Peace to men of good will. Emmanuel, God with us, is born. All of us, periodically need the child Jesus to be reborn in us. The beginning of the story of the man Jesus is important because we know the end. But not only the cross, not only the empty tomb, also the manger stands for all for which we long.
Birth is a powerful symbol.
Go back with me to a chilly, wet day in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in the summer of 1969. I was in a small crowed apartment talking with a Marxist philosopher. We were debating the great issues - freely challenging each other. It was a very important day in my life. I asked him how the atheist could answer the problem of death.