Christianity is full of contradictions.
To my Christian fiends, let me offer you the wishes that come with the sweet message of Jesus.
But allow me to also beg of you that some contrition would go far along side the glory of this day.
On one side is the beautiful story of a Deity who loves His creations.
While Jesus is lost in the myths and mists of history, we do know his heritage is rooted on the Pharisee Hillel, the great teacher who gave Jews the Golden Rule.
To my knowledge, no other religion has as its Deity a sweet baby or a God who uses his own painful death as as symbol of the Deity’s own humanity.
On the other side is this image, the image of hatred in the name of the same God.
Pope Francis has made steps that the rest of Christianity could emulate. He talks of the responsibility of Christians for their actions. This is called teshuvah by Jews and is rooted in the teachings of Hillel. We are taught to look at what we have done and if we have done harm, to fix the damage.
Merry Christmas