Unto Us Is Born But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2) There a…

“The Force is with me.”

Isaiah 9:6 is quoted frequently at Christmastime. You may have seen the passage on Christmas cards, oftentimes along with a manger scene. The well-known (but usually not fully understood) verse reads, “To us a child is born, to us a son is given, and t…

My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were …

Much of the world is preparing to celebrate. The question is, what’s being celebrated? Children anticipate Santa Claus leaving gifts under a tree, while adults decorate homes with lights, tinsel, and ornaments. We give gifts to people we care about, at…

We all know the famous, dark side of Christmas:

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in acco…