Let's see if I'm following this:  The Pope says Donald Trump is not  Christian, Trump says the Pope is a disgrace, and New Hampshire state representative Susan DeLumas says the Pope is the anti-Christ.  Of course it's always a good thing when those who claim the name of Jesus publicly fight with each other instead of feeding the hungry or bringing hope to the brokenhearted.  That's such an effective way to get an unbelieving world to want what Christians have (insert sarcastic smirk emoji here.) But, since it's a snow day here in Maine, and I'm fighting a case of cabin fever, I figured I'd join in the fray, too.   I might just have something to say: after all, I once toured with a circus, and this whole discussion is a bit of a circus as well.

Politicians like Trump, DeLumas  (and the Pope?) like to use words of which the masses (and those in Masses) think they have a clear understanding, but in reality we all understand a bit differently.  So it's possible that this whole thing is just a misunderstanding based on semantics, right?

Yeah, right.

So as to avoid any such confusion of words, let's start with some definitions.  Representative DeLumas called the Pope "the anti-Christ".  We all have an idea of what that means.  The New York Daily News defined the anti-Christ as, "the enemy of Jesus who would appear on Earth right before the end of the world."  Sounds just right if you've sharpened your eschatological teeth on the likes of Pat Robertson or Tim LaHaye.  But that's NOT how Representative DeLumas intended to use the title.  She, like many fundamentalists, see the office of Pope as the anti-Christ, not the individual man in that position at any given time.  So which is correct?  Perhaps we should go to the scripture (what a novel idea) to see how the term was originally used.

Actually, the term "anti-Christ" is used only four times in all the Bible, always by John in his first and second letters. Fortunately, John is thoughtful enough to define the term for us when he says, " those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist." (2 John 1:7) Anyone (notice the plural) who denies that the Messiah came to earth in the flesh is an anti-Christ.  Now, this verse has been used to encourage  Antisemitism, but that is not John's intent, either.  In 1 John 2:19, the Apostle writes, "They went out from us, but they were not of us."  Again, notice the plural 'they'.  More importantly, notice that they went out 'from among us'.  The anti-Christs came out of the church.  You see, history tells us that a group known as Gnostics broke out of the first century church.  Guess what their heresy was.  That's right, that Jesus was not the Messiah in the flesh.  So it seems that Susan DeLumas's accusation of Pope Francis, while headline snatching, is off base.

But Francis is not off the hook.  In Mexico last week he said, "Anyone who thinks only about building walls and not bridges is not Christian."  This would normally be a great, albeit vague, soundbite.  But given where and when it was said, it was clearly a crack at the Donald.  So what about the word 'Christian'?  This word only appears three times in scripture, and it was always used as a slur against the church.  In fact, first century historian Tacitus wrote, "The Vulgar call them Christians." The second century church eventually adopted the label for themselves, but over the centuries, the meaning has been diluted.  I have heard Christian defined as:  a good person, a bigot, the member of a church, one who must speak in tongues, a member of one specific denomination only, a member of traditional European culture, etc.  The early church, however, used the term very specifically to mean a disciple (basically- and ironically- an apprentice) of Jesus.  

So it seems his holiness believes that Mr. Trump can't be a disciple of Jesus because of his immigration policy.  The problem with politics being a litmus test for ones spiritual condition is reflected in Christ's choices for his original disciples.  Matthew was a Jewish tax collector for the Roman Empire.  His peers would have seen him as a spineless sell out to the oppressor.  Yet he walked along the roads of Palestine with Simon the Zealot.  Zealots were insurrectionists whose goal was to overthrow the empire.  Yet Jesus called and used them both.

But that doesn't mean the Donald is off the hook either.  acts 3:19 says, "repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be forgiven."  herein is the criteria of being a follower of the Messiah; humbly admitting our need for the grace and forgiveness Christ provides.  yet Trump said, in a CNN interview, " Why do I need to repent or ask forgiveness if I have done nothing wrong."  perhaps  the pontiff was right about Donald's spiritual state, if even for the wrong reasons.

No doubt this bizarre circus of words, tweets and sermons will continue for a few more days, the the world will focus on some other sophomoric drama.  But in the end, what is there to say about the strange trio of the Pope, the politician and the the Donald.

"Must be a three ring circus."