and too often and it has lost its power. The term itself comes from blackjack, and was used when a player would double the original bid against the house in exchange for only one more card.  A risky move.  The fact that a gambling  term has come to be the common phrase utilized to describe the political behavior of our president el

I recently read a post about the pending demise of the United Methodist Church (on the Thoughtful Pastor blog).  In it, the author said that there is no future for the UMC due to the inevitable split between the conservative arm and the Reconciling Movement over the language in the UMC Book of Discipline over homosexuality. It was a pretty compelling piece, and a frightening one because what it represents is the acknowledgment that the far right and far left will tear the middle out for the sake of ideology.  The far, far right are using words like "cleanse" and "heresy" when talking about this issue.  The far, far left are using words like "openness" and "inclusive."  The issue of homosexuality, while addressed in the Bible, is not one that is spelled out as clearly as either side would like for it to be.  There are clearly passages that condemn it, and there are passages that condemn a particular understanding of it, and then there are passag