Life can be difficult because of unresolved inner turmoil in our own hearts and minds. It can be difficult because of broken relationships with people who are important to us. Life is also difficult whenever we lift our eyes beyond our personal world to the raging turmoil around us. And on the global scale we see how difficult life is for people in the midst of unending poverty or political oppression. As you know, our special Christmas offering is going in part to feed people in Moscow where the cold and the economic collapse have left so many people destitute.
Life is difficult.
Christmas is not an event, which avoids the hard side of life, but the Event, which transforms life. We need a transcendent truth that gives us hope and creates a center of meaning and stability. Throughout all history, stories have done this for nations and for individuals. If we have a story that transforms life and gives us a sense of purpose, then we can survive almost anything. It is an Italian film called Life is Beautiful .