Sermon: Christmas 1 - 2018

30 December 2018

Text: Luke 2:22-32, 33-40

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

As the year of our Lord 2018 hastens to its inevitable conclusion, it is natural to look to the past to reflect on the events of the year, as well as look to the future in hope of brighter times.

And that intersection of past and future in the miraculous present  is the story of St. Simeon, who stands at the crossroads between BC (“Before Christ”) and AD (“Anno Domini,” that is, “In the year of our Lord”).  St. Simeon is at the end of his life, but he is waiting – “waiting for the consolation of Israel.”  He is waiting for the BC to become the AD, because the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that “he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”

St. Simeon also stands at another crossroad: between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  The text strongly implies that Simeon is a priest of the Old Covenant, which means that he was a butcher of sorts.  People would bring animals to him in the temple, and they would offer the blood of these beasts as atonement for their sins: innocent blood shed for the sins of the guilty, a sacrificial atonement.  Who knows how many of these lambs Simeon took up in his arms, blessing God for His mercy.

But the temple sacrifices were themselves a preview of the Lamb to come – the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, the living temple, the new and eternal High Priest, the “Lamb of God that takest away the sin of the world.” 

And because of this promise from the Holy Spirit, St. Simeon continued to wait – even in his old age.  And like elderly Abraham, he clung against all hope and against all reason to the promise of the Lord that he and Sarah would bear a son – so too does Simeon believe the promise of the Lord, even though he had become aged in body, even though the Romans continued to rule the children of Israel with an iron fist, and even though the prophets had been silent for four hundred years.

St. Simeon continued to wait, and he waited expectantly.  We don’t know if others knew about the prophecy, and if they did, if they thought old Simeon was crazy, or if they perhaps believed him.  But whether or not others mocked, Simeon believed. 

And then one day, it all came together.  St. Simeon caught sight of the baby Jesus.  Simeon “took Him up in his arms and blessed God.”  The New Testament has come.  The year of our Lord has come.  The Christ has come!  Salvation has come!  His eyes have seen this salvation.  The name “Simeon” is based on the Hebrew word that means “He has heard.”  Simeon heard the Word of the Lord, and what’s more, he saw the Word of the Lord.  Jesus is “the visible Word,” for “in the beginning was the Word.”  

What must it have been like, dear friends, to experience Jesus in the flesh?  This must have vindicated Simeon’s faith, the promise of the Holy Spirit that a Savior was coming into the world.  

The beautiful thing, dear friends, is that we too experience Jesus in the flesh, the “visible Word.”  For this is what St. Augustine called our sacraments: “the visible Word” – the Word of God in the flesh, in space, and in time.  We, like St. Simeon, experience Jesus, not just in words about Him, but we experience Him physically.  

And this is why, dear friends, St. Simeon’s song: the canticle that He spoke as he held the Baby Jesus: God in space and time, in his aged arms, is not just Simeon’s song, but the church’s song.  We too rejoice with Simeon, who had become prepared to die, to “depart in piece, according to” the visible Word that he held in his arms.

Holy Communion is just that: a supernatural, holy communion with Jesus Christ, with God, with the Word by whom all things were made!  Jesus is the Word that declares you forgiven and beloved of God.  And this is why we Christians are also prepared to “depart in peace” whether it be of old age or in our youth.  The Lord comes to us in the Gospel, in Holy Absolution, in Holy Baptism, and in His Most Holy Supper.  

St. Simeon’s song was traditionally sung by monks and nuns in their final prayers of the night before going to sleep.  And the early Lutherans took this beautiful canticle, this confession that Jesus has come in the flesh, and He has come for us, the “visible Word” who brings salvation that we can see and hear – and they made this the standard hymn sung by the congregation after receiving holy communion.  We call this hymn by its Latin Name: “Nunc Dimittis” – Now You Dismiss.”

And when we Christians partake of Holy Communion, we receive Christ.  We receive Him where we are – in the fallenness of this world and in the frailty of our flesh.  His flesh becomes our flesh, which we eat unto eternal life.  His righteousness becomes our righteousness, which brings us into communion with the Most Holy Trinity.  Our sins become His sins, which He has taken to the cross and for which He shed His blood.  And His pure righteous blood becomes our blood, which we drink for the forgiveness of sins and renewal of life.

And when we have received the body and blood of Jesus, then we can sing with St. Simeon:

“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory for Your people Israel.”

Let us depart in peace, dear brothers and sisters, whether we are departing this age with the coming of our Lord, or departing this life as we go to our Lord, or even as we simply depart this holy place, going into the world bearing in our flesh the flesh of Christ; and coursing through our veins, the blood of Christ; and in our minds, on our lips and in our hearts, the Word of Christ; and in our lives, the forgiveness, life, and salvation of Christ.

And like St. Simeon, we look forward to brighter days ahead, knowing that we are on the cusp of a new year – not just 2019, but the year of our Lord, 2019.

“Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace.”  Amen.

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