The most common greeting of the first Christmas was not ‘Merry Christmas.’ It was ‘Don’t be afraid!’ It took real courage and perseverance to be at the manger: Mary’s courage, Joseph’s commitment to Mary, the awestruck obedience of shepherds, and the politically threatening courage of the Magi to rebuke Herod. The gift of God’s son to a hostile and dangerous world is a story full of risk and adventurous obedience. Lives were radically altered. Don’t be deceived by 21st-century consumerism, ‘happy holidays’ or the dumbing-down of ‘Merry Christmas.’ Emmanuel—God with us—is a powerful reality.