Are those lambs horns or are you just glad to deceive me . . .

"Lord, protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will."

He went to the Western Wall in Jerusalem before dawn and folded and placed his prayer, written on hotel stationary, in the cracks of the stones as millions had done before him. The prayer was meant for no one but God.

It does not make him correct on his positions about war, the economy, health care or personal responsibility.

But if I were placing a prayer in the wall, it would be a lot like Obama's. And probably a lot like many people of faith, even if they disagree with him on issues of war, the economy, health care or personal responsibility.

So be for him or against him based on the issues.

But it's time to accept that he is a traveller on the journey like the rest of us trying to keep our eyes on the One we have chosen to follow. We are not always right, we are just trying to keep up.

The shame of the act of taking this personal confidential prayer from the wall and exposing it to the world is the ultimate expression of what we have done to this man. Maybe the malicious, evil, hateful, false emails and gossip will stop. Maybe those Christians who have acted so unChrist-like will pray that their sins be forgiven and repent.

Or maybe he's the anti-Christ. I heard that in church a couple of Sundays ago.

Jesus from the cheap seats . . .

A couple of weeks ago a visitor at "the ongoing Bible Study" at Lester made the observation that he was a Methodist, and Methodists had learned how to be Christian without the persecution. He was speaking a truth while smiling (a tired smile, but a smile nonetheless). It is not just we Methodists. It is most all American Christian churches. This is partially because we live in a country that does not, ideally, persecute anyone for the exercise of religion. Jesus did not mean for us to seek out persecution for persecution's sake. But neither did he mean for us to be so timid about joining in His journey to love and serve the world. Maybe we are not persecuted because we are careful not to be in positions that might bring persecution. Obviously some do. We usually hear about them and pay attention to them for a day or two after one of them is killed.

Often I hear somebody complain about the persecution of Christians in America. No prayer in schools. No Bible passages on courtroom walls. We cannot get the car tags we want. This is the stuff of which martyrs are made?

So I find it ironic that the those American Christian martyrs who are suffering these unspeakable persecutions (some of which are not real) generally have been critical of Barack Obama for his church membership.

Obama apparently has been a member of the same church for 20 years or so. It is a Christian Church that does amazing acts of love in the city of Chicago, serving thousands of people who are not its members. It claims Jesus as Savior, and actually seems to attempt to follow Him as Lord. Perfect. No. Radical. Yes. But so was Jesus. But if you belong to a church that is never criticized, you are going to a church that is not following Jesus. Maybe watching Jesus. But not following. Like Peter when he denied Jesus. If he had been named a follower, he might have had problems. He might have been persecuted. So he stood and watched.

It is ironic that the person in America whose Christianity is being scrutinized perhaps more than anyone in the history of the world, is one who is being persecuted for living his Christian faith . If he had not been so faithful a member, or if his preacher had not been so important to him in his life, if he had just been willing to throw his church under the bus, he would have no political problem. But he has suffered greatly for the sake of his decision to follow Jesus.

His commitment to his church made the rest of us uncomfortable for a number of reasons. One of those reasons is that we have become comfortable as spectators. We like it up in the stands where no one gets hurt (at least in America). I heard good Christians suggest that Obama should have left his church before he started his run for president. We do not want a leader of principal, of calling, of commitment. We do not want a president who will struggle with the truth instead of avoiding it. We are afraid of a leader that calls us to something higher.

So, pick up your stones. Give us Barrabas.

An Obamination . . .

I had a conversation this week with a friend I respect. This friend is not a political junkie like I am, so my friend asked me who I supported for president. I said that I am fully supporting Obama. This intelligent, educated person looked me right in the eyes and said, "you would vote for a Muslim?"

My brain went into overload processing the question and myriad of responses that I might give. All I was able to say was, "Where did you get the idea that Obama is a Muslim?"

"I got an email that said he was."

We are still racist. Bigoted, frightened, ignorant racists.

After Obama became the presumptive democratic nominee last week he was approaching the podium for a victory speech when he was stopped for a moment by his wife, who held out her fist in a playful way for a fist-bump. It was a sweet, fun, deserved moment of joy between a couple who was taking a brief respite from the intense campaign trail that up to that point had been 16 months long.

A Fox news talking head questioned whether the dap was appropriate, suggesting that it was a greeting used by "terrorists". I laughed. I watched it over and over and laughed every time. Then I remembered my friend who believed the email. Surely no one could believe such a ridiculous suggestion.

But, when we want to find a reason to reject someone, we will. And we don't have to be bothered by the truth. We don't need a reason that contains reason. Any old reason will do. Obama is smart, articulate, even-tempered, polite. He ran a brilliant campaign. He refused to go negative. He graduated from Harvard and went to work for the middle and lower income citizens of Chicago instead of chasing the big bucks that would have been his for the taking. He is an advocate for military veterans. He is for fair trade. He has been an active member of a Christian church for more than a decade. He has been a member of a Christian church with a controversial preacher for more than a decade. He does not believe we can win the war in Iraq. He is more liberal than conservative. He does not have as much federal government experience as McCain.

He is black. That's the truth. But it is not a reason.

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