First Sunday after Christmas Day 12-31-06 Text: Luke 2:22-40 Title: Jesus, our salvation and redemption
First Sunday after Christmas
12/31/2006
Text: Luke 2:22-40
Title: Jesus, our salvation and redemption.
This mornings sermon is on our Gospel reading for today, particularly verses 25 through 28. This text so soon after Christmas beautifully sets forth the true purpose of Christ’s coming into this world. Christmas means many things to many people. For some the wild celebrations connected with Christmas and the worldly display associated with it is over after tonight. With a sigh of relief as well as with empty pockets people go back to the same old routine of life.
For others the coming of the Messiah is interpreted in terms of earthly peace and goodwill among the people of this world. They too must be sadly disappointed to see the affairs of this life get worse instead of better. Wars increase, and hatred grows in intensity.
For the faithful, those who truly understand the meaning of Christmas, our Gospel reading portrays the true purpose of the Christ Child’s coming. Simeon’s eyes have seen “salvation.” This meant for him a peace that could not be gotten any other way.
Anna praises God for his “redemption” by sending the Christ Child. The ransom price has come. Eternal life is assured. Simeon in his wonderful prophecy told Mary that this salvation will come at a great price. The world will be turned upside down, and that she will suffer greatly because of his actions.
How that must have hurt Mary. We are not told what her reaction was to that bit of news; only that after Mary and Joseph fulfilled the Law, they went home and boy Jesus grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
In Simeon and Anna’s words, we find the real purpose of Jesus coming to us. First Jesus is the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecy. Second, he is the salvation to all who believe, both Jew and Gentile. Third, there is a price to be paid for our redemption. Fourth, there is assurance of victory over death. And last but not least, we are to tell others about Jesus and the peace he has given us.
The words and actions of Simeon and Anna, two aged believers, show us that when we cling to the promises of God’s Word we too will find our true Savior which will fill us with joy, a joy that we cannot help but share with others.
When Simeon, made his wonderful statement, which by the way is what we sing every Sunday after communion, because just like Simeon we have seen and held Jesus.
Simeon said that he could now die, not because he had a death wish, but because he had seen in this baby boy, whom he knew by the power of the Holy Spirit, would bring peace, not just for him, but for the entire human race. This peace is not peace as those of the world think of as peace, but the peace that the followers of Jesus have from knowing God will not punish them for their sins.
Our world, striving as it does for peace, is striving after false peace. It does not know that what it needs is God’s peace, for it is an amazing peace. It is amazing because it restores peace to the whole creation. God’s peace is the ultimate answer of peace in a world that is agitated and filled with everything but peace.
All the conflict that we have in us, all the conflict that comes between nations, all the wars that have been fought or will ever be fought, all the hatred among families causing divorce, alienation, estrangement and divisions are the result of the brokenness that exists between God’s human creation and our God.
We need the peace Jesus won for us these days, especially in view of all that we hear during the Christmas season about earthly peace and brotherhood. The message from the angels has gotten lost. It has been given an entirely new meaning.
When the angels said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" they were talking about the coming peace between God’s creation and God. Jesus was going to stand in our place and take our punishment so that we can have peace with God. That is good news indeed.
Do our fellow citizens know of this peace? I do not think many do. In the next few days, look around you when you are out among people. You will see anything but peaceful people. Christmas did not give them peace, for they found out that that just right gift was not right.
They found that Christmas did not solve their problems. It is as if they had just called a temporary cease fire. Unfortunately, because they do not know of the true peace of the Savior, the cease fire they wanted so desperately probably did not even last until the end of Christmas Day.
The peace that passes all understanding seems to pass by a lot of people, doesn't it? Yet where there is true peace, there is no conflict. There is no conflict because the peace that Jesus has given us starts off with a right relationship with God, and then percolates through our relationships with other people. The peace we have as followers of Jesus, we cannot have on our own. That is what is so significant about the coming of Jesus. He came to be give us peace, not earthly peace, but peace between us and God.
And that peace has a very high price tag. Jesus came to be one of us, so that he could perfectly fulfill the demands of God’s Law. He willingly did this and then took the punishment we deserve.
Jesus gave up his innocent life on the cross to pay for our sinfulness. He paid the ultimate price to bring peace between God and the human race.
The words of a great hymn, "Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to Thee; take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise." are how we are to live our lives, but when I hear that song, I realize just how impossible it is for us to live that type of life. Unconditional surrender is impossible for us.
It is impossible, for us, but not for God. He takes us away from Satan’s grasp and enables us to live our lives in service to him. Do we always get it right? Of course not, in fact more often than not we get it wrong, that is why we cannot depend on ourselves to be right before God.
As a child of God we can trust in him without any reservation to forgives us for the times we are unwilling to give our lives into His service. We thus have a peace even when we know that we have failed that those outside of God’s love can never have, the peace that does passes all understanding.
Are you struggling right now? Are you having a hard time finding what seems to be an allusive peace that God wants you to have? If you are, let me make a few suggestions, for it is only when you have the peace that Jesus won for you that you can then have peace in all others aspects of your life.
First, pray to God to speak to you through his Holy Word, asking him to mold and shape you as he sees fit. Then read and study the Word of God, as you let the Holy Spirit lead you through it.
Do not worry if you do not understand everything you read, for sin has dulled our minds. Do not worry if you have enough faith, or will stay in the faith. Just get them out of your mind, for when you think those thoughts, they can only be coming from the biggest liar of all times, Satan. God has told us through the words of Paul in Romans 8:38-39, “that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
If you continue to find your self troubled by doubts concerning your faith, ask yourself; “Who am I going to believe, God who cannot lie, or Satan who cannot tell the truth?”
The answer to that question might seem obvious, but I cannot tell you how many people that I talk to are troubled to some degree or other concerning the certainty of their salvation.
The reason they are troubled is that they do not trust God to do what he says he has done and will do. They believe that their salvation depends, in at least some small way, an action on their part. Because they do not know for sure what it is exactly that God requires of them they are troubled.
Join me in thanking God that our salvation, our peace with God, rests entirely on the birth, obedient life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus and nothing else. He is our salvation and redemption. He is our life, now and in eternity. Amen.
12/31/2006
Text: Luke 2:22-40
Title: Jesus, our salvation and redemption.
This mornings sermon is on our Gospel reading for today, particularly verses 25 through 28. This text so soon after Christmas beautifully sets forth the true purpose of Christ’s coming into this world. Christmas means many things to many people. For some the wild celebrations connected with Christmas and the worldly display associated with it is over after tonight. With a sigh of relief as well as with empty pockets people go back to the same old routine of life.
For others the coming of the Messiah is interpreted in terms of earthly peace and goodwill among the people of this world. They too must be sadly disappointed to see the affairs of this life get worse instead of better. Wars increase, and hatred grows in intensity.
For the faithful, those who truly understand the meaning of Christmas, our Gospel reading portrays the true purpose of the Christ Child’s coming. Simeon’s eyes have seen “salvation.” This meant for him a peace that could not be gotten any other way.
Anna praises God for his “redemption” by sending the Christ Child. The ransom price has come. Eternal life is assured. Simeon in his wonderful prophecy told Mary that this salvation will come at a great price. The world will be turned upside down, and that she will suffer greatly because of his actions.
How that must have hurt Mary. We are not told what her reaction was to that bit of news; only that after Mary and Joseph fulfilled the Law, they went home and boy Jesus grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
In Simeon and Anna’s words, we find the real purpose of Jesus coming to us. First Jesus is the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecy. Second, he is the salvation to all who believe, both Jew and Gentile. Third, there is a price to be paid for our redemption. Fourth, there is assurance of victory over death. And last but not least, we are to tell others about Jesus and the peace he has given us.
The words and actions of Simeon and Anna, two aged believers, show us that when we cling to the promises of God’s Word we too will find our true Savior which will fill us with joy, a joy that we cannot help but share with others.
When Simeon, made his wonderful statement, which by the way is what we sing every Sunday after communion, because just like Simeon we have seen and held Jesus.
