With what stillness at last
you appear in the valley
your first sunlight reaching down
to touch the tips of a few
high leaves that do not stir
as though they had not noticed
and did not know you at all
then the voice of a dove calls
from far away in itself
to the hush of the morning

so this is the sound of you
here and now whether or not
anyone hears it this is
where we have come with our age
our knowledge such as it is
and our hopes such as they are
invisible before us
untouched and still possible

poem by w.s. merwin

It's the holiday season.  And I want to talk about it, I really do.

I want to talk about my favorite Christmas songs.  I want to talk about the Advent sermon I should be writing right now.  I want to talk about the awesome Santa/Snowman display at the house across the street from us. I want to talk about gift ideas for my wife because she's pretty special, that woman, and deserves something nice. 

But right now, at least, I'm not going to.  I can't.

I can't in good conscience talk about those things and not talk about the thing that's really on my mind today.

I'm talking about the heated rhetoric in our country in response to the ongoing presence of terrorism, and in particular the attacks in Paris and San Bernadino.  Rhetoric that seems to be boiling with each passing day.

And yes, let's admit it: we're afraid.  We're concerned, and we should be.  Terrorism is named such because it's terrifying when human beings intentionally do horrific things to other human beings with no advance warning, no rhyme or reason.  Any place can be the site of the next attack; anyone can be its next victim.  And that's a scary thing.

But we have a choice in how we respond; and as deeply as the terrorist attacks themselves trouble me, the response of some with great influence and large podiums troubles me even more.  A president of a Christian university and a presidential candidate in particular.  And incidentally, I'm temporarily suspending my self-imposed rule against going all social media on a political candidate's stance because what Trump said the other day transcends the political game and takes things into a far more dangerous arena.

And I want to call it out.

I want to call it out as a Christian who pledges my allegiance not to any government but to a first-century Palestinian man who lived every day with the very real threat of terror around him, who had the worst kind of terror inflicted upon him and still called the peacemakers blessed; who implored people to love their enemies, who chose the cross even when some were egging him to grab his sword and lead the revolution.

I want to call it out as an American who loves the country I live in, who loves the diversity that makes us the "melting pot" so richly unique in human history; who is deeply concerned that the language being thrown around with reckless abandon will serve not only to undermine that diversity but tear it to shreds and rip apart the very fabric that has made this country so great.

I want to call it out as a human being who recognizes that we are designed at a DNA level to live in community - whether that's a family, a neighborhood swimming pool, a house of worship, a civic club, a city or state or country, a human race - and any rhetoric that at best excludes and at worst does harm to another person runs contrary to the very thing we were created to be.

So I'm joining other Christian, Muslim, Democratic, Republican, American and foreign voices and calling it out.  Because remaining silent implies I'm okay with it.  And I'm most certainly not.

Last night U2 played a show in Paris that they weren't able to play three weeks ago because it happened to fall on the night after the Paris bombings.  Aired live on HBO around the world, they invited up on stage Eagles of Death Metal - the band whose show at the Bataclan theater was horrifically interrupted by the Paris shooters.  Both bands joined in on Patti Smith's classic "People Have The Power:"

And the people have the power
To redeem the work of fools
From the meek the graces shower
It's decreed the people rule

People have the power
People have the power
People have the power
People have the power

"Fools" come in all shapes and sizes.  They can be terrorists who believe their acts of violence will eventually bring about their desired utopia.  They can also be scared people who erroneously believe that responding to terrorism with bigotry, xenophobia and prejudice will win the day.

People have the power, we always have.  The real question is: what will we use that power for?

There,  I feel better.  Now, about that Advent sermon....

So here's my latest contribution to the music blog I write for the Presbyterian Outlook - four Christmas albums you ought to add to your December playlist.  Give it a read, and then give them a listen.  And feel free to leave your favorite holiday album suggestion in the comments below.

Happy listening!