The manger scene these days really is the face of Christmas for most people and, perhaps not surprisingly, it is one of the aspects of the season that keeps causing trouble.

In 1946, Walter Russell Bowie wrote the following Christmas story about fictional men who had been in Bethlehem on the night that Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Our greatest need today is the certainty of God, the profound conviction that he does rule, that his righteousness and justice and love are imperishable.

This is the message of Christmas hope: Jesus Christ is Immanuel, and he wants to be God with you.

Shoup’s actions during Christmastime 1955 offer an un-planned, un-staged snapshot of a political system and world view strikingly different from that of Lenin, Stalin, and Xi—a system founded on the freedom to believe in God or Santa or not, to believe in the meaning of Christmas or not, to believe in Immanuel or not.

That is my hope for this Christmas: in the midst of indifference to a genocide, Jesus’ word speaks judgment, comfort, and rest. God is not indifferent, cold, or distant. He entered the world amidst bloodshed, and he sits sovereign over it now. So, the weary world rejoices.

The struggle for that free and decent world never ends this side of the parousia.

Joseph and Mary’s expectations were rooted in submission to God’s plan: that was their basis for hope. We, too, can have hope in God, trusting that he will care for us and lead our families.

During this season of Advent, the patriotic American citizen can find much for which to be hopeful. For the American Christian, we are reminded of our ultimate reason for hope.