While out shopping for hair products this week, I heard one of my favorite Christmas songs, "Mary, Did You Know?" The beauty supply store that I was in plays Christian music year-round, which lifts my spirits every time I'm there. In a holiday season that is filled with anxiety, heartache and trouble for many, hearing "Mary, Did You Know?" was a stirring reminder of the power of the "Christ" in Christmas. One of my favorite verses is "Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod? When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God."

Kissing the face of God. It seems so wonderful and almost incomprehensible at the same time. Yet the Bible tells us in John 1:14 that the "Word" (Jesus) became "flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." So, by scriptural accounts, everyone who saw Jesus, touched His hands or laid their heads in His bosom had a physical encounter with God in the form of a man. An authentic celebration of Christmas focuses on the miracle of Jesus coming as a man to bring redemption and deliverance to the world.

Throughout my adult life, I have witnessed cultural and political arguments surrounding Christmas celebrations, particularly in the early 2000s. In 2005, I remember the claims of there being a "war on Christmas" and people getting testy over seeing "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" signs in stores such as Sears and Target. Around this time, there were also heated arguments regarding Christmas pageants and nativity scenes at elementary schools and whether singing "Silent Night" violated the First Amendment. Four years ago, former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly said that the "War on Christmas" was won by "the good guys," but the sad part of this is that there was even a debate of this magnitude.

Such religious contentiousness is not new, as fights over Christmas festivities date back as far as the Puritan era, but these quarrels have always taken attention away from the true meaning of Christmas. This year, with COVID-19 raging, I doubt many people are worried about the politics of Christmas greetings. Many Americans are jobless, homeless and ill. Families are separated during the holidays like in no other year, because they have to protect relatives who may be more susceptible to the coronavirus. This year, we don't have time to argue.

Another favorite verse of mine from "Mary, Did You Know?" states that Jesus would "calm the storm with his hand." This pandemic has thrown a dreadful combination of storms at us that heighten our racial divisions and threaten the very survival of those who are on the brink of financial ruin. Those of us who celebrate Christmas need to call on the One who can stand in the midst and deliver when it appears that the boisterous winds of insecurity and floods of distress will overtake us.

As a deliverer, Christ also promises to bear the heaviest of burdens for us. Now, I know it seems hard to believe this with all we have seen and been through since March, but I am comforted by Matthew 11:29 where Jesus urged us to take His "yoke" upon us. The yoke symbolizes a pairing with Jesus, just as it was used to pair one large ox with one small ox for plowing. With the yoke fastened around their heads, the larger ox pulled all the weight and carried the grueling burden of the work. The smaller one just plodded along. This Christmas, I encourage you to let Christ carry the burden of whatever you are enduring. It doesn't matter how backbreaking it may feel. He can tow it, and that's why He came in the form of a man.

Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @JjSmojc. To find out more about Jessica Johnson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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