As we enter into the holiday season, in spite of the ethnic, religious, and political strife that still encompasses our shared humanity... we have much for which to be thankful and hopeful. As a pastor of an Evangelical congregation in New York City, I often remind my congregation that the message of Christmas spoken by an angel was, "Peace on earth and good-will toward humanity."

Recently, I read my friend and author, (also "On Faith" blogger) Brian McLaren's book, "Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope" I was reminded of why I am hopeful and thankful. The hope I cling to and share is not a hope that ignores the realities of genocide, racism, poverty, and war. Rather it is a hope that says those things are not the last word. In short, my hope is not an "opiate for the masses" that seeks to ignore life but one that seeks to speak life-affirming alternatives to the challenges of our shared human journey.

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