What's Christmas? Beyond shimmering lights, beyond balsam wreathes, beyond office parties, and shopping and wrapping and gift giving, beyond feasts and families, beyond crowded airports, decorated saguaro cacti, or snow-dusted Victorian carolers, just what is Christmas? Many of us believe Christmas is about the birth of a baby in a little town long ago. It's not. The story of Christmas isn't really about Jesus. It is about God. Sure, Jesus takes center stage. He's the Star of Bethlehem. He's the One everybody sees. He has the leading role. But it isn't about Him. It's about the Producer, the Director, and the Writer. The story is really about the One behind the scenes. The One we don't see. Yes, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of a particular baby, in a particular place, and at a particular time. It's the beginning of the story about how this baby grew to have a lasting and improbable impact on the history and spiritual development of humanity. But like I said, the real story of Christmas isn't about the One on stage. It's about God, the Beloved, the Nameless, the Infinite who was just too far away for puny little humans to grasp, despite the prophets and the teachers. So God reduced and emptied enough to become a human being --entered this created world -- so that the Word could get out. It's God's story of loving us enough to drop by to say hello and to remind us who we are and where we are from.