DEC 27, 2009  SERMON ARCHIVE

Grace to you and peace from God our heavenly Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for our mediation today is a portion of the Gospel before uis today from Luke 2. I would like to focus on the words of Simeon,

"Now Lord, Thou dost let Thy bond-servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; For my eyes have seen Thy salvation, Which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, A light OF REVELATION TO THE Gentiles, And the glory of Thy people Israel."

We begin in the name of Jesus, AMEN

Timing. It’s all about timing.

Saint Paul wrote in Galatians, chapter four, "....when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."

Timing. It's all about timing.

That is why the timing of the coming of the Son of God is nothing short of a miracle. At just the right time, Christ came to save the ungodly, you and me.

The timing was just right. Like Christmas cookies out of the oven at just the proper time, everything was ripe for the coming of the Son of God. And the picture before us today is one of the most vivid pictures in Jesus' young life.

You see, dear friends, there are certain things in each culture which people do when a child is born. For example, it used to be here in America, that the father would give out cigars with either pink or blue ribbons when a child is born. I think now it is more often chocolate than real cigars.

In some cultures, there is a formal presentation of the child to the community. In some ways, people often times make Holy Baptism into some sort of ritual which they do. And sadly enough, it may not even mean that much to the parents. It's just something they do.

There was a ritual in Jesus' day that was prescribed by the Law of God. 40 days after a male child was born, he was to be presented in the Temple in Jerusalem, and two turtle doves were to be sacrificed on the Altar for his purification.

In Luke chapter 2 at verse 21, we read that Mary and Joseph were bringing Jesus, not yet six weeks old, to the Temple in Jerusalem for his presentation before the Lord. Now understand, please. The Temple was not just like a big church. It was a huge building, over 17 acres, with walls a hundred feet thick. It was actually the third Temple, and was built by Herod the Great, the one who tried to have Jesus killed in Bethlehem. It was the pride and marvel of all Israel, and people came hundreds of miles to see Herod's great temple.

For the Jew, though, it wasn't just the architecture that was so fantastic. It was the fact that God Himself promised that He would dwell in the Temple. This was God's house.

To the Jew, if you asked Him where to find God, He would point to Jerusalem and the Temple. This was the holiest place in all the earth, for there God's name dwelt, and His glory filled it.

So imagine if you will the picture before us. Joseph and Mary were bringing the baby Jesus to the Temple, to God's house. While they are there, an old man named Simeon came to meet them. He had waited his whole life for the consolation of Israel, and it had been revealed to Him by the Holy Spirit that he would not taste death until He had seen the Lord's Christ. And so he waited, and waited, and waited, until the time was just right for the coming of the Son of God in the flesh.

Suddenly, there they were, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, standing on the steps of the Temple, one of the grandest buildings of all time, which was where God promised to dwell. The old man took the young Jesus into his arms and sang:

"Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel."

In the midst of all that gold and glitter and glory, God's presence was now contained in this little baby. "My eyes have seen your salvation," Simeon cried out. Not in the wonder and majesty of the building, but in a little baby, asleep in his arms.

This, my friends, is the miracle of what we call the Incarnation. God took on human form. The majesty and splendor of the creator of the universe was hidden in, well, is hidden in the most ordinary of things. For what could be more ordinary, more normal than a baby? Who could be afraid of a infant nursing at his mother's side?

This is the fullness of time. This is how the almighty God and creator of the world wants us to see and know Him. He does not want you to fear Him or to wonder in awe at His might and power. No, He wants you to sit Him on your lap and make Him a part of your family, a part of your very life.

This is why Saint Paul writes again in Galatians: "And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."

He wants you to call Him Father, because you are His child, and He has sent His Son, your brother Jesus Christ, to come into the world to save you from your sins. Do not be afraid. For this little child, who looked so ordinary and low and humble, this little child came to bring about the salvation of the whole world.

That is the miracle of the Incarnation which Simeon held in his arms.

And that is the miracle which you hold in your mouth at the Lord's Supper. Christ our Lord continues to come to you in the ordinary and humble things of the earth. Word, water, bread and wine are His vessels. But like Simeon so many years ago, God's salvation, indeed His very glory is contained in these humble gifts.

Christ our Lord wants you to believe in Him and trust that He will give you all that you need, both for this life and for the next. We pray in the Lord's prayer that He would give us this day our daily bread AND that He would deliver us from evil. He will take care of you. The One who comes down to earth as a little child will bring you up to heaven with Him. He is for you.

God's glory, His wonderful forgiving presence, is to be found in that little Babe, Jesus Christ the Righteous one. I know, it doesn't make sense to your eyes.

You cannot comprehend how all of God's mighty and power can reside in the most helpless of infants. But it is true. And that is the miracle which you receive Sunday after Sunday in His Holy Supper. Trust in His Word and Sacrament for your life. For in Him you have nothing to fear.

Christ Is Risen.

In the name of the Father and of the † Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.