But all of this believing in the unbelievable can leave us pretty wrung out come December 25. It's hard to suspend our connection to reality that long. The sensationalism of the season prods us into believing some other pretty strange things as well. We believe that more presents equals greater love. We believe that we are obligated to keep up with our neighbors light string by light string, and nowadays inflatable for inflatable. We believe that we should be "home for the holidays" or else risk disappointing some member of the family. We believe that we have to cram in every holiday party, event, or parade. We must answer every acquaintance's invitation in the affirmative and be early birds for every pre-Christmas sale lest we miss the greatest bargain ever. It reminds me of observing the child who stays up way too late at a family gathering. She doesn't want to miss anything, but by the time her parents scoop her up and insist on her going to bed, it's too late. The meltdown is already on the way.

The pressure is on. It's been that way at least since the Friday after Thanksgiving if not before. Did you know that three people died this year because of the spending frenzy of Black Friday? I say, "Enough is enough already." The beliefs that we've grafted onto our Christmas traditions have little or nothing to do with the birth of our Savior. Now before you think I've gone Grinch on everyone, you need to know that I like the holiday traditions too. I adore candles and Christmas lights, and getting together with friends and family. I enjoy giving presents, especially to my husband and children. I treasure the excitement of Christmas morning, and all the feasting that happens throughout the day.

But on too many Christmases, it seems like there's something missing. What do we do when the holiday is no longer a holy day?

Perhaps it is time to change or at least modify some of our beliefs. It's not unheard of, but it certainly is difficult. Our assumptions and values so often work on auto-pilot. They are the kind of things that have been rooted in our reptilian brains; the part that knows only how to react instead of how to formulate a reasoned response. You know what I mean. Your old college roommate forgets to send a Christmas card one year and she's written out of your life forever. You announce to your beloved family that you've decided to work at the homeless shelter for Christmas this year, and instead of offering to join you, the guilt trip begins on how Christmas won't be Christmas without you. Our families become co-conspirators with the greater culture and then those irrational expectations get fully ingrained in us. It's tough to bow out. Rarely do we get rewards or affirmation for sending fewer Christmas cards, making our own gifts one year, or choosing to spend more time in prayer than shopping at Turkey Creek.

So knowing that breaking the mold might produce some unpopular results, why would we want to go against the system? Why would we dare to be different, especially at Christmas? For one thing, the rewards we do get from not rocking the boat are more temporary than they are lasting. We may get some immediate affirmation for our basket of Christmas cookies or that last minute gift card. But what about the credit card bills that continue into the New Year? What about the buttons we start to push when we're with family for more than 24 hours? What about the extra pounds that come from the confections consumed in stress or the extra drink had to get to sleep after a long day of filling the Christmas "have-to list?" Aren't we really hurting more than we are helping?

In an Advent devotional reading for this year, Henri Nowen, a well-known counselor and spiritual guide, has said, "As long as we keep running around, anxiously trying to affirm ourselves or be affirmed by others, we remain blind to the One who has loved us first, dwells in our heart, and has formed our truest self."

As long as our Christmas traditions are solely about who's been naughty or nice, or about who will fulfill the traditional requirements and be affirmed or who has missed the mark and will be rejected, then they have nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the birth of Jesus. Our belief system is faulty - more in tune with what has become a $450 Billion/year industry than with the simple trust of celebrating the arrival of the child Jesus who was chosen by God to lead us to love.

My own beliefs about Christmas are changing, slowly, but hopefully deliberately. I want my kids to be amazed and delighted with the wonder of Christmas morning, the same as when I was a child, and yet I want them to also know something more amazing and wonderful - the knowledge that the world won't stop if we slow down, and spend less, and get to know each other more. I want them to believe that the story of Jesus is the real story of Christmas, and that the rest is mere fun and frivolity. I want them to believe that angels are still telling fantastic news about God's great joy. I want them to believe that the astonished shepherds were received by the holy family just the same as the wisemen who came with expensive presents. I want them to not just believe, but really know deep within their being that nothing is impossible with God.

The 96th Psalm reminds us how easy it is to lose touch with the magnificence of God and be tempted instead by idols and false gods. It is so easy to believe in the wrong things, to rely on bad arguments, and to accept lies as truth all out of our desire to be loved for who we are. The simple belief is the truest one. We are loved just as we are, and we don't have to prove our love to God or to anyone else with either extravagant gifts or by the strength of our adherence to holiday traditions. The Psalmist writes, "Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord all the earth. Let the heavens be glad. Let the earth rejoice. Let the heavens be glad. Let the sea roar. Let the tress of the forest sing for joy." This song of praise is sung to announce that God will "judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his truth."

You see, we really don't have to work so hard at keeping Christmas. In fact, I think the harder we work, perhaps the less we honor our faith. We don't have to wear ourselves out. We can celebrate the birth of Jesus with absolutely no strings attached, however we want, because the truth is that we are loved so much. We are loved so much that God sent Jesus to show us a new way, to guide us in a path beyond strict religiosity, to allow us to put aside our fear and accept that this is a sign of good news for all people everywhere because this child Jesus, who was born of humble beginnings was also chosen as the Savior of the World.

Amen.