Well, on the political front this is one of the strangest, possibly the strangest time I've experienced in my life. (And, I say this as a child of the sixties!) As I write this column the Republican party is merrily ramming an impeachment vote through the House during (again at this writing) a brief respite in our bombing of Iraq. The speaker-elect has just admitted to numerous infidelities and has offered his resignation while at the same time indignantly denying any similarities between his actions and those of the beleaguered president. And, if this isn't weird enough, Mr. Flint of "Hustler" infamy has announced his million-dollar reward has netted him ten other house republicans with sexual peccadilloes in their history.

And, did I say the (smart) bombs are falling over Baghdad?

Now, I am not a pacifist. I have been. And I'm deeply sympathetic to that cause. But, over the years I've come to feel that sometimes killing and war are the lesser of evil choices that cannot be avoided. Nonetheless, I stand in opposition to this misadventure in Iraq. My opposition comes from the same source that leads me to oppose the death penalty in our country. And, this opposition also has something to do with my disdain and distress at the impeachment process. Let me elaborate, just a tad.

We live in dangerous times. As the Chinese curse goes, these are all too interesting times. Greed, Hatred and Ignorance are the principal divinities of our age. While at this midwinter season, a few are worshiping the birth of a god of love, and fewer still a miracle of lights, and even fewer the rebirth of the sun, most are worshiping at the mall. Greed reigns. And its handmaidens are Hatred and Ignorance. In our Arizona towns people carry guns on the streets. And, in our nation's jails and prisons, the vast majority of prisoners are convicted of crimes related to drugs. These are bad times.

No wonder that people are selling certainty amidst calls for a return to the good old days. Of course, the problem here is there is no certainty. And, of course, there never were any good old days, certainly not those days of our wishful thinking, and longing, and desire. Now here, mainly, I want to talk about that call to certainty as a solution to our communal ills. And, I want to offer an alternative.

On the more conservative side of our cultural conversation there is a consistent call to certainty. It almost always has to do with the certainties of the dominant religious community. Occasionally there is an appeal to that fiction of "Judeo-Christian" values. But, as there really is not such a thing, usually the call eventually settles into the certainties of some version of Christian orthodoxy. All we have to do is submit to the infallible guidance of the scriptures or the bishops or the elders, and all will be okay.

Of course, history shows this to be a lie.

There is no certainty. The Bible is filled with contradictions and a multiplicity of irreconcilable stories. There is much wisdom in that book, or collection of books. But, there is no certainty. Nor do we find it in the history of elders and bishops. Again, a mixed bag. We find wisdom, frequently. But, not consistently. There is no authentic unchallengable certainty to be found in our traditional religions. But, out of this, here I make a modest proposal. I suggest in fact the only genuine way to spiritual depth, and in a direct corollary, in our political life, is through an embrace of uncertainty. Doubt is the gateway to wisdom. Hesitation is a cardinal mark of depth. A willingness to be convinced that one is wrong is the doorway to heaven on earth.

I suggest some spiritual principle of uncertainty lives very near the heart of our liberal spirituality. We are heirs to a way of spiritual uncertainty. When we hesitate to condemn we find doorways of possibility open. Now, I'm not suggesting there isn't a time when we must act. To live in the world is to be forced into making decisions. But, if we accept we can be wrong, then those decisions stand a much better chance of being right. Then we might not be dragged into the briar-patch of a war in the Middle East where the core reason for our being there is not our commitment to democracy and the protection of other nations, but a need for steady oil. Then we might not condemn people to death when we might be wrong, in the process itself, or in the diminishing of our own lives by complicity in unnecessary killing. Then we might not fall upon one another for our sexual misdeeds, as if anyone were without sin.

Well, this is my holiday offering.

I do hope you all a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukah, a wonderful solstice, a blessed Kwanza! This is a time to reflect on what has been and to hope for better things. Possibly in taking stock, we might even begin the walk toward change which is the hope manifested. And wouldn't that be wonderful! At least I think so…

See you in church,

James