Simeon said that he could now die, not because he had a death wish, but because he had seen in this baby boy, whom he knew by the power of the Holy Spirit, would bring peace, not just for him, but for the entire human race. This peace is not peace as those of the world think of as peace, but the peace that the followers of Jesus have from knowing God will not punish them for their sins.
Our world, striving as it does for peace, is striving after false peace. It does not know that what it needs is God’s peace, for it is an amazing peace. It is amazing because it restores peace to the whole creation. God’s peace is the ultimate answer of peace in a world that is agitated and filled with everything but peace.
All the conflict that we have in us, all the conflict that comes between nations, all the wars that have been fought or will ever be fought, all the hatred among families causing divorce, alienation, estrangement and divisions are the result of the brokenness that exists between God’s human creation and our God.
We need the peace Jesus won for us these days, especially in view of all that we hear during the Christmas season about earthly peace and brotherhood. The message from the angels has gotten lost. It has been given an entirely new meaning.
When the angels said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" they were talking about the coming peace between God’s creation and God. Jesus was going to stand in our place and take our punishment so that we can have peace with God. That is good news indeed.
Do our fellow citizens know of this peace? I do not think many do. In the next few days, look around you when you are out among people. You will see anything but peaceful people. Christmas did not give them peace, for they found out that that just right gift was not right.
They found that Christmas did not solve their problems. It is as if they had just called a temporary cease fire. Unfortunately, because they do not know of the true peace of the Savior, the cease fire they wanted so desperately probably did not even last until the end of Christmas Day.
The peace that passes all understanding seems to pass by a lot of people, doesn't it? Yet where there is true peace, there is no conflict. There is no conflict because the peace that Jesus has given us starts off with a right relationship with God, and then percolates through our relationships with other people. The peace we have as followers of Jesus, we cannot have on our own. That is what is so significant about the coming of Jesus. He came to be give us peace, not earthly peace, but peace between us and God.
And that peace has a very high price tag. Jesus came to be one of us, so that he could perfectly fulfill the demands of God’s Law. He willingly did this and then took the punishment we deserve.
Jesus gave up his innocent life on the cross to pay for our sinfulness. He paid the ultimate price to bring peace between God and the human race.
The words of a great hymn, "Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to Thee; take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise." are how we are to live our lives, but when I hear that song, I realize just how impossible it is for us to live that type of life. Unconditional surrender is impossible for us.
It is impossible, for us, but not for God. He takes us away from Satan’s grasp and enables us to live our lives in service to him. Do we always get it right? Of course not, in fact more often than not we get it wrong, that is why we cannot depend on ourselves to be right before God.
As a child of God we can trust in him without any reservation to forgives us for the times we are unwilling to give our lives into His service. We thus have a peace even when we know that we have failed that those outside of God’s love can never have, the peace that does passes all understanding.
Are you struggling right now? Are you having a hard time finding what seems to be an allusive peace that God wants you to have? If you are, let me make a few suggestions, for it is only when you have the peace that Jesus won for you that you can then have peace in all others aspects of your life.
First, pray to God to speak to you through his Holy Word, asking him to mold and shape you as he sees fit. Then read and study the Word of God, as you let the Holy Spirit lead you through it.
Do not worry if you do not understand everything you read, for sin has dulled our minds. Do not worry if you have enough faith, or will stay in the faith. Just get them out of your mind, for when you think those thoughts, they can only be coming from the biggest liar of all times, Satan. God has told us through the words of Paul in Romans 8:38-39, “that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
If you continue to find your self troubled by doubts concerning your faith, ask yourself; “Who am I going to believe, God who cannot lie, or Satan who cannot tell the truth?”
The answer to that question might seem obvious, but I cannot tell you how many people that I talk to are troubled to some degree or other concerning the certainty of their salvation.
The reason they are troubled is that they do not trust God to do what he says he has done and will do. They believe that their salvation depends, in at least some small way, an action on their part. Because they do not know for sure what it is exactly that God requires of them they are troubled.
Join me in thanking God that our salvation, our peace with God, rests entirely on the birth, obedient life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus and nothing else. He is our salvation and redemption. He is our life, now and in eternity. Amen.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 1:13 PM
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