Merry Christmas

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold:
"Peace on the earth, goodwill to men,
From heav'n's all gracious King!"
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heavenly music floats
O'er all the weary world;
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing;
And ever o'er its Babel sounds
The blesséd angels sing.

Yet with the woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long;
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song that they bring;
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing.

And ye, beneath life's crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow,
Take heart, for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing;
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing.

For lo, the days are hastening on,
By prophet bards foretold,
When with the ever-circling years
Comes round the age of gold;
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling,
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.


"Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!" -- S. Claus
"God bless us, every one!" -- Tiny Tim

(Also, do take a moment tomorrow to remember the 364th birthday of Sir Isaac Newton.)

Requiem Donum Est, Domine, Et Lux Perpetuae

Karol Josef Wojtyla, better known as Pope John Paul II, was a giant of the late 20th Century.

I don't agree with everything he said. He was a staunch conservative in the Roman Catholic tradition. Not surprising, really, given his position. He could be obstinately unbending.

But, as with many other important people, you can at least partially judge a man by the enemies he's accumulated.

He fought the Nazi invasion and occupation of Poland as a young man, when it would have been the easiest thing in the world for him to just stand by and let it pass. Upon his elevation to the Papacy, he became a beacon of hope and freedom to many who groaned under the oppression of Communism in Eastern Europe. So much so, that he emboldened the Solidarity movement in Poland to do more than just talk. So much so, that the KGB tried to have him assassinated in 1981.

It's almost tautological that if the KGB wanted a man dead, he HAD to have been doing SOMETHING right.

He was very much an activist in his Papacy. He reached out across denominational boundaries, doing as much for the cause of Christian ecumenism as any other man I'm aware of.

And, agree with him or no, his championship of the worth of human life is consistent, end-to-end. He's fighting out his last hours to the last breath, the last gasp, as a testament to what he believes it's worth. Another might have given up when their health began to fail. Another might have resigned his office, at least. Not him. He's staying until his Boss says he's done.

We're losing a great man today. A man of tremendous courage and resolve, a true servant of Christ and His Church. We're diminished by his loss, even us Presbyterians.

I don't envy the next Pope at all. He's got a huge pair of shoes to fill.

You've lived long and labored hard, papa. May God gently speed you to your well-earned rest.

Giving Thanks

It's two days early, but I'll be away on Thanksgiving, so here we are anyway ...

Even with all that's up in the world, I have a great deal to be thankful for.

I am thankful to be an American. Yes, the election didn't go our way. But it's not THE election, or the LAST election, there'll be another around presently. In two years, we elect the entire House of Representatives again, and two years after that, the President, and quite a bit can happen in those four years. And none of us are going to be put in prison for having supported the wrong candidate. We are still free to voice our opinions, and to work for change where we see the need for it. We are free to live and work more or less where we please. And even though some of us are not as free as we'd like to be, we are collectively more free than any other people on Earth. Our freedoms are the envy of the world, whether they want to admit it or not. And I am very, very thankful to have been born an American.

I am thankful for my family. I have a wonderful wife, and a sweetheart of a step-daughter. They've been there for me in some very tough times lately, but we've hung together, and our love has brought us through. I honestly do not know where I would be today without their love and care. My life would be immeasurably poorer without them.

I am thankful for my work. I have a challenging job that calls out my best efforts, one that builds on everything I've learned up to this point, and goes farther still. I have stimulating colleagues, and worthwhile tasks to fill every working day.

I am thankful for my church. They, also, have given my family a great deal of support during trying times. They stood there at my side when my mother sickened, and then passed away. Truly, they showed me the love of Christ in their actions. They are wonderful people, and I am glad to call them my brothers and sisters.

There's so much more, so many blessings, that I have neither the time nor space to list them all here. All of you who read this can probably say the same. We are greatly blessed, in large ways and small, and it is all to the good for us to take some time this Thursday and reflect on our inestimable riches.

Truly, I live a blessed life. And I am thankful.