The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Luke, the second chapter:
And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 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.”Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
According to the Old Testament laws, 40 days after a woman gives birth, she is required to go to the temple to make a sacrifice to purify herself. It seems that the reason for this was to prepare her, once again, that she might be clean if the Messiah would be conceived in her. You see, that was the hope of every Jewish woman since Eve, that she would be the mother of the Messiah promised to come. Every birth, then, was a hope that this child could be that promised Messiah. And, if it wasn’t, she would prepare herself to receive the next child with joy. It’s not that birth or even s-e-x (we have to spell it because it even feels weird to say in church) are dirty or gross or bad. They’re really not. That physical intimacy that a husband and wife enjoy is very good, but it is to remain only in the marital bed in that marital union. Rather, the thought here is that a woman should be prepared for the next child to come. After all, they didn’t have tv back then, they had to do something to entertain themselves.
So, the woman and her family would go to the temple and offer their sacrifices for this purpose. As well, they presented Jesus before the Lord. This was an act that brought to mind the plague of the death of the firstborn in Egypt. Mary and Joseph would go to the temple and redeem their son, buy Him back, if you will. It was commanded by God to do so to keep their redemption forefront in their minds. This way, they’d always remember that the Lord had given them this boy and that He has been bought back out of sin. For Jesus, we kind of wonder a bit at that, because, of course, He had no sin, and didn’t need to be rescued from it. But, it was required of the parents to so for the child, not for the child Himself. Jesus didn’t need to be bought back, but Joseph and Mary needed to offer the sacrifice nonetheless; this is the demand of God’s Law.
This is reminiscent for us of our Baptism, that, for most of us, we couldn’t be drawn to the font ourselves, but that we must be taken there. And even if we are baptized as adults, it is not by our own power that we come, but that we are called by the Gospel, called by God Himself, to the waters to cleanse our sins away. There, in those waters, we find the fulfillment of the Law from Jesus for us. We are baptized into His death, dying to sin, and raised into His new life, living for Him.We no longer need to obey the Law as Mary and Joseph did, looking to complete it to belong to the people of God, hoping that the Messiah would come; we obey the Law now because we are baptized children of God, no longer fearful of the consequence of hell for that has been put away from us. We obey the Law now because we are thankful to God for all that He has done for us in Jesus Christ; we obey to serve Him and serve our neighbor, not to win anything for ourselves.
We find here in our passage, too, that Joseph and Mary were very poor. What had happened to the expensive gold, frankincense, and myrrh that they had been given? Well, it seems likely that this is before the wise men had visited Jesus. After all, remember, Herod commanded every boy child under two years of age to die, so they could have come any time between His birth and when He turned two. Else, if they had these gifts, they would have, as obedient children of God, and as holy as we imagine them to have been, used those gifts to offer a lavish sacrifice. Yet, God’s Word allowed for the poor to offer an inexpensive sacrifice, two turtledoves, which is what they did. The holy family was not well-off and Joseph would have to scrap and save the rest of his life. This is the lot for most people’s lives. Jesus grew up, not being catered to by servants, but catering Himself to the rich as He learned from His father the ways of carpentry and masonry.
So, they went to the temple and offered their sacrifices according to the Law of God, fulfilling it in a way that made it complete in Jesus Christ, for every sacrifice pointed to His coming. As they were there, a man named Simeon approached them. This man had been told he would not die until he had seen the Messiah with his own two eyes. Why this man was chosen, how long he waited, how old he was, we don’t know. But, we do know is that it is good Simeon was chosen for this as his words echo down through the ages, even to today, when we sing with him what we call the Nunc Dimmittis, which is just Latin for now depart. And he sang. He took the Messiah in his arms and sang.
You wonder if it was a full-throated praising of God for His blessings, or a sweet lullaby to a sleeping baby. But, his words, either way, stand as testament to the firmness of his faith, and serve to call us to the same. When we sing the Nunc Dimmittis, we are praying to die. Lord, now let your servant die in peace, for your word has been fulfilled. And so God’s Word is fulfilled in no more tangible place than the Holy Supper. There, God comes to you in a real way, coming into your body to give to you the forgiveness of sins and strengthening of faith. We leave the altar skipping and leaping, at least mentally as I know many of our bodies can’t take that any more. We leave the altar thanking God that He has fulfilled all His Word on my tongue, and now I am ready to depart this life.
We don’t know how much longer Simeon lived after his encounter; probably not too long. But, when God’s Word is fulfilled for Him, just as it is for us week after week, there is nothing this life needs to offer us that would fulfill us more. There is nothing in this world that could satisfy us as God’s Word does. There is no more fear from this world, nothing it can take away, for God has given us all things and all promises. Simeon saw the salvation of God for all peoples, that He would be revealed, manifested, to the Gentiles, and that Israel, the people of Israel who had hoped in this Messiah who was to come, would be vindicated in the eyes of the world and would be held in high esteem and given glory for the hope they had over the millennia as they waited faithfully.
This is why our Lord came: that they hope of faith might find its completion in Him. This is why He took on flesh and blood, that through His death He might destroy death. This is why He suffered as we do, that we might have a great High Priest who makes the final sacrifice to show that even our suffering will one day be done away with. Christ came, lived, died, was resurrected, and ascended all for you, that you might have the fulfillment of the hope of Israel, the hope of Simeon, the hope of Mary and Joseph, that you might be made to sing with the saints of old, now let me depart in peace, for your Word has been fulfilled. And as we sing those words, even today, meditate on that for which you are praying: that the Lord has given you such great joy in His Word, not in riches, not in comfort, not in entertainment, but in His Word, that you have all that you need from this life and you need nothing more. Lord, let us all depart in peace. Your Word has been fulfilled. In your font, in your altar, we have see your salvation in Jesus Christ, one that was prepared before the sight of every people. A light to reveal you to the nations of the world, that all would believe in you, and glory for all those who put their hope in you. We put our hope in you now. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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