27 December 2015
St. Athanasius Lutheran Church
Christmas 1
Vienna, VA
Jesu Juva
“Oh My
God!”
Text: Luke 2:22-40;
Colossians 3:12-17
Grace, mercy, and peace
to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.
Amen.
You’ve all heard the cries. The
outbursts of joy. If not in person, then you’ve seen them on TV or on
YouTube. When that present was opened.
You know the one. The one that was wanted more than any
other. The one that was so special, so important. The
one that was waited for so long. It seemed as if Christmas would
never get here. But when it did, would that present be there?
Could it be? Maybe? Possibly?
Hopefully? This one? This one? Then there it is! The paper is ripped off and the
cry sounds out . . .
Oh my god!
And sometimes not just
once, but over and over again. It is a cry that I’m sure sounded forth from
homes all over our country, and perhaps all over the world. We laugh at such
outbursts; we understand the uncontrollable excitement, even if we do not
appreciate or approve of using the word God in that way. But here’s the sad
part: they’re actually right. That present - what they wanted
more than anything in this world, what they loved more than
anything else, what they would have done anything to get - had
become their god. Nothing else really mattered, or at least paled in
comparison, to getting that present. And that
obsession, that love, that desire, gradually squeezes out all else.
Well that same scene played itself out some 2,000
years ago as well. There was a man waiting for that present. The one that had, in fact, been promised to him. And though
we don’t know exactly how long he had been waiting, it seems like quite a
number of years. He knew he would get it eventually, before he died, but
when? It was so special, so important. Maybe at times it seemed to Simeon
that it would never arrive . . .
Until it did. It probably wasn’t
wrapped quite as he expected. A rather ordinary looking man and woman came into
the Temple with a baby. They came to redeem him, according to the Law that God
had given to Israel after they came out of Egypt - to give a substitute for
their first born son. The offering they brought indicated they were quite poor
- instead of a lamb, they brought a pair of birds. But the plain wrapping
couldn’t fool Simeon! This was that present! And so he
takes the baby Jesus up in his arms and cries out . . .
Oh my God!
And he’s right. That poor, humble child nestled in his
arms really is the God of Israel, the promised Saviour.
Now, Simeon used slightly different words than
that, more Scriptural, but that’s really what he was saying. That was his
overwhelming joy that day in the Temple.
And so he said:
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in
peace, according to your word;
The picture on the cover of the bulletin today
has him speaking those words while looking up to heaven. But I wonder . . . I
wonder if maybe he wasn’t looking down, at the child, and talking to Jesus and
calling Him Lord. Oh my God, he says, looking into the
eyes of Jesus and Jesus looking up at him. There You
are, God. I can die now. I got my present.
for my eyes have seen your
salvation
My eyes are looking at Your
salvation, Your sin offering, God, he says. Joseph and Mary had brought a pair of
birds to redeem Him, but He was the One who had come to redeem the
world. The Lamb of God. The Lamb who
is God. Whose blood will provide life for all people - first born, last
born, and everyone in between; Jews, Gentiles, and all nationalities; from the
beginning of time to the end of time. The One who would provide life for Simeon and redeem him from his
sins. Which is why he could now die in peace.
He was holding the forgiving One. He was holding His forgiveness. He was
holding the Saviour who was holding him. So he needed
nothing else.
for my eyes have seen your
salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
Here He was - God in plain sight. Hiding in human flesh and blood, yet for all to see. Do you
hear me, fellow Jews? Here’s the one! That present I’ve been waiting
for! Many probably laughed, thinking him an old coot; or maybe they just shook
their heads - what a shame that ol’ Simeon has lost
his mind.
a light for revelation to
the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
Even Joseph and Mary marveled at the words Simeon
spoke. Certainly they of all people shouldn’t have been
surprised. It had been only 9 months since the angels had appeared to them, and
only 40 days since the shepherds had come. But still it was almost too much to
believe: God in human flesh. The Saviour
of the world. The One who would lighten a world plunged into the
darkness of sin, and who would bring glory to Israel - the fulfillment of all
the promises of old. All those promises made to Adam and Eve,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses, David, and spoken through the prophets.
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight (LSB #362 v. 1), is how the popular Christmas
hymn puts it. Who could not marvel?
But there was another there that day who heard Simeon and believed his words. Her name was Anna.
She had lived in the Temple ever since her husband had died, fasting and
praying night and day, hearing God’s Word and relying on Him for everything.
And in humble faith born from that Word of God that she lived in and that lived
in her, she gives thanks to God, too. Oh my God, she cries out in her
own quiet way. You’ve done it. He is here. The Redeemer.
And you cry out now as well. Those words
of Simeon should sound familiar to you - we sing them after receiving the Body
and Blood of Jesus in His Supper. After the Body of Jesus is placed not into
our arms but into our mouths, and after his Blood is poured over our lips, we
cry out with Simeon: Oh my God! for we have received God. I can die now, for we
have received His forgiveness. My eyes have seen - not our physical
eyes, for they have beheld nothing more than Simeon; the wrapping is still
quite humble and poor. But our eyes of faith have seen - and received - the
salvation, the sin offering, God has prepared for us. The sin offering that
enlightens us to His mercy and love, and brings glory to Him.
That gift - yes, you know the one - is here for you. Each and every Sunday. Perhaps
its frequency has made us a little less excited. Perhaps the things of this
world capture our love and desire more from time to time. If so, let us repent,
and put ourselves in Simeon’s place today and see with his eyes of faith and joy.
Oh my God! You’ve done it. You were born for me, lived for me, died for
me, and rose for me. You’ve baptized me into your death and resurrection, given
me your Spirit, forgiven me, and feed me. You’ve put Your Body and Blood here
for me! You wonderfully created me and yet more wonderfully redeemed me, as we
prayed earlier
(Collect of the Day).
Oh my God! Why would you do that for me? Sinful me,
struggling me, failing me, rebellious me?
And those little infant eyes look up to you, too,
and tell you the answer: Because I love you. And those full-grown adult
eyes look down to you from the cross with the same answer. Oh my God! Is
that not too wonderful for words?
But words we need, so as St. Paul said to us
today: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and
admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Like Simeon. And
whatever you do, in word or deed, - like Anna - do everything in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Until like Simeon and Anna, you close your eyes
in death, and then open them to see what you here believed. And you know what
you’ll say on that day? That day you receive that gift? You know
the one. The one you’ve been waiting for. The one promised you when you were
baptized. The one so special, so important. When that
day finally comes and all the wrappings come off, the sound will cry out
from here and all around the world . . .
Oh my God!
And you’ll be right! And live with Him forever.
In the Name of the
Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.