In God's Name

While Christmas reminds me of family, friends and home, we are also called to understand the manger as a promise for all people and all places. In a few days we will celebrate that God came to be among us, with us, as one of us and because there was no other way.

Who do you pray for?

How do you worship?

What do you believe?

How do you reconcile your differences with those who pray, worship and believe differently than you do?

Take time on Sunday night 9/8c to gather with those you love, those you disagree with, those who need the manger as much as you do. CBS will be broadcasting a documentary In God's Name that addresses the fear and violence at work in the world today by hearing from "spiritual leaders" from all over the world:

• Alexei II, Patriarch of Moscow and head of the Russian Orthodox Church

• Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi), a Hindu spiritual leader

• Pope Benedict XVI, head of the Roman Catholic Church

• The Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists

• Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, a prominent Shi'ite Muslim leader

• Bishop Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and President of the Lutheran World Federation

• Michihisa Kitashirakawa, Jingu Daiguji (High Priest) of the Shinto Grand Shrine of Ise

• Yona Metzger, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel

• Dr. Frank Page, President of the Southern Baptist Convention

• Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, Sheikh of Al-Azhar and a prominent Sunni Muslim leader

• Joginder Singh Vedanti, Jathedar of the Akal Takht, the Sikhs' highest authority

• Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England

The six minute trailer showed me that this conversation is not a pluralistic compromise or a divisive and judgmental competition, but a genuine attempt to live beyond the many beliefs and behaviors that separate us for the sake of the world. We can only speak and listen with true respect when we are confident enough in our own faith to explore the things beyond ourselves and people just like us.

We all believe in something. Learning about the faith of another can teach us greater truths about our own faith.

May your heart be a manger for Christ this season, alive with the radical hope that is Emmanuel.

Merry Christmas!