The scripture lesson we read today is certainly not our favorite part of the Christmas story. But I suppose we really need for it to be in there. We have surrounded our Christmas traditions with such beauty and serenity that we may sometimes wonder if those traditions have anything to do with the real world in which we live. Sometimes, as we stand gazing at the baby in the center of the manger scene or tearing up during the children's Christmas pageant or as we sing "Silent Night" by candlelight at the end of a Christmas Eve service, we may begin to hear a somber voice speaking in the back of our minds. And the voice will say: Auschwitz, Nanking, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, Cambodia, MyLai, Rwanda, Bosnia, 9/11, Gaza. It is meaningful for us to be reminded that the story of the birth of Chris…