I.N.I.
A sermon to be preached at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Arlington, Virginia on the Sunday after Christmas, 27 December 2009, and based on the Gospel for the day, St. Luke 2:22-40, but especially verses 29-32, the Nunc Dimittis of Simeon
Grace, mercy, and peace be yours in Christ Jesus our Lord,
[text]
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
What a special day this is! And what a special day it was when Mary and Joseph brought their infant son to the Temple in Jerusalem!
Luke wraps together the two events of the purification of Mary and the Presentation of Jesus. The first was required in the Old Testament 40 days after a boy was born (and 80 days after a girl was born), wherein a sacrifice was to be brought in order to make the new mother ritually clean again. The latter also came from the Old Testament command that a first-born son was to be considered holy to the Lord; although, they could be redeemed – bought back, if you will – from God in order to be of service in some other life's work besides the priesthood.
The sacrifice that Joseph and Mary bring is the two turtledoves sacrifice of a poor couple that could not afford the purchase of a lamb, which would have been the other acceptable alternative. (Although, if you think about it, they were also bringing a spotless, unblemished Lamb with them, One Who would be the most acceptable sacrifice ever.) And, interestingly (although maybe one shouldn't make too much of it) Luke doesn't mention the offering required to 'buy back' a first-born son, which could mean that Luke intends his readers to understand that Jesus remained dedicated to God's service – which, of course, He did.
This Temple in Jerusalem was quite different from today's Christian churches. There was something going on every day of the week at the Temple. There was a lot of noise. There was confusion. There would have been enough smells to overpower a lot of us here. There were a lot of people. Without being profane, I think we might imagine it something like a crowded shopping mall.
While the Holy Family was there at the Temple, a couple people came to them out of the hustle and bustle. These two were 'regulars,' people who were probably considered to be just part of the scenery by many of the other Temple-goers because they were always there at the Temple. They met Jesus and His parents, and they said some remarkable things. I want to focus our attention on one of those people and one of the things he said.
Simeon was a man who “was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.” He's usually pictured as a senior citizen, but the text doesn't really speak directly to his age, as it does to Anna's.
It's interesting that despite how just and devout he was, despite how religious, spiritual, and pious he was, Simeon still had to wait for the Consolation of Israel. Neither his devotion, nor his spirituality could bring this about. Both Simeon as an individual man, and Israel as the people of God, had to wait for consolation, for the Consolation (capital C), for the One who could and would console the nation and its individuals. The Christmas story underlines for us just how wrong it is for people to hope that their own actions will bring about lasting peace in their hearts and lives. There are several individuals in the story who are specifically described as people focused on following the Law, yet who all needed a Savior. Here again, Simeon is one of them. He was concerned about following all the rules and regulations, but he knew that none of it was enough to gain him everlasting peace. Simeon knew, as we all know deep in our hearts, that forgiveness and peace only come from God. There is only One who can and does soothe our stress, alleviate our grief, and truly comfort us. That one is our loving God.
Simeon recognizes Jesus as the One he has been waiting for. How did he do that? The only way it could have been was that, as Luke tells us, “the Holy Spirit was with him.”
And there again, we have a clear Scripture telling us that the only way people come to have Jesus in their hearts is through the gift of the Holy Spirit who brings us to faith. Others there in the Temple were just. Others were devout. Others were religious. But the Holy Spirit was with Simeon, and Simeon was the one who recognized Jesus for Who He really is. Simeon was the one who took Jesus into his arms. Today our world is filled with people who think that they can somehow grab the benefits of knowing Jesus all on their own, that they can gain the peace that passes all understanding, or the deep joy, or the hope for the future all on their own. But Simeon teaches us that recognizing and embracing Jesus comes only when the Holy Spirit is upon us, as He is when we hear the Word of God and come to faith, when we experience the means of grace.
Upon holding Jesus, Simeon broke into a blessing that we think of as a song (maybe he sang it, too, we don't know). Those of us in liturgical Christian churches sing this “Nunc Dimittis” after we receive Holy Communion: “Lord, now let your servant go in peace....” Let's look at the words of that song for a few minutes this morning.
