My confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don’t feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a crèche, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away. I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren’t allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick andJessica came from and where the America we knew went to. In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it’s not funny, it’s intended to get you thinking. Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding Katrina); Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?”

The rest can be found right here.

Christian-Muslim contact has not exactly had a very positive history, although there have been moments of rapprochement and friendship even in such a troubled past. These are like oases in a desert — places of refuge when we’ve been scorched by a hostile environment. As you can imagine, I find the title of this new initiative to be very à -propos.

That being said, it is possible to travel through the desert, see an oasis, and later discover that it was only a mirage. Let us pray that this Oasis is real, a means for peoples to gather and drink from a common source.

His father was a medical doctor who served in his country’s army. One day, an enemy soldier managed to slip into their camp and surprised the doctor. The enemy aimed his gun to shoot him; but just at that moment, one of the army soldiers who had seen the enemy approaching stepped in and shot first. When the smoke cleared, the defending soldier was shot in the leg, while the enemy lay nearby, bleeding from his chest and unconscious.

The doctor did not even hesitate. He left his lucid and kneeling friend and ran to the unconscious enemy to take care of him, to the utter surprise of the other. That day, the doctor saved the life of the enemy soldier, who would have died, had he not received immediate assistance.

My friend told me, “This is my father’s legacy. He made no distinction between people; he knew that everyone is important and worthy enough to receive the best care. Now I want to be just like him.”

What incredible forgiveness and charity, and at the risk of his own life.

This is Our Father’s Legacy. He makes no distinction between us, but showers us all with Love and Healing, because we all come from Him.

Let’s continue His Legacy.

I took the train to get downtown. On my way from the train terminal to the Cathedral, I walked in front of St. George’s Anglican Church (I am familiar with this place because I have already attended a wedding there). I noticed that the gates that usually lock the front doors were absent, and that there was light inside the church. [I should add here, as a foreword, that my curiosity often gets me in trouble; but in this case, it served me well.] So I boldly went up the stairs, walked passed the first set of doors and stood at the threshold of the second set of doors that open onto the church. There was a group of people playing praise songs together. They smiled at me and continued singing. I lingered long enough for them to take a break, and for one of the members of the group to come and greet me. Before leaving, I sweeped a long glance across the otherwise empty church, and noticed a huge banner with the words “BEYOND OURSELVES” on it.

Then, later on in the evening, when I made it to the Cathedral, among other things, we listened to a talk given by Bishop Anthony Mancini. One of the points he emphasized is that there is a disease in our culture called “self-obsession”. We get so caught up in what we want that we forget everybody else. However, life is beyond just our own selves; it is about the other. He said that we must go beyond ourselves to touch our co-workers, our families, the church, the world!

The message was loud and clear, and it seems like all Christians are together on this, at this crucial time. Now, the only thing we need to figure out is how we are called to go beyond ourselves, each in our own lives. This is a mystery! May we find the grace to reach out of ourselves, to reach the fullness of God!

N.B. Here is the list of readings we had this evening. They are very beautiful (especially the last one):

-John 20: 24-29 -Luke 11: 9-10 -1 Cor. 10: 14-17 -Eph. 3: 14-20