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Wrestling with God: Finding Hope and Meaning in Our Daily Struggles to Be Human Christmas a time when we can enjoy being children again? Moreover, as Karl Rahner once said, isn’t Christmas a time when God gives us Well, it’s complex. Christmas is a time when God gives us permission to be happy, when the message from God speaks through the voice of Isaiah and says: “Comfort my people. Speak words of comfort!” But Christmas is also a time that points out that when God was born two But first, the comfort of his birth: A number of years ago, I participated in a large diocesan synod. At one point the animator in charge had us divide into small groups and each group was asked to answer the question: What’s the single most-important thing that the justice!” “We need to challenge the world to have real faith and not confuse God’s word with its own wishes.” “We need to injustice, violence, racism, se*ism, greed, selfishness, se*ual irresponsibility, and self-serving faith around; but most of the ad*lts in our world are also living in a lot pain, anxiety, disappointment, loss, depression, and unresolved guilt. Everywhere you look, you see heavy hearts. Moreover, so many people living with hurt and disappointment do not see God and the church as an answer to their So our churches, in preaching God’s word, need first of all to as*ure the world of God’s love, God’s concern, and God’s forgiveness.  Before doing anything else, God’s word is meant to comfort us; indeed, to be the ultimate source of all comfort. Only when the world knows God’s consolation will it accept the concomitant challenge. And that challenge, among others, is to then make room for Christ at the inn, that is, to open our hearts, our homes, and our world as places were Christ can come and live. From the safe distance of two thousand years we too easily make a scathing judgment on the people at the time of Jesus’ birth for not knowing what Mary and Joseph were carrying, for not making a proper place for Jesus to be born, and for