I love the music and colors and hope of Christmas. But I’m trying to be honest about how messy and disturbing it is, too. The messiest part is embedded in the heart of the story. Let’s name it for what it is: scandal. God sullies Mary’s reputation — and, some would say, God’s own reputation — by making her pregnant. What kind of salvation strategy is that? Where is the universe’s police force? God needs to be reined in.

After the birth, the mess only multiplies. Think smelly barns and shepherds. Think Roman oppressors. Think pagan gurus whose visit leads to mass infanticide at the hands of the paranoid Kind Herod. This is good news? This is peace on earth?