There is an old story about a husband who stayed home from the Church’s Christmas Program because he just could not understand why God would send His Son to earth as a man.
Shortly after the rest of the family left to go to Church, it began to snow heavily. The storm quickly got worse and the temperature dropped like a rock. Before long he could hardly see across the farmyard. Suddenly he jumped as he heard a large “thump” against his window. As he looked out the window he saw a flock of pheasants that had been attracted to the light coming from his windows. They were in need of shelter, so the man put on his coat, hat and boots and went out into the storm. He opened the barn door and turned the lights on. He tried leaving a trail of corn kernels to the door of the barn – but the birds were numbed by the cold, so they ignored the corn and sat huddled with their heads under their wings. Then he tried to chase them into the barn. He flapped his arms and shouted at them, but this scared the pheasants and they started running to get away from this crazy man. He was running out of ideas. “If only I were a bird,” he thought to himself, “then I could show them the way.”
And right at that very moment he heard the distant sounds of church bells ringing out the hymn, “Joy to the World, the Lord has Come.” All of a sudden, he knew. He understood. He realized – for the first time in his life – why God sent His son to earth s a man.
I’d like to re-read just a few of the verses you heard a few minutes ago in our Scripture lesson. Luke chapter 2, beginning with verse 25: “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘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 to your people Israel.’”
Ask yourself this question: what do you long to see with your own two eyes? What would be the greatest thing that you could possibly see? World peace? No more hunger or poverty? What about things that are closer to home – more personal things you would like to see with your own two eyes? People are always saying that they want to live long enough to see – but see what? I would like to live long enough to see my children successful and happy. I would like to live long enough to play with my granddaughter and she grows older – and play with even more grandchildren in years to come. I would like to live long enough to do some traveling that I’ve never been able to do. How about you?
Our text for today is about a man named Simeon and a woman named Anna. They, too, had goals. They, too, had something they wanted to live long enough to see. In fact, Simeon had actually been promised by God that he would live long enough to see a truly amazing thing. Simeon and Anna wanted to live long enough to actually see the Messiah – to see the Lord Jesus come into our world – to see the salvation of mankind – to see the Light of the World. And they did!
Listen again to the words when Simeon finally saw what he had been waiting for: “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 to your people Israel.” What a strong faith! What a confession! What a proclamation!
What a privilege to actually hold in your arms the only begotten Son of God! Simeon takes baby Jesus into his arms and with tears of joy he proclaims to everyone in the Temple on that day, “Do you see? Do you understand? The King has come!”
The greatest sight ever seen by man! Not one of the Seven Wonders of the World, but a far greater wonder than the world could ever hope to produce. A wonder that came from heaven above to earth below. A wonder that became flesh to dwell among us. A great and mighty wonder: God made man. The greatest wonder – the greatest sight – ever seen!
Simeon and Anna understood perfectly what they were seeing and they proclaimed it for all to hear – not just a cute little baby, but the salvation of the world. Not just an infant with his thumb in his mouth – but the Light to reveal the truth to the nations. They saw Jesus. They saw the Savior of the world. They saw the Lord Almighty – come to save.
We, too see Him. Not as Simeon and Anna saw him on that day – but we still see Him. In His holy Word, we see Him. In His blessed sacraments, we see Him. We see Him who came to our world to rescue and redeem us from our sin. We see Him who gave His life on the cross to wash us clean. We see Him who stood in our place and opened the gates of heaven for us.
We see Jesus. And with Simeon and Anna, we proclaim, “My Lord, my Savior, my Light and My Salvation!” Lord, let us depart in peace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Note: This sermon was freely adapted from a sermon series entitled “Proclaim the Coming” – created by CTSFW Professor Rev. Jeffrey Pulse.
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