That opening line is one of the more beautiful lines in the Bible. “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, According to your word.” Well how else and when else would one of God's servants be able to die in peace? When God's word is fulfilled, His promises are all made good. Simeon is recognizing that all of the Lord's promises to the world up to that time especially through the prophets of Israel pointed to Jesus. On a personal level, Simeon may have had a special assurance from God that he would not die until he saw the fulfillment of those Old Testament promises. He'd hung on. He'd spent time in the Temple. He'd outlived many of his family and friends, some of whom had also been waiting expectantly for the coming of the Messiah. And yet the Lord delayed His coming. So Simeon did not give up, but waited patiently and expectantly for Jesus' first coming, in the same way that you and I wait for His second coming.
This side of the first Christmas, all the Lord's promises still point to Jesus, you see. Now they point us toward that second coming when we will all be able to depart in peace at the fulfillment of God's word. As faithful followers, as Holy Spirit filled Christians, as baptized children of our heavenly Father, we truly do have the chance to sing Simeon's song as our own song. We truly are ready to depart this world in peace because we know what awaits us on the other side of death. We can depart in peace because God fulfills His word of forgiveness for our sins.
Simeon explains next how it is that he is ready to die. He says “For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which you have prepared before the face of all peoples.” This phrase fleshes out what the first line pointed toward. In case you didn't get what word it is that has been fulfilled, Simeon tells us that it was the word about the sending of the One who would bring salvation, the One Who would be salvation for the world.
It is significant that the most meaningful word for Simeon is the word of salvation. There is no other more meaningful word for any of us. Every person's struggle for meaning and rest is rooted in a yearning for salvation. We know we've messed up. We want to have that fixed.
The salvation which Simeon saw wasn't something reserved for a small segment of society, either. It wasn't something set aside for the especially pious, or the especially righteous; it wasn't a salvation reserved for those who were especially generous or giving; and it really wasn't a salvation reserved only for the descendants of Abraham who made up the people of Israel. This salvation had been prepared before the face of all peoples, male and female, slave and free, Jew and Gentile. Everyone on earth needs God reaching into history to save us. Everyone gets that salvation offered to them.
The last phrase of Simeon's song specifies what he meant by “before the face of all peoples”. Simeon sings, “A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” Both Jew and Gentile, in other words. Everyone. God so loves the whole world that he sent his only-begotten Son.
So one of the miracles of this season is the clear teaching that Jesus is not only the long-awaited Messiah of the Jews, promised by God through the prophets for generations, but that Jesus is also the long-awaited Messiah of the Gentiles, the Savior of the whole world.
The next verse in the Gospel tells us that Joseph and Mary “marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.” Most parents have people say nice things about their children, but these words were really over the top in a way. These parents had heard angelic messages about the special role this child would have, but perhaps even they had not understood until now just how widespread, how earth-shaking, how history-making Jesus would be. “A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles.” Well, clearly the Gentiles have been sitting in darkness, the darkness of sin without hearing a promise of salvation. Not that many years in the future, though, Peter and Paul would be preaching God's word of forgiveness to Gentile people. It was happening. The light of the world was spreading throughout the world.
And he would also be “the glory of your people Israel.” This little child would somehow become the greatest person in a nation that had had many great people in it. As the One who embodied all the prophecies and promises of Israel going back to the Garden of Eden, this Child was destined for clear greatness. Maybe wrapped in his baby clothes there in the Temple that day He didn't look all that different from other babies begin brought in by their parents. How would anyone have known but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? Yet the Spirit inspired, and Simeon spoke, and Joseph and Mary had the chance to marvel at what was spoken. They could take those words with them through the years of raising Jesus. Here was a special child. Here was the ultimate Child of promise. He was the Child of the real, the most important promise.
His life, his death, his resurrection would make all the difference in the world to the world. He was the Savior. He was the glory of his people, he was the light to the Gentiles. He brought salvation to all people. Because of Jesus, all people now have the chance to depart from this world in peace.
You and I can be ready at a moment's notice to make this departure. Our Savior has come. He was born in Bethlehem so many years ago. He died in our places on the cross. He rose from the dead as proof of God's victory over sin, death, and the Devil. We celebrate Christmas now in remembrance of our Savior's first coming. And with Simeon we look forward to Jesus' second coming and to 'departing this life in peace according to His Word; for our eyes have seen His Salvation, which He has prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And a glory to His people Israel.' Amen.
S.D.G.