This past Monday when school was cancelled because of the snowstorm and I was working at home, my youngest daughter said she wanted to go Nordic skiing in the backyard. Since we have skis for every age from toddler on up, I suggested that she go to the basement and just find a pair of skis that fit since undoubtedly last year’s skis would be too small. I was furiously writing, glued to the computer so I did not notice that she never surfaced from the basement. A significant amount of time passed and deciding to take a break, I went to the basement looking for wrapping paper. When I opened the door to the storage area, much to my surprise, I found my daughter standing there with her skis on, unable to move. "I was wondering when someone would find me. I couldn’t get the skis off," she declared. Apparently the bindings on these skis are different from the ones she was used to and so she stood patiently waiting for someone to discover her.

Here at St. John’s, we have a weekly staff meeting. At the beginning of each meeting, we do a time of check-in and talk about how our week has been. On more than one occasion, I have shared some hair-raising story involving one of my children. I love watching the two young men on my staff, both of whom are about half my age, when I tell these stories. They start to shuffle around in their chairs and then their eyes get bigger and bigger. And then I say: "Of course, I’m sure your children will be different."

As anyone, who is a parent knows, children do change your life forever. Parenting is fun and deeply rewarding but it is tremendously challenging and time-consuming, as well. From the many conversations I have had with parents over the years, I know parenting can also be heartbreaking. It is not all that uncommon for parents to outlive their children; something that reason tells us should not happen. Sometimes the reason is disease, sometimes a random accident, sometimes, especially with our young people; death comes from simply making a really bad choice. This relationship between parent and child seems very unpredictable.

Tonight is the night we come to celebrate the birth of a baby, a baby unlike any other baby that has ever been born. We come to celebrate a parent child relationship that is unlike any other that we know. This baby has changed the lives of not just a few people, but the lives of millions of people over the course of more than two thousand years, in virtually every part of the world. This baby does not just change lives; this baby transforms all who come to know him in a life-giving way.

This Christmas liturgy which we celebrate this evening is always a beautiful one. We sing ancient carols and ones that have been inspired in recent years. We light candles and hear the story of Jesus’ birth once again, a story that is so familiar to most of us that we can tell if even one word is different from what we have always heard. Some people who celebrate this great feast day will have a simple Christmas in terms of gifts, some will receive more gifts than they could ever have time to enjoy; some will be separated from family, some will be with their loved ones; some will share a great feast, others will eat at a soup kitchen. But all, all people who so desire are able to come and worship the new- born king. There are no requirements for being in a church, you don’t have to show a membership card or pass some sort of test. To receive the gift of a transformed life through this baby, all that is required is an open heart and a genuine desire for faith. For this baby, who grew to be God incarnate, came to save us.

What is salvation? This seemingly lofty theological word is often thrown around as if it is some sort of divine stamp of approval, as if we humans were moving along on a conveyor belt with God doing the final inspection. "This one looks good; this one looks good, but oops! This one definitely needs to removed and thrown into the unquenchable fire!" A more helpful understanding of salvation is quite simple; it is about restoring our relationship with God. Jesus came to restore us to God. The baby Jesus was given life so that we might have life, a life with God, eternal life and life in the present.

There are a lot of people who need to have Jesus in their lives. All of us know people who live lives of quiet desperation and hopelessness; people who are stuck in grief or anger, people who are stressed to the point of not being able to enjoy the life they have been given. They are technically alive in that they are breathing and moving around. Perhaps they are even really successful in terms of cultural standards – they might have a well-paying job, a big house, a new car… Perhaps they are even successful in terms of being especially bright and well-read. Despite all of these outside signs of success there just might be a sense of emptiness, a spiritual longing that cannot quite be described, a wondering about the larger questions of life, questions about the very meaning of life. Somewhere underneath all the wrapping paper and the perfectly selected gifts, the beautifully decorated house and the lavish Christmas feast, there just might be a restless spirit, a restless spirit that can only be satisfied by the Almighty. That restless spirit travels to Bethlehem and walks cautiously toward this dark cave, listening to the mooing of the cows and the baying of sheep and in the midst of these earthly noises, a baby cries, a baby cries for us to hold him and cherish him and know him as the gift of life, the gift of a life with God, a gift of reconciliation and hope, a gift unlike any other gift. It is a rare person who does not open up when holding a newborn baby. It is a rare person who does not smile and appreciate the beauty of the squiggly vulnerability wrapped up in such a small being. But in the case of the baby Jesus, our own vulnerability is opened and exposed to be healed by him.

A relationship with Jesus is one that is always there. Oh we may be disappointed or even experience deep anger at God. More than a few of the psalms let us know that the people of God have often expressed anger at their creator. The disciples let us know that having an unpredictable relationship with Jesus is also a part of the story of the people of God. Peter betrayed Jesus and Thomas doubted but they were always in relationship. And so it is with a life that has been transformed by Jesus.

This baby that came to save us, came primarily to restore us to God. That is what the Christian faith is all about. This baby came to help us live in right relationship with God. God became one of us so that we might know him better. This does not mean that our lives are always going to be perfect, that we will never make mistakes. It does mean that this baby will always be there for us to hold and to hold us.

The city of my former church in WA State had a very high teen pregnancy rate. There was a mall in Federal Way that served this middle-income neighborhood. On the rare occasions that I went to this rather dreary mall, I was always struck by the number of teen couples strolling babies around in a wide range of baby carriages, from the deluxe to the simply functional. The young women often insisted on keeping the babies and, in fact, felt that a baby would make their lives better. Desperately searching for love and purpose in their lives, these young teens would look to a baby to fulfill that need. Of course, the reality of raising a child would set in and the scenario would often move from simply unfortunate to even tragic, leaving a trail of emotional carnage in its path. They were searching for love.

The story of the Bible is that of God searching for us. The Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament is full of stories of God searching for us, trying to restore the relationship broken by Adam and Eve. For hundreds of years, kings and prophets came to the Israelites trying to bring God’s people back to God. But then God decided to come to us himself, in the form of the infant Jesus. This baby would change lives, this baby would be the answer to the emptiness we so often feel, this baby would fill that void, this baby would bring us back to God. There are no human beings who can always be there for us. Even the best of friends, even a caring colleague or even the most loving spouse cannot always be there for us all of the time. Even the best of us have moments when we are unable to be present to the needs of another person. Most of us have bad days or at the very least, bad moments. But Jesus does not have bad days, Jesus is always there regardless of the time day or night or location in the world.

On Wednesday, I went to a service at the Cathedral, a service I was sure I did not have time for but one I went to in support of someone from our congregation. In my frazzled state, I sat in the Cathedral feeling my own brokenness that always surfaces for me at some point in this season. I sat burrowed into the corner of a pew feeling like a small child trying to hide and then a small choir from a church in Detroit rose to sing a spiritual that completely overwhelmed me and so I share this with you this evening because though it is not a Christmas carol, it is about Christmas.

Fix me Jesus, fix me.