Resurrected Faith In Troubled Times

Trump’s & D. Washington’s faith journeys mirrors America turning to God in challenging times, just as Bing Crosby sang “White Christmas in gut-wrenching performance just before the Battle of the Bulge.

It was New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan who shared such a Christmas message, one of “glimmering hope in the darkness, as he reflected on the reopening of the almost destroyed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris: “Whether inspired by the weight of a corrupt world, personal sorrow or the gloom that lingers during the short days of winter, people seem increasingly drawn to finding the light.” President-elect Trump, a related Fox story noted, has obviously been on such a faith journey, perhaps culminating in his survival of two assassination attempts, then, confirmed by the stunning return to the White House. The same might be said of 70-years young actor Denzel Washington who not only has become one of the most sought-after inspirational speakers but was recently licensed as a minister during a ceremony at the same Harlem church where he was baptized.

But, it’s also worth putting this spiritual survival if not resurrection in historical context. It was Bing Crosby’s nephew who told Fox recently that his uncle struggled mightily to sing “White Christmas to 15,000 home sick teary-eyed troops in France in 1944. The legendary crooner, we now know, told his nephew the pre-Battle of the Bulge performance was “the hardest moment of his professional life. “I had to get through the song with 15,000 guys in tears and not break up myself.” As Crosby’s nephew noted, “A lot of those boys died the next week.” A lot of those boys also gave the last full measure of devotion with God in their hearts.

Davd Soul