Think of a time in your life when you felt vulnerable, really vulnerable. 

I'll never forget when we brought our infant son David home from the hospital - 30 years ago on 12-23.  I remember the first time I laid him down on his changing table to do the diaper thing, and he looked up at me.  It was then it hit me, like a ton of bricks. I was responsible for this tiny, fragile human life.  Thoughts cascaded through my mind. Had we really thought this thing through?  Were we really ready to be parents?  Am I up to the task?  And then I heard this little voice in the back of my head, "Too late now, Joe!"   I felt inadequate, afraid and so vulnerable.   

However, the vulnerability I felt was absolutely nothing compared to the vulnerability of our tiny 5 day old son.   This new little life that was before me wearing dirty diapers was totally vulnerable in every way.  Without us he could not survive.  His well-being depended on us, young parents with no experience!  Infant David was the epitome of vulnerability. Without the swaddling clothes of care, love, nourishment, touch, and protection the infant David would have perished.    

You see, a baby is the perfect example of total vulnerability.   Every one of us began life in such a thoroughly vulnerable state.  There are no self-made people in this room.  Every one of us made it through the vulnerability of infancy to later years because someone(s), however imperfectly, wrapped us each in the swaddling clothes of love, nurture and protection.  One of the first lessons you intuitively learned was that being totally vulnerable, safe against the breast of mother or in the arms of father is a blessed thing.  It was there that you learned the truth and power of unconditional love; a love that encouraged you to grow, spread your wings, and discover who you are, and when you were broken and afraid it helped heal you. 

But it is also true that every one of us in this room learned something else almost as quickly.  It didn't take long at all to learn that total vulnerability can also be a very dangerous thing. You soon learned that the world is a dangerous and even unfriendly place, and that total vulnerability can get you injured or even killed.  You learned there are many things that can hurt you, and you did and do get hurt, and some of the lingering effects can last the balance of a life-time.   

We begin to learn these hard lessons of life at a very young age.  And we begin to adjust our level of vulnerability accordingly; and we each can tell our own unique story, can't we?  

We all live in a terrible quandary to one degree or another; in a fierce tension between two opposite poles, each pulling a different direction. 

        The first lesson you learned was that you are the filled with the most joy, peace and fulfillment when you are loved unconditionally, an awareness that began in your mother's womb, and in the first hours, days and weeks of your life being tenderly held and nurtured by loving souls. 

         But it didn't take long and you learned that remaining vulnerable is dangerous in our kind of world.  You were hurt in some way, and that hurt damaged your heart and soul.  You know deep in your soul that what you really need to be healed is to be held in the arms of unconditional love and grace.  But as your experience with the world piled up in the passing years, you know that real trust and love like that is rare in our world;  and the fleeting thought has occurred to you perhaps it's even impossible and non-existent. 

In other words you learned how to play it safe; to calculate the risks; to settle for something less, and to cope and live with disappointment, disillusionment and pain when it comes.  It is also true that to one degree or another we all are still doing that; we are all somewhere on that journey between those two poles. 

The Christian Faith has the audacity to claim, that the God of the universe chose to shed completely the prerogatives of power, prestige and invincibility and express himself in the complete vulnerability of a baby.   It's preposterous if you think about at all!  It's a ridiculous and outlandish assertion!      

However, the difference between and Jesus and us is just this.  We spend a life-time putting on various layers of protective armor that keep us safe and secure, albeit alone, unfulfilled and loving with a chiefly conditional and qualified love. 

Like us, Jesus was born vulnerable, but unlike us for his entire life and ministry he lived without that protective armor we cherish.  And he was the most alive and whole person that ever lived.  His love never turned cynical or bitter or condescending.  He never lost his unequivocal trust in God his father, even at his life's most difficult moments.  When he was betrayed and denied he responded with grace and forgiveness.  He never became numbed and indifferent to the need and pain that existed around him.   

He remained vulnerable and open to those that all others had rejected and written off: 

 Even in the stories he told about himself, he was frequently the vulnerable character.

 Dear Friends,

       We live among a world of 5 billion people, all of which who have been wounded in some profound way by life; and we bear the marks of those wounds in our souls; and every one of us struggles to cope with what's happened in our lives.  We wonder if there is a love in this universe in which we can rest back, be accepted, healed and empowered.

         I'm here to tell you that there is a love like that that burns for you in this universe; there is a heart that beats passionately like that for you.  But it's easy to miss because it is lying in a manger in this vulnerable little child. 

         But don't be afraid; don't draw back. Come!  Take him into your very being!  Invite him into your soul.   Let him wrap his swaddling clothes of healing grace and forgiveness around your deepest wounds.  Lay him in the manger of your heart.  Let him love you;  heal you; empower you to not be afraid to go and be in the world wrapping the swaddling clothes of His love around others.