Sermon -- 1st Sunday after Christmas (December 31, 2023)

LUKE 2:22-40

GOD PRESENTS THE ONE WHO LETS US LIVE AND DIE IN PEACE.

In the name + of Jesus.

     Although the Bible does not specifically say that Simeon was an old man, the joy and relief he expressed at seeing the baby Jesus strongly suggest he is.  St. Luke pairs Simeon with the prophetess Anna who we are told specifically is an old woman.  So, it makes sense that Simeon’s age is similar to hers.  Both Simeon and Anna had been blessed with many years.  Perhaps they were good years; perhaps they were hard years.  Anna’s hardship we know, as she was a widow for a long time.  Both Simeon and Anna knew that their remaining time on earth was short.  Death was near at hand.

     Simeon, however, had been given a promise.  While many in Israel knew the Messiah was coming, “it had been revealed to (Simeon) by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ” (Luke 2:26).  The coming of the Christ was imminent for Simeon, even more imminent than his death!  Hope was coupled with excitement.  God’s promise would be fulfilled, and he would see it for himself.

     “(Simeon) 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” (Luke 2:27-28).  This was not a dumb-luck meeting; it was divinely arranged.  Just how Simeon recognized the Christ is hard to say.  We have no reason to think that Simeon knew Mary and Joseph, or that if he heard their names he would say, “Hey, you’re the parents of the Messiah, aren’t you?”  Did he approach everyone in the temple who had a baby?  Was Simeon the priest who aided Mary and Joseph with their sacrifice?  Maybe. 

     How he found Jesus is not as important as what he found in Jesus.  Simeon blessed God for fulfilling his promises—both the promise of the Savior and the promise that Simeon would see him.  Simeon declared, “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” (Luke 2:29-31).  In other words, Simeon was ready to die.  God had presented the one who let him live and die in peace.

     What would take for you to live and die in peace?  For Simeon, it was one thing—he got to see the Lord’s Christ; but that did not mean it had been an easy life for him.  Who knows what burdens made his life short on peace?  Anna was an elderly woman with a devout faith, but her life turned out differently than planned.  Perhaps her devotion to prayer and fasting in the temple was partly to fill up hours of loneliness.  I’m sure that you have had challenges and hardships which have robbed you of peace.  In a sinful world, no one is immune from them.

     What would take for you to live and die in peace?  Some have taken up the practice of writing their own obituary.  This enables people to set their priorities so they can strive for a full, purposeful life.  This way, they could be at peace with what their life would be when ends.  Maybe you do that on a smaller scale with a New Year’s resolution.  You resolve to fix or improve some facet of your life.  To make your life better would grant you peace, right?  But this is what the Lord says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).  Plans get derailed by responsibilities God drops in your lap.  Dreams go unfulfilled when circumstances redirect your life.  For instance, I’m sure Anna had planned to be married longer than seven years; and then her husband died.  If your peace comes by having your life go according to your plans, you will find your peace shattered easily.

     If peace in life is elusive, peace when dying is impossible.  Those who have lost loved ones are filled with regrets.  “If only I had called more.  If only I had treater her better.  If only we could have had one more visit together.  If only we could have put an end to our grudge.”  For the person who is dying, how much can be rectified before you draw your final breath?  What words from the past will come back to haunt you?  No obituary about world travel or unique hobbies will bring peace when you remember the sins of the past.  “There is no peace, says the Lