1st Sunday after Christmas 1/1/06 Text: Luke 2:25-40 Title: The Word Became Flesh
1st Sunday after Christmas
1/1/06
Text: Luke 2: 25-40
Title: The Word Became Flesh
Let us pray. - Lord God, Creator and Maker of us all, speak in the calming of our minds and in the longings of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
Today is the first Sunday after Christmas, or, as I would like to say, since we are still celebrating Christ’s birth, the First Sunday of Christmas. The lectionary that our church body uses gives the pastor a choice between two different Gospel texts that can be used on this particular Sunday.
One is the account of Jesus being brought by his step-father Joseph to be circumcised and then officially given the name of Jesus. The other text and the one this sermon is on this morning is our Gospel lesson for today, where we see Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, Simeon and Anna meeting thus fulfilling a prophecy that had been spoken years before.
Now that is not to say that the account of Jesus’ circumcision which is only one verse long, is to be downplayed, for his circumcision shows Jesus’ humanness, and the first shedding of his blood.
Luke recorded the circumcision of Jesus for at least three reasons. First, Luke wants to show us that Jesus is not a spirit that just looks like a baby boy, but is an actual human being.
The second reason Luke recorded it for us is to show us that Jesus, even as an infant, was the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and his descendents. Since circumcision was a reminder and guarantee of that promise, the need for it also ended with Jesus.
The third reason that Jesus’ circumcision is recorded by Luke is to show us that Jesus, by being circumcised, has now been put under the Law, the Law that he would keep perfectly in our place. All of this is of course proof that Jesus is the Son of God.
As a little side note, we know that Mary, Jesus’ mother, was not present for the circumcision because Jewish law prescribed that the mother had to wait 40 days to be purified after giving birth to a male child, and the circumcision was always performed on the 8th day after the birth of a boy.
Now, let’s get back to the text I want to talk to you about this morning. In this particular reading we find Mary and Joseph coming to the temple with the baby Jesus. Because of she had to wait 40 days for her purification it was probably her first visit with the child to the temple. The purpose of this particular visit to the temple is to dedicate Jesus to the Lord.
Now this dedication is not something unique to Jesus, for Jewish law said that all first born baby boys had to be dedicated to the Lord. After the child had been dedicated to the Lord, the parents, in a sense, bought him back from God, by offering a sacrifice; in Mary’s and Joseph case, two doves which they brought with them.
As Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus enter what was probably the Court of the Women, since women were not allowed in the main temple area, they meet Simeon who takes the baby in his arms and proclaims, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
It is amazing. How did he know which baby, out of what was probably hundreds of babies there that day, was the one he was looking for on that particular day? I really doubt Jesus had a sign on him saying “I am the Messiah.” How did he do it?
That is a pretty important question, but I think a more important question is, how did Simeon even know to look for the baby Jesus? From all indications Simeon saw only an infant, whose name he might or might have known, being brought into the temple by a poor pious family who had probably walked, not ridden, some 60 miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem.
That is all he should have seen, but he sees more, he sees Jesus and believes. On second thought, that is not correct, for it is his belief that allowed him to not only see the physical baby Jesus, but to see the promised Messiah. He knows that this baby is the promised Messiah, not because of some hunch of his own but because he knows about the promised Messiah, the consolation of Israel.
He knows, but just like a lot of people today that know about Jesus, but do not believe in him as their Savior, there were people of Simeon’s day that did not know Jesus as the Messiah. So what was the difference between Simeon and those who probably looked rather strangely at him when he started praising God for letting him see the Messiah? The difference between those that did not believe and Simeon is that Simeon is being led by the Holy Spirit, so he, as I said earlier, did not have to rely on his own hunch. He just knew, even if he could not explain how he knew.
That is about all we know of Simeon, but in knowing just those two things we learn that we too need to study the scriptures so that we can find out more about God and his will for our lives. We also learn that it is only through the work of the Holy Spirit that we can actually know him as our Messiah, the Savior.
But there is an even more important lesson for us in this text, for it teaches us a valuable lesson about the Lord’s Supper, for you see just as Simeon knew, as he held the baby Jesus, that he was the Messiah, you too are to know, when holding the bread and wine , that they are the actual body and blood of Jesus our Messiah, which has been given and shed for your salvation.
The Lord’s Supper is a profound mystery, one that we will never be able to fully grasped, for the simple reason that it is beyond our human intellect. But does that mean that it is not what Jesus said it is when he instituted the sacrament? I don’t think so, for there are millions of things that we see, but are not understood by even the most learned of people.
We need to remember that just because we can’t understand how that wafer and sip of wine, after the consecration, are now the body and blood of Christ does not invalidate the words of Jesus as he says to us still today in . Matthew 26:26 through 28, "Take and eat; this is my body." And then starting in the last part of verse 27, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Just simple unleavened bread and wine, yet so much more, for with his words they become his very body and blood. Wow, isn’t that something? Unbelievable isn’t it? And it would be unbelievable, if it were not for the faith given to us by the Holy Spirit.
Just like you cannot remain neutral about Jesus, for he is a savior or he is not, you cannot remain neutral about the Lord’s Supper. It is either his body and blood, which, by the way, was the universal belief of the Christian Church until the 16th Century, or it is not. It is really that simple. Which should be believed, God’s Word or human intellect?
I don’t know about you, but I will take God’s Word, over human intellect every time, for even though I might not understand it, I know it is from God, the God that cannot make a mistake, lie, or deceive me.
For many Christmas has come and gone. They are right, if they think of Christmas as being decorations, the giving of presents, and family get-togethers. But if we are talking about Christmas as the celebration of the birth of Emanuel, God with us, Christmas is everyday, for Jesus has promised that wherever two or three are gathered in his name he is there. He is where his Words of forgiveness and life are spoken. He is here in our hearts when we love the unlovable and when we forgive those who have wronged us. He is here when we celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. He is here right now and forever more.
“Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word. For mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people. A Light to lighten the Gentiles and the Glory of Thy people Israel.” Amen
1/1/06
Text: Luke 2: 25-40
Title: The Word Became Flesh
Let us pray. - Lord God, Creator and Maker of us all, speak in the calming of our minds and in the longings of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
Today is the first Sunday after Christmas, or, as I would like to say, since we are still celebrating Christ’s birth, the First Sunday of Christmas. The lectionary that our church body uses gives the pastor a choice between two different Gospel texts that can be used on this particular Sunday.
One is the account of Jesus being brought by his step-father Joseph to be circumcised and then officially given the name of Jesus. The other text and the one this sermon is on this morning is our Gospel lesson for today, where we see Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, Simeon and Anna meeting thus fulfilling a prophecy that had been spoken years before.
Now that is not to say that the account of Jesus’ circumcision which is only one verse long, is to be downplayed, for his circumcision shows Jesus’ humanness, and the first shedding of his blood.
Luke recorded the circumcision of Jesus for at least three reasons. First, Luke wants to show us that Jesus is not a spirit that just looks like a baby boy, but is an actual human being.
The second reason Luke recorded it for us is to show us that Jesus, even as an infant, was the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and his descendents. Since circumcision was a reminder and guarantee of that promise, the need for it also ended with Jesus.
The third reason that Jesus’ circumcision is recorded by Luke is to show us that Jesus, by being circumcised, has now been put under the Law, the Law that he would keep perfectly in our place. All of this is of course proof that Jesus is the Son of God.
As a little side note, we know that Mary, Jesus’ mother, was not present for the circumcision because Jewish law prescribed that the mother had to wait 40 days to be purified after giving birth to a male child, and the circumcision was always performed on the 8th day after the birth of a boy.
Now, let’s get back to the text I want to talk to you about this morning. In this particular reading we find Mary and Joseph coming to the temple with the baby Jesus. Because of she had to wait 40 days for her purification it was probably her first visit with the child to the temple. The purpose of this particular visit to the temple is to dedicate Jesus to the Lord.
Now this dedication is not something unique to Jesus, for Jewish law said that all first born baby boys had to be dedicated to the Lord. After the child had been dedicated to the Lord, the parents, in a sense, bought him back from God, by offering a sacrifice; in Mary’s and Joseph case, two doves which they brought with them.
As Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus enter what was probably the Court of the Women, since women were not allowed in the main temple area, they meet Simeon who takes the baby in his arms and proclaims, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
It is amazing. How did he know which baby, out of what was probably hundreds of babies there that day, was the one he was looking for on that particular day? I really doubt Jesus had a sign on him saying “I am the Messiah.” How did he do it?
That is a pretty important question, but I think a more important question is, how did Simeon even know to look for the baby Jesus? From all indications Simeon saw only an infant, whose name he might or might have known, being brought into the temple by a poor pious family who had probably walked, not ridden, some 60 miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem.
That is all he should have seen, but he sees more, he sees Jesus and believes. On second thought, that is not correct, for it is his belief that allowed him to not only see the physical baby Jesus, but to see the promised Messiah. He knows that this baby is the promised Messiah, not because of some hunch of his own but because he knows about the promised Messiah, the consolation of Israel.
He knows, but just like a lot of people today that know about Jesus, but do not believe in him as their Savior, there were people of Simeon’s day that did not know Jesus as the Messiah. So what was the difference between Simeon and those who probably looked rather strangely at him when he started praising God for letting him see the Messiah? The difference between those that did not believe and Simeon is that Simeon is being led by the Holy Spirit, so he, as I said earlier, did not have to rely on his own hunch. He just knew, even if he could not explain how he knew.
That is about all we know of Simeon, but in knowing just those two things we learn that we too need to study the scriptures so that we can find out more about God and his will for our lives. We also learn that it is only through the work of the Holy Spirit that we can actually know him as our Messiah, the Savior.
But there is an even more important lesson for us in this text, for it teaches us a valuable lesson about the Lord’s Supper, for you see just as Simeon knew, as he held the baby Jesus, that he was the Messiah, you too are to know, when holding the bread and wine , that they are the actual body and blood of Jesus our Messiah, which has been given and shed for your salvation.
The Lord’s Supper is a profound mystery, one that we will never be able to fully grasped, for the simple reason that it is beyond our human intellect. But does that mean that it is not what Jesus said it is when he instituted the sacrament? I don’t think so, for there are millions of things that we see, but are not understood by even the most learned of people.
We need to remember that just because we can’t understand how that wafer and sip of wine, after the consecration, are now the body and blood of Christ does not invalidate the words of Jesus as he says to us still today in . Matthew 26:26 through 28, "Take and eat; this is my body." And then starting in the last part of verse 27, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Just simple unleavened bread and wine, yet so much more, for with his words they become his very body and blood. Wow, isn’t that something? Unbelievable isn’t it? And it would be unbelievable, if it were not for the faith given to us by the Holy Spirit.
Just like you cannot remain neutral about Jesus, for he is a savior or he is not, you cannot remain neutral about the Lord’s Supper. It is either his body and blood, which, by the way, was the universal belief of the Christian Church until the 16th Century, or it is not. It is really that simple. Which should be believed, God’s Word or human intellect?
I don’t know about you, but I will take God’s Word, over human intellect every time, for even though I might not understand it, I know it is from God, the God that cannot make a mistake, lie, or deceive me.
For many Christmas has come and gone. They are right, if they think of Christmas as being decorations, the giving of presents, and family get-togethers. But if we are talking about Christmas as the celebration of the birth of Emanuel, God with us, Christmas is everyday, for Jesus has promised that wherever two or three are gathered in his name he is there. He is where his Words of forgiveness and life are spoken. He is here in our hearts when we love the unlovable and when we forgive those who have wronged us. He is here when we celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. He is here right now and forever more.
“Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word. For mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people. A Light to lighten the Gentiles and the Glory of Thy people Israel.” Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 11:34 AM
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