Word Of Wisdom

 

            Led by the Spirit, Simeon went into the Temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus into the Temple to do for him what the Law required, Simeon took the child in his arms and gave thanks to God: "Now, Lord, you have kept your promise, and you may let your servant go in peace. With my own eyes I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples:

 

          A light to reveal your will to the Gentiles and bring glory to your people Israel." The child's father and mother were amazed at the things Simeon said about him. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, "This child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God which many people will speak against and so reveal their secret thoughts. And sorrow, like a sharp sword, will break your own heart."     

 

Prayer:

 

When Susan and I were expecting our first child Sheena. There were the months of expectation, preparation, anticipation. And when the baby at finally arrived, there was great joy. Susan and I, parents, grandparents, friends, parishioners were excited and proud of this little life we brought in to the world. First pictures were passed around for admiration.

But there is also something frightening about the birth of a baby? Yes, frightening. It's joyful for the young parents, at first. But then there are the bills to pay, clothes to be bought, education to be financed, discipline issues. Children, our joy, are also the most expensive gifts we'll ever receive!

You hold this little baby in your arms, cherishing it, loving it. There will be disappointments, fierce disagreements, words exchanged, paths taken that you may not agree with. You hold that baby in your arms, cherish and enjoy it and along with this joy comes the knowledge that there will be other days not so joyful. Today there is joy? What about tomorrow, well we just have to wait?

On this first Sunday after Christmas we are still enjoying the birth of our Saviour. We hear of the joy of the angels who sang to God’s glory in the fields where shepherds were watching flocks of sheep. The shepherds go to see the child in the manger and we are told that they went back "singing praises to God for all they had seen and heard". We reflect that same joy as we sing carols about the birth of the child in the manger.

Today in our Gospel reading we hear of Mary and Joseph going to the temple with their newborn son like every other parent of those days. Every mother went to the Temple after the birth of a baby boy for ceremonial purification and to dedicate her child to God.

There they encounter two elderly people who love babies, Simeon and Anna. Against the backdrop of the magnificent temple, Simeon reaches out and takes the baby in his arms, and praises God for this gift, this newness, this fresh life. This is an old man whose ageing dim eyes are not too dim to see that this baby is the salvation that God has promised for his people and a "light for the revelation to the Gentiles".

We have no recorded conversation between Mary and Joseph and Simeon, but it seems the parents of Jesus sensed the deep spirituality of this old man with his outstretched arms. And cradling the infant Jesus in his arms, Simeon addressed God. Old Simeon sees in this tiny child the salvation that people have been waiting for.

Here in his arms is the one who will save all people. Old Simeon says that he is now ready to die now that he has seen the promise of God fulfilled.

Old Simeon reminds me of the story about Clara. Clara was dying of cancer. She lingered near death for many weeks but she held on, telling visitors, "I'm waiting for the birth of my first grandchild". The day after that child was born, the little baby was delivered to the hospital and laid in his grandmother's arms, and you can imagine how she happy was.                                                      

The whole family rejoiced because, on the day of the baby's birth, Clara took a turn for the better. Some hopefully thought that Clara might live longer than expected. Yet that night, she died. A dying woman had held and celebrated new life, then she was ready to die.

That's the way that Simeon said it was for him as he blessed this new baby and his parents. He had waited patiently for this child and now through his dimmed eyes he could see the salvation that God had brought to all people. But in spite of his obvious joy, Simeon then speaks to Mary and speaks of the coming gloom.

Simeon predicted, "This child of yours will cause many people in Israel to fall and others to stand. The child will be like a warning sign. Many people will reject him, and you, Mary, will suffer as though you had been stabbed by a dagger. But this will show what people are really thinking"

What strange words amid the joy of Christmas and the celebrations about this little baby! Simeon is talking about opposition - falling and rising – rejection - suffering. Is this appropriate language when parents are so full of hope for the future baby? Old Simeon tells us that this birth will involve as much pain as joy.

The sword that will pierce Mary will inch its way ever deeper into her heart as Jesus experiences rejection that ends at the cross. And so just as the old man’s wrinkled skin contrasts with the new, soft and cuddly flesh of the baby he holds, so also now we hear of a message of pain and conflict that contrasts with the joy and delight of a new born baby.

Even though all the work parties are over, the buying and giving has come to an end, even though the shopping malls are packing away their Christmas, the church still celebrates joy, real joy. Christmas joy is not just an annual fantasy trip that is here one day and gone the next.

For the Christian, Christmas is about a God who loves us so much that he becomes one of us, he is born among us, looks like us, feels like us, lives and dies like us. A God who comes to us, to tell us the truth about our sinfulness will be resisted.

Simeon is saying that many people will stumble over this rock. Many people will turn away from Jesus, be offended by his stable birth, his death on a cross, his teachings, his insistence that only his forgiveness can get rid of sin and that it is only through him that we can be given a place in heaven, Yes! people will be offended. But on the other hand, many will be comforted by Jesus, many will find peace with Jesus. They will see in Jesus God's love and forgiveness. As Simeon said: This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many.

Old Simeon had lived long enough to know that if God wants to bless us, to save us, somehow God must confront the worst about us, the worst in us, the things we do to one another, the terrible things we do to ourselves, the way we oppose God. That confrontation would not come cheap. This cuddly baby Jesus in Simeon's arms would grow up, would speak the truth to us, and would die for us.

So a cross stands behind the manger this morning. Christmas also has something to do with Good Friday. The joy of old Simeon was not a joy that is here today and gone tomorrow. It is a joy more deep and complex than this. It is a joy that is centered on knowing and believing that, in spite of who we are and what we do, there is a God who loves us and has sent his Son Jesus at Christmas because of us so that he could rescue us from every sin and danger.

Old Simeon's talk of swords and sadness, of people rising and falling, implies that our salvation will not come cheaply. The salvation that God brings to us through the baby born in Bethlehem is going to cost the life of that child. There can be no joy for us, unless that baby in Simeon's arms dies for the sins of all people. St. Augustine understood this when he wrote: “ The thought of you stirs him so deeply that he cannot be content unless he praises you, because You made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in You.”          

Simeon prepares Mary for this when he says: And a sword will pierce your own soul too. There is a picture of a popular engraving which depicts Jesus as a toddler running with outstretched arms to his mother, the shadow of the cross is cast on the ground as he runs.

In the Gospels, it is clear that the death of Jesus Christ was in view from the moment he was born. It was part of the divine purpose and plan for him from the beginning. We have a hint of the cross in the words old Simeon to the mother of our Lord, "Many people will reject him, and you, Mary, will suffer as though you had been stabbed by a dagger."

I began by talking about the joy that we all feel at the birth of a child, and especially the celebrations we are having because of the birth of Jesus. Like Simeon we rejoice that God has sent his Son because of his great love for us.

But there is an element of sadness in Simeon's blessing - this baby must die. He must die because of our sinfulness. He will die for our salvation. For us his death on the cross gives us an even greater reason to rejoice. We have a Saviour who loves us and has died for us.

The challenge for us now is to take this Christmas joy with us into the rest of the year. Even if we should die this year, be stricken with disease or face all kinds of misfortune, we can have that deep down joy and confidence knowing that Jesus is Immanuel. God is with us.  

 

Old Simeon leaves us with this very Word of Wisdom

God is with us every step of the way.

We are not alone.

Amen.