Let us pray.

Oh God,
who made the world and said it was good,
we pray our faith– and faiths–
can help us see that good,
despite the bad that sometimes blocks our way.

Oh God,
who said, “Let there be light,”
we pray our faiths–in different ways,
with different prayers and customs,
but with shared hopes and dreams of better times–
can help us see that light,
despite the darkness that sometimes obscures our view.

Almighty God,
I remember twenty years ago, in a foxhole in Beirut:
I looked around at the others in the bunker, and had a simple thought.
“We Americans,” I said, “must have the only ‘interfaith foxholes’ in the whole Mid-East.”
And then I thought,
that if more foxholes had room for those of different faiths,
perhaps we would need less room for foxholes–
and have more room for faith.

And so, we pray that we be touched and inspired
by the dreams of faiths that make our Nation rich;
and that we work with all who share the dream of freedom–
and freedom’s holy light.
Let us see the danger is not that sometimes faiths see God–
see You–
in different ways,
but that there are those in every faith
who see themselves as gods.
Let us keep faith,
but let faith keep us humble,
so that we know our limits,
even as we learn our strength.
Then the time will come when even interfaith foxholes will no longer be required
and we learn war no more.^[1] Cf. Isaiah 2:4, Micah 4:3 

And may we say,
amen.