CHRISTMAS holiday is a welcome break for a year ending with so many political and economic highs and lows. But it’s a reminder, too, of the enduring power that religious faith has in bringing out the best from the human spirit. Christmas is a moment to reset the clock, even if it means temporarily. It is a time to appreciate the richness of life along with our living friends and relatives as well as those who have gone; before the new year and its challenges confronts us again. The Christmas story is so deeply a part of our culture that most of us, including those of us who don’t celebrate the holiday, could probably recite the basic meaning without much...