“She gave birth, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.” St. Luke tells it so simply, matter-of-factly. No dramatic music. No spotlight. It sounds like any birth, like many births happening in hospitals and homes around the world tonight. And yet the angel calls this moment “good news of great joy.” A Savior. A Messiah. The Lord.
But look at him. He cannot walk. He can’t talk. He cannot feed or care for himself. He cannot fix our problems or explain our questions. So, what exactly does this child bring us? Why would God choose to come among us like this – small, helpless, vulnerable.?
To answer that, let’s think about another child. Think back to the first time someone looked into your eyes as a newborn. What do you think they saw? Your parents, or whoever held you – what were they gazing at? They did not see a resume. They did not see mistakes or failures. They did not see everything you would one day get wrong.
They saw hopes and dreams. They saw possibility. They saw beauty that had nothing to do with appearance. They saw holiness before you ever did anything “holy.” They saw a miracle – God’s life alive in you.
Every one of us knows that look. Because we have seen it too. Go back and look at a baby picture of yourself. Look past what your life is right now and return to the beginning. It is all there – the innocence, the love, the promise.
And if it’s hard to see it in yourself, then remember the first time you looked into the face of your child or grandchild. Or the last baby you saw baptized. Or even a child you did not know – a baby in a stroller at the grocery store, a toddler on a playground. Something about that face stopped you. Held you. Softened you.
Why?
It is about more than cuteness. More than sentimentality. More than memories. In that gaze, we catch a glimpse of something bigger than a baby. We are standing in the presence of a revelation. We are being reminded of something we have forgotten. In that small face we are seeing Emmanuel – God with us.
That is why God came as a baby. Because in that child we see not only who God is – but who we are meant to be. In the face of the Christ Child, we recognize our own deepest truth: goodness, beauty, love, holiness, possibility. The life God dreamed into us from the very beginning.
So, tonight is not only about remembering what happened long ago in Bethlehem. In some mysterious way, the Christ Child shows us who we truly are, who we can become, and what our life is really about. This holy child shows us our own reflection and offers us a new beginning. And who among us does not need that? Who has not wished for a chance to begin again – not just to do better, but to be different? Tonight is a festival of re-creation.
This is the child of peace – let us not be violent or anxious.
This is the child of love – let us not hate or harden our hearts.
This is the child of compassion -let us not be indifferent.
This is the child of gentleness – let us not be harsh.
This is the child of joy – let us not live as though hope is gone.
Tonight, divinity is wrapped in humanity. Let us be wrapped in divinity. Tonight, we behold the child. Let us become what we see. A child is born for us this night. Let us claim our new beginning.
So, the question is simple: What will we do with this gift? Your life is before you, and God’s dreams for you are deep and wide. So go – pull out that baby picture. Gaze into the face of a child. Look int the eyes of the Christ Child – and remember who God has always known you to be. Amen