I paused then and I continue to pause now, at what she had said.

In this case, she was a parishioner and because she was appreciably ahead of her time in so many ways (Saint Peg, we called her, Mother Inferior she called herself in retort), I wondered at her identifying herself as an aspiring pacifist. Years later, I still wonder, does not the idea of being an aspiring pacifist sound a little like being a little bit pregnant, which is to say, either you’re all in or it doesn’t count?

 There’s an old story about a farmer who receives a pastoral call by his minister. The
farmer loved his farm and was delighted to give his pastor a tour. He loaded his pastor
into his jeep and off they went. Fields of corn as high as an elephant’s eye and golden
wheat swaying in the breeze as far as the eye could see. The Pastor, amazed by the
beauty of the sight surrounding him said, “I have never seen anything like this. You and
the Lord have a wonderful partnership on this farm!”

        Nearly four years ago to the day, a just-inaugurated president called our attention to the
American carnage oozing throughout the various layers, hidden recesses, and dark
corners of the nation’s landscape. Under his careful tutelage, on January 6, the American
carnage reached its nadir in an assault upon the very foundations of our democracy.

            ````For many faith traditions, this is a special time of year. There are lots of holidays this time of year. Which is why I do my best to say, “Happy Holidays” to people. There are more holidays than just Christmas being celebrated this time of year. If, however, I know that the person I’m speaking to is Christian (which is my faith tradition, too), I say, “Merry Christmas.”
````