Sermon: Wednesday of Christmas 1 - 2019

2 January 2019

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

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Our Lord Jesus Christ breaks into our broken and fallen world, placing Himself, God in the flesh, into space and time, like a fireman who rushes into a burning building to rescue those trapped in the flames.

This kind of rescue work can’t be done sitting at a desk in front of a computer.  It is hands-on.  God came to where we are, and He saved us, we who could not rescue ourselves.  He turned the universe on its head.  The infinite God the Son willingly and lovingly took the form of a finite man, even a baby, even a fertilized egg in the uterus of a young virgin.  

And when He was born, His mother and her husband “brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord” in accordance with the Law.  His parents took Him to the temple to “do for Him according to the custom of the Law,” which included bringing a sacrifice to the priest.  There, the Lord Jesus Christ, the priests of priests, the sacrifice of sacrifices, was taken up in the arms of the elderly priest Simeon – who sang the canticle known as Simeon’s Song – which we sing with him after we too bodily encounter “the Lord’s Christ,” and we too are prepared to “depart in peace” according to the Word of the Lord.  

But the Lord not only received praise from the priesthood, but also from the laity: in the person of the elderly St. Anna, “the prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.”  Like Simeon, she is a living symbol of the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, the years Before Christ, the Age of the Prophets.  She, like Simeon, was waiting expectantly for the coming of the Lord.  She “did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.”

Anna was one of those ladies who spoke to everybody, and she talked about the coming “redemption of Jerusalem.”  We have many examples of modern Annas today: faithful women who serve the church, often without fanfare, typically behind the scenes, sacrificing their own time, offering their own money (even if it doesn’t seem to the world like much), praying for people, offering hospitality and consolation, and confessing Christ as Lord.

And though they are often out of view, their work is crucial for the ongoing ministry of the church and the preaching of the Gospel.  Their work is often unseen, but the fruits of their work is held in your hands: like the bulletin, or eaten: like the food that is lovingly prepared.  Often their work is completely hidden in the sacristy: as the communion vessels are cleansed and prepared for service.  There is sewing and cleaning and cooking and works of mercy.  Though not always, these acts of love and service are typically carried out by the faithful laywomen of the church: our own Annas young and old.

In our churches, women teach Sunday School, and often teach in our day schools.  They serve on boards and committees, and they make our life as a community more civilized and joyful.  And many of our shut-ins are, like Anna, elderly ladies, whose prayers do more for us and for our church than we can ever know or even imagine.

But what drives Anna?  It is the Christ and His coming into the world, the “consolation of Israel.”  For it was because of our mother Eve and the serpent that sin gained a toehold into our world.  It was Eve’s sin that led to Adam’s, which led to all of us men being born mortal and tainted by sin.

But it was also our Lord’s mother whom God used to turn back the curse of Eve: the virgin Mary, whom all generations call “blessed.”  And just as the Blessed Virgin Mary brought the Christ to the temple, Anna received the Christ in the temple, and as the temple.  Just as Mary’s soul magnified the Lord and her spirit rejoiced in God her Savior, so too does Anna’s soul rejoice in her Savior, in her consolation.  

What a magnificent example of the Christian life, not only for women, but especially for women, as St. Anna, even at the end of her life, “did not depart from the temple,” as her entire life was centered on “fasting and prayer, night and day.”

The hallmark of Anna’s life was her gratitude, for in encountering the Christ child, “she began to give thanks to God” and in gratitude, she confessed the Gospel, the Good News of the coming of Jesus “to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”  Her gratitude was a response to the Lord Jesus, and she found this gratitude in the very place where Jesus was physically, the temple.

It is interesting that in this day and age, in the year of our Lord twenty nineteen, even as depression and anxiety and nihilism plague our culture, one thing that even unbelieving psychologists recommend is focusing on gratitude, even recommending journaling every day and writing down things to be grateful for.  For it is easy, in our sinful flesh, to forget all of the things the Lord provides for us, in body and soul, for which we should give Him thanks and praise.  It is fitting that we Christians ponder and meditate on the Lord’s goodness, “for His mercy endureth forever.”  And that mercy is indeed what Christmas is all about.  It is why we Christians continue to celebrate Christmas long after the world has already forgotten and moved on to the next Hallmark holiday and retail season.  Like Anna, we linger in the temple with our Lord to give thanks and to confess the works of Jesus, listening to the proclamation of the New Testament priesthood in the form of the prophetic preaching of the Word of God: the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ and His forgiveness.

Gone are the days of the shedding of innocent blood, for Jesus is the Lamb of God that takest away the sin of the world.  Christmas points us to the cross, where our salvation was carried out through His blood, “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

There is no better time and place to express this gratitude than in the temple of the Divine Service, where the Word of Scripture continues to ring out, where the Gospel is preached, and where we, like Sts. Anna and Simeon, receive Christ in His flesh.  We indeed “give thanks to God” and we are prepared to “depart in peace” because we too have received the Christ, in His flesh and blood, in space and time.

Like the fireman, our Lord rushes into the flames when everyone else is trying to escape.  He does this out of love: for the Father, in carrying our His will, and for us – as He saves us from the death and hell that we deserve.  

Let us give thanks to God for the saintly examples of Simeon and Anna.  Let us resolve to be in the temple all of our days, fasting, praying, and confessing Jesus, out of gratitude and love.  For we no longer must wait for our redemption and our consolation.  Let us resolve that in this year of our Lord twenty nineteen we will allow Christ to shape and form our days and our lives in His peace and redemption, living lives of thankful praise, now and even unto eternity!  Amen.

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