In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Christ is born! Glorify him!
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
John 3:3–8
Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
And so Christ, begotten of the Father from all eternity without a mother, is born of a Mother without a father. Christ is the Son of God who is not deceived by the Serpent but “became obedient to death, even the death of the Cross.” (Philippians 2:8) Christ is born that we may be born again, “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13)
But the facts of my life show that I have not made this my own, because I am not willing to put to death the sin within me. I like my passions, I cultivate my obsessions, and the memory of my self-pity after my sins does nothing to prevent me. I have heard the Gospel of the Victory of Christ over his enemies—death, sin and idolatry—and, even given the choice, I remain on the losing side. I search diligently for the Child but only to send word back to Herod.
And an angel, a messenger, comes to me and warns me, “Do not return to Herod.” In other words, he says to me, “Give up your passions and leave your obsessions; repent! Come and be born again.” “Now is the judgment of this world;” says the Lord, “now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” What is my response to this judgement? Am I cut to the heart or do I remain defiant? Yet all the while, the Lord looks down on me with love and compassion from the Cross and says to me, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself.” (John 12:31–32) He is, while there is still time, calling me, from the Cross, to repentance. For if I will to be born again it is only by the way of the Cross; if I will to be his disciple, I must deny myself, and take up my cross daily, and follow Christ. (Luke 9:23)
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Christ is born! Glorify him! Christ is born that we may be born again, “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” But this can only be by way of the Cross, by way of service, by way of sacrifice. Christ is born to defeat Death by his death, to wipe away sin by his blood, to deliver us from the slavery to demons, the slavery to passions, that holds us unjustly that we might have freedom and Life. Let us not return to Herod but turn once again to Christ whom we are called to bear in the cave of our hearts that we be born again, through bearing our own crosses, and journey with him on to eternal Life.
To our incarnate Saviour Jesus Christ, who deigned to be born of the Virgin and placed in a manger for our sakes that he might, through the Cross, death and Resurrection, lead us to the one God and Father through the power and cooperation of the All-holy Spirit, be all glory, honour and worship. Amen.
Brethren, when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir of God through Christ.
— Galatians 4:4–7
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.’ Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
— Matthew 2:1–12