'It shouldn't happen at Christmastime...'

A representation of the Nativity, by Fra Angelico

You know the feeling.

The single mom who loses her job, the sudden death in the family, the family whose missing child still hasn't turned up, the grandparent whose test results come back positive... right before the holidays.

"It shouldn't happen at Christmastime," we sigh.

No, it shouldn't. The Christmas holiday is one of happiness, laughter, sparkle and fun. When we think of Christmas, the last thing we want to think of is tragedy and pain.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year! Have yourself a merry little Christmas!" scream the radios in our vehicles, or in the mall, or wherever there's a source for music to blare out of speakers.

You better not pout or cry, because Santa Claus is coming. And things like sadness aren't really in the spirit of the season, you know.


Following a tragic news story on TV is hard, but it's especially hard around the holidays. It's much easier to flip to the Hallmark Channel because we don't want to dwell on such difficulties in this glitzy red, green and gold season.

"It shouldn't happen at Christmastime," we sigh again, as we wrap presents and simultaneously wonder how this or that problem could dare to crop up near December 25.

Occasionally, though, we take some time to reflect on that thing called the meaning of Christmas. Sorry, it's not family-and-friend-togetherness or what you will (as nice as that is).

Try, God looking down on the earth and seeing all the crap we'd gotten ourselves into, and shouting "What have you done?! That's it! I'm coming down!" (To steal shamelessly from the script of G.K. Chesterton's play "The Surprise.")

Someone coming from another world to set right all the hurt and suffering that humanity had been inflicting on itself for centuries - that's what Christmas is about.

But it's hard! we cry, pointing out that blithely accepting the pain "because God came as a baby 2,000 years ago to make it all OK" doesn't make the present situation any easier. How does that affect the family sitting down at Christmas dinner with an empty place setting or the parents who can't manage gifts for the kids this year?

I don't have the answers to day-to-day survival for each, individual situation.

But I can choose to trust.

I can trust that if God would send his Son down - as a helpless newborn - into clumsy humanity's hands to save them from the eternal punishment they'd earned themselves, I can also trust that he's got me covered.

I can have hope.

Love himself came down to earth 2,000 years ago, to fulfill his promise made in the Garden that he would come and save us.

And you know what? He did save us, just like he said he would.

Merry Christmas, everyone.