Christmas: Beyond the hype, you can find hope

Did you hear about the little boy who asked Santa for a baby sister last year? He wrote another letter to Santa this year: "Dear Santa: Last year I asked you for a baby sister for Christmas. Thank you for her. This year, I want you to take her back."

Or how about the choir that was singing Longfellow's "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day?" There was a typo in the bulletin and it read "I Heard the Bills on Christmas Day." Maybe that typo was truer that we want to admit.

OK, we all know there is a lot of hype behind the Christmas holiday. For some, Christmas is about commercialism. From "Black Friday" until "The Day after Christmas Sales" this holiday isn't about celebrating a birth; it's about making a buck. Personally, I'm no Scrooge when it comes to getting and giving Christmas presents. It can be a way of expressing love to those we love (unless you get dad a tie or mom something she can use in the kitchen). It can also be a time when we give to help those less fortunate.

Or sometimes what people think Christmas is about, isn't the commercialism but the characters. I won't be a Grinch when it comes to Christmas characters like Rudolph or Frosty or even the reindeer that hit grandma! The spirit of Christmas Past still visits me every time I hear Burl Ives singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" or Jimmy Durante singing "Frosty the Snowman."

More nobly, some define Christmas as a time of being with family and friends. Just yesterday, a family told me they are all getting together on Christmas Day for ham, ribs and mullet (really ... mullet?). I think it's wonderful to have those Hallmark kinds of moments and memories with family and friends. In my prayer on Christmas Day though, I will also be remembering our brave men and women in military service who are far from being home for Christmas with their families and friends.

But is there something more to this holiday? It's what I call the Charlie Brown question. Remember in "A Charlie Brown Christmas," Charlie Brown was frustrated with the things Christmas seemed to be about - lots of gifts and spectacular Christmas trees - only to discover his heart was still searching for the real reason for Christmas. That's when Charlie Brown asked the question "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Have you ever asked that question?

Beyond the hype, you can find hope. I was talking with someone just this week who said to me, "I used to think things were getting worse year by year. Now, I think things are getting worse week by week." Can you relate to that feeling? If there was one word that might best describe how most people feel this Christmas it might be the word "afraid." Our fears are founded. Just look at the troubled economy; the double-digit unemployment; a record-setting national debt ... and growing; a potential socialized health care system; shrinking 401k's; H1N1; nuclear arms development; and terrorists who desire to destroy American "infidels."

Fears are not just from today's news headlines - fears also come from what's happening in your world. For some of you, this will be your most challenging Christmas ever. I personally know that this will be the first Christmas for a son without his father; a wife without her husband; a couple who had anticipated hanging an ornament on their tree that said "Baby's First Christmas" but their infant son didn't make it. For all the fears and hurts we have in life, does this holiday called Christmas offer us any hope?

In the original story of Christmas (found in the Bible in Luke chapter 2) the first four words the angel spoke to humanity at the birth of Christ were these: "Do not be afraid." Are those words realistic or just a nice "don't-worry-be-happy" kind of thought? It depends who said it, as to the worth of what is said. If the words are said by singer Bobby McFerrin in a Jamaican voice from a 1988 hit song, it's just a good thought. But since the words came from God, I think they have solid credibility - then and today.

It's not that fear won't come to our lives - fear comes to us all. But when our trust is in Someone bigger and greater than ourselves - fear can't stay in our lives.

The Christmas message continued with these words: "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord."

Trusting in the Savior, meets my three biggest needs. One, for my past - the Savior offers me forgiveness. Two, for my present - the Savior offers me here-and-now help. Three, for my future - the Savior offers me assurance that I can know where I will go after this life.

If you would like to learn more about the freedom-from-fears living Jesus can give you, visit on the Web www.notreligion.com/ and click on the tab labeled "Jesus Who?"

It was Roy Smith who said "He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree."

This Christmas, if you will look beyond all the hype, you can find hope.