“To whom else shall we go? You have the message of eternal life.”

Chris Van Allsburg’s book The Polar Express is a classic Christmas tale read to many children in homes and schools. In 32 pages, Allsburg captures the magic of Christmas through the eyes of a boy who visits Santa’s Workshop via a mysterious train one snowy C hristmas Eve. The boy receives a gift from Santa Claus, a bell, which rings only to those who “believe.”

Jesse is in a tough spot. Having lost his business after personal troubles, he lives on a small pension. His grown-up children visit once in a while, bringing the grandkids, but he has few social contacts and seems unneeded in the world. How has he coped? “Faith in God” is his ready response to this question. Yet he’s angry with God, too, with himself, and with the systems that didn’t rescue him. 

We’re told in song that this is “the season to be jolly.” Yet, it’s ironic that, like many occasions when we should be most happy — planning a wedding, moving to a new home, bringing a new baby home for the first time, the first day of a dream job — Christmas brings plenty of stress.