I hope that all of you have a Merry Christmas. I also offer wishes for a joyous Chanukkha.
This is not intended to ruin anyone's enjoyment of this day, but I do ask that you remember those who were again compelled to minimize or to cancel outright any of their celebrations due to security concerns.
Those who regularly attended church on Christmas as a child can remember the timelessness of the services. These memories are indelibly written onto one's mental picture of the holiday. Many children in the region where Christianity was born will not be the beneficiaries of such memories; indeed they will be fortunate to be free from violent attacks.
The Eastern churches have beautiful liturgies that will transport the attendee back in time. I have had the honor of attending both Orthodox and Coptic Christmas services. It is a tragedy from so many angles that the faithful have to celebrate the services marking the Incarnation behind barred doors.
The Hot Gates - 480BC. An event that was to determine what path much of the Western World would follow occurred as the Persian army threatened to overwhelm Greece in 480BC. The West today again faces both external and internal threats to its identity and existence.
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