Sermons

“My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation”

Vista La Mesa Christian Church

January 3, 2016

Somehow it seems easier to be a Christian during Advent and Christmas, with the tree and candles and special music and wonderful stories focused on Jesus. But now all of that is behind us, and the real work of being Christians begins again.

Our gospel reading for this morning reflects the same experience. No more angels. No more star. No more royal visitors from the East. Just Joseph and Mary getting down to the business of being Jewish parents, trying to do what is proper for their kid. Listen to these verses from Luke 2. [Luke 2:21-40]

I love this passage. One reason is that it gives us a different image to associate with the infant Jesus. Throughout Advent and Christmas, we have pictures of the young mother, Mary. But now the ones who recognize the promise of this child, the ones who take him in their arms, are the old man, Simeon, and the 84-yearold Anna. I mentioned this at coffee on Wednesday, and Jerry acknowledged that he is Anna’s age–so imagine Jerry and Norma holding the baby Jesus, praising God for this child. I like that image. Christmas isn’t just for the young! If we were to have a Christmas pageant, George and Glenda should have a prominent part.

Notice, however, how the text stresses that recognition of Jesus as the Messiah is a gift of the Holy Spirit. “Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus … Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying … ‘my eyes have seen your salvation.’”

The implication, of course, is that many others just walked on by–oblivious. There were no posters, no flyers announcing, “The Son of God will be dedicated today”! Yes, we are told there was a star, but not every wise man saw it. We are told there were angels, but not every shepherd heard them. The Bible is suggesting that if we had been living in Bethlehem or Jerusalem or Nazareth 2000 years ago, we might well have seen Jesus with our own eyes and still not have recognized who or what he is.

So, part of my prayer this morning is that the Holy Spirit will open our eyes here and now to recognize the presence of Christ–in the breaking of the bread, in the words of scripture, in one another.

Another reason I like this text is that it underlines an essential truth about our Lord. Namely, that Jesus was not a Christian. He was a Jew. He was circumcised after eight days, a sign of the Jewish covenant with God. And later, as we read in our passage for today, his parents took him to Jerusalem for a ceremony of purification as prescribed in the twelfth chapter of Leviticus. According to that text, a mother was considered unclean for forty days following the birth of a son (eighty days following the birth of a daughter!). At the end of that period, she was to offer a sacrifice–a lamb, if the family was well off, a pair of turtledoves and two young pigeons, if they were poor. The point is that Mary and Joseph were faithful, first-century Jews.

I emphasize this because, for much of the past 2000 years, the church has claimed that Jews have been replaced in God’s favor by the new covenant in Christ. This is the basis of the many persecutions that are such a disastrous part of the church’s history. But as Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). The Good News is not that Jews have been excluded from God’s covenant of love, but that others, even we, have been included–or, better, that we have learned through Christ, the “revelation to the Gentiles,” just how inclusive God’s grace actually is. As the angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid; for see–I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.”

And so, another part of my prayer this morning is that God will strengthen the relationship between Christians and Jews, and that we will give thanks for being included in the covenant of God’s love.

There is another reason I like this text and am challenged by it. Simeon, you remember, blesses the family and then says, “This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed….” The idea of a sign, a visible symbol of God’s intention for humanity, is as key part of the Christmas story. Remember the language we read from Isaiah: “The Lord will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” For Isaiah, who is speaking to King Ahaz of Judah, the child is a sign that power politics is not the final word on reality. And remember what else, according to Luke, the angel said to the shepherds: “To you 2 is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” For Luke, this is a visible symbol that God is, indeed, with us, that the promise of Isaiah has been fulfilled.

But now, wise old Simeon discerns the other side of the promise: The child’s life will involve suffering, will provoke decision, will lead to opposition. Precisely because he is the light, he will provoke the hatred of those who prefer the darkness. He will be the great stepping stone for many, but the great stumbling block for others. He will rightly be called the Prince of Peace, and thus be a constant challenge to those who see the world as a place of violence. Simeon sees this clearly–and he warns Mary. This child will be the source of astonishing joy; but because of him, “a sword will pierce your soul.”

So, part of my prayer this morning is that we not lose heart whenever following Christ isn’t easy or popular. No one said it would be–starting with Simeon. We give thanks for a sign that will be opposed.

Now, let’s push this a step further. When I was much younger, back when I was a graduate student, I was a youth minister at a congregation on the south side of Chicago. I still remember a conversation late into the night when members of the high school group wanted to know why God doesn’t give us signs today. It is an understandable question, but it misses the point that the New Testament authors were trying to make–namely, that, after Christ’s earthly ministry, we who follow him are called to be the sign.

Think, for example, of John’s gospel: “By this will everyone know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). In the seventeenth chapter of John, Jesus prays that his followers may all be one–that is, united in heart and purpose–in order that the world may believe that he is sent by God (John 17:21). God’s purpose, according to Ephesians, is that all creation will live in harmony. And what is the sign of this promise? That even now Jews and Gentiles live together in the community of Christ (see Ephesians 1:10, 2:11-22). God’s gift, writes Paul to the Galatians, is that outsiders (those formerly without hope) have now been adopted as heirs of the household of God. And what is the sign of this gift? That for those who are baptized into Christ, the old barriers between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female no longer apply (Galatians 3:27-28).

You see the point. The world will know that Jesus is the Christ sent by God, and that God’s purpose for the world is shalom, by the way we live with one another and by the way we relate to our neighbors.

There is another sign that has been central to our Disciples tradition and that is the Lord’s Supper. This table, with its loaf and cup, is a sign of God’s love, even for sinners. This table is a sign of God’s gracious welcome, even for strangers. This table is a sign of God’s power to reconcile, even enemies. And we, by the way we live–loving sinners, welcoming strangers, reconciling with enemies–bear witness to the truth of this table.

And so, part of my prayer is that we at Vista La Mesa Christian Church may be a sign that points to our Lord. May others look at us, the way we forgive and welcome and reconcile, and recognize the One for whom Simeon and Anna had waited so long.

Michael Kinnamon