“The baby is born!” Few words bring more joy and hope into our lives than these.

We can’t wait to see the baby, hold the baby, hear the coos and cries, and even smell the smells! As a new Dad (30+ years ago!), I changed my share of stinky diapers. But my favorite smell was the top of their little heads, as you snuggle in, all warm and close.

Babies also make you think about the future.

What will they grow up to be?

Will they be strong and healthy, make good choices, and have good relationships? What will their world be like? Such questions can lead to some fervent praying: “Lord, keep my child safe in this scary world.”

When I was little, I was taught to pray:

“Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep; if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

Many have found this old prayer to be problematic, and have composed less morbid versions. But the stories we are given in the scriptures concerning the birth of Jesus do not ignore that he was born into a difficult, dangerous time and place. Even the wise men, in their joy at the birth of Jesus, bring him gifts of “gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11).

Many scholars interpret these gifts as acknowledging the full extent of who Jesus is: gold, for a king; frankincense, used for worshipping God, thus recognizing Christ’s divine nature; and myrrh, which is a spice used to anoint a body after death.

Even in their thrill and awe at his birth, the wise men understand that this baby will grow up to be strong in the Spirit, in order to face death itself, to bring us all into new life in him.

Christ is Born!

What about us? For a child has been born for us! Isaiah 9:6.

As Christians today, and especially as Lutherans here in the Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, we seek to follow this same Christ, whose birth, death, and resurrection give us life, hope, purpose, and good news to share.

We talk about God’s three VITAL SIGN GOALS for us: GROWING YOUNG; GAINING STRENGTH, and GOING BEYOND DEATH TO LIFE.

In this new year, 2023, we will focus especially on the last of these three.

As we look at our congregations and at ourselves, the crucified and risen Christ gives us wisdom and strength to face our fears, and to trust that God will bring us through every trial and challenge, even unto death itself, so that we may be raised from the dead to new life.

Or as Jesus says, to the old man Nicodemus who visits him in the dark of night: “You must be born anew” (John 3:7).

Could it be, that the newborn baby Jesus is inviting us to become newborns ourselves? If so, with the new eyes of the freshly reborn – how can we see our communities and congregations, our buildings, and even our own bodies, not just growing old but growing young, alive with new possibilities?

How can we see that, just like newborns, we cannot live without depending on others, to share our strengths and gain the stamina not only to survive but to thrive in this new world being birthed all around us?

Most of all, how can we see that Jesus the newborn babe is also the one “born anew,” having borne the cross, having gone beyond death to life for our sake – that because of him, not even death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38)?

Jesus is beckoning you and me to be born anew this Christmas into the new year. Let us go beyond all that scares and scars us, all the fear that holds us back, all the doubt that leads us to despair – and let’s follow Jesus into new days, new ways, together reborn, as he says and shows us: “See, I am making all things new!” (Revelation 21:5)

Blessed Christmas to you all!

Bishop Christopher deForest, Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America