The Donald and the Pope. This Image totally stolen from the internet.
Sometimes Grumpy Pastor forgets those commandments.
Sometimes Grumpy Pastor forgets those commandments.
So lately all of the internet and the 24-hour news curmudgeons have anxioused themselves into the mess of Donald Trump vs. The Pope. Pope Francis said Trump is not a Christian because he wants to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, and not a bridge. Trump responded back that for a religious leader to question somebody’s faith is disgraceful. You can click here to learn all about it.
In the end, Grumpy Pastor is really thankful for all of these things when they happen. Really, really thankful. Sure, on one hand the constant drivel of negativity from yapping mouths wears on GP’s brain usually inspiring a headache the size of Donald Trump’s ego. But the ibuprofen ends up taking that pain away and the inconvenience is only temporary. More than the anxious drivel, all of this stuff gives Grumpy Pastor something to do, like write or pray. It’s good for GP not to be bored.
Here’s the thing that stumps the Grump the most. Nobody even stops to think that perhaps, just perhaps, both Pope Francis and Donald Trump are on the wrong track and have missed the mark entirely. The folks who are aghast that the Pope would say such an egregious and outlandish thing tend to forget that Pope Francis is the head of 1.2 Billion Roman Catholics in the world, and of the people having the qualifications needed to question someone’s religious faith, Pope Francis probably makes the short list. Um… he is a religious leader after all, you know, making him an expert in things like religious faith. Those supporting Pope Francis and his proclamation about bridges and walls tend to forget that Donald Trump is not a Roman Catholic, and hence not Donald Trump’s religious leader. It’d be like if the CEO of Delta Airlines made a public pronouncement that Grumpy doesn’t belong to a frequent flyer program, even though Grumpy has an old American Airlines AAdvantage membership with a couple of thousand expired miles.
As a pastor, GP’s bias leans heavily towards the Pope. After all, GP too is a religious leader, just with a much, much smaller following. And the Pope's understanding of bridges and walls is really much more close to what Jesus taught and was going for. Sorry Donald. Francis is right on that one. Following the teachings of Jesus is about building bridges more than building walls.
The question of whether or not Donald Trump is a Christian, well anybody can ask that question of anybody else. GP, the Pope, the Donald, or even the homeless guy down the street gets to ask that question about anyone on the planet. Anybody can ask a question. Asking a question isn’t the tricky part. The tricky part is the answer. That is why it is the wrong question to ask.
The answer to who is and who isn’t a Christian? Who does and doesn’t belong to Jesus? That one really only gets to be answered by Jesus. You know, that Lord and Savior? That Son of God guy? Surely you probably have heard of him. While GP does have a pretty large ego and surely could attempt to answer the question of who does and doesn’t belong to Jesus, the problem is that question is way above Grumpy Pastor’s paygrade. That’s a management question. It doesn’t belong to GP. Grumpy Pastor is only in sales and customer service – just like the rest of you reading this blog.
Now we can look to scripture to find what the answer might be, but we’ll probably just get more confused (try reconciling Romans 8:38-39 and Matthew 12:46-50). We pretty much need to talk to Jesus directly. And since Jesus is only in the business of coming back every 25 or so years to have his face appear in a tortilla, we don’t have the luxury of asking the Son of God who is in and who is out. GP guesses that that everyone will just have to wait until they meet Jesus later on in life and death to find out that answer. Grumpy Pastor just holds on and clings to the hope that he, himself, might belong to Jesus. GP is really counting on it. Hopefully, just maybe, Grumpy Pastor might be a Christian too.
In the end, Grumpy Pastor is really thankful for all of these things when they happen. Really, really thankful. Sure, on one hand the constant drivel of negativity from yapping mouths wears on GP’s brain usually inspiring a headache the size of Donald Trump’s ego. But the ibuprofen ends up taking that pain away and the inconvenience is only temporary. More than the anxious drivel, all of this stuff gives Grumpy Pastor something to do, like write or pray. It’s good for GP not to be bored.
Here’s the thing that stumps the Grump the most. Nobody even stops to think that perhaps, just perhaps, both Pope Francis and Donald Trump are on the wrong track and have missed the mark entirely. The folks who are aghast that the Pope would say such an egregious and outlandish thing tend to forget that Pope Francis is the head of 1.2 Billion Roman Catholics in the world, and of the people having the qualifications needed to question someone’s religious faith, Pope Francis probably makes the short list. Um… he is a religious leader after all, you know, making him an expert in things like religious faith. Those supporting Pope Francis and his proclamation about bridges and walls tend to forget that Donald Trump is not a Roman Catholic, and hence not Donald Trump’s religious leader. It’d be like if the CEO of Delta Airlines made a public pronouncement that Grumpy doesn’t belong to a frequent flyer program, even though Grumpy has an old American Airlines AAdvantage membership with a couple of thousand expired miles.
As a pastor, GP’s bias leans heavily towards the Pope. After all, GP too is a religious leader, just with a much, much smaller following. And the Pope's understanding of bridges and walls is really much more close to what Jesus taught and was going for. Sorry Donald. Francis is right on that one. Following the teachings of Jesus is about building bridges more than building walls.
The question of whether or not Donald Trump is a Christian, well anybody can ask that question of anybody else. GP, the Pope, the Donald, or even the homeless guy down the street gets to ask that question about anyone on the planet. Anybody can ask a question. Asking a question isn’t the tricky part. The tricky part is the answer. That is why it is the wrong question to ask.
The answer to who is and who isn’t a Christian? Who does and doesn’t belong to Jesus? That one really only gets to be answered by Jesus. You know, that Lord and Savior? That Son of God guy? Surely you probably have heard of him. While GP does have a pretty large ego and surely could attempt to answer the question of who does and doesn’t belong to Jesus, the problem is that question is way above Grumpy Pastor’s paygrade. That’s a management question. It doesn’t belong to GP. Grumpy Pastor is only in sales and customer service – just like the rest of you reading this blog.
Now we can look to scripture to find what the answer might be, but we’ll probably just get more confused (try reconciling Romans 8:38-39 and Matthew 12:46-50). We pretty much need to talk to Jesus directly. And since Jesus is only in the business of coming back every 25 or so years to have his face appear in a tortilla, we don’t have the luxury of asking the Son of God who is in and who is out. GP guesses that that everyone will just have to wait until they meet Jesus later on in life and death to find out that answer. Grumpy Pastor just holds on and clings to the hope that he, himself, might belong to Jesus. GP is really counting on it. Hopefully, just maybe, Grumpy Pastor might be a Christian too.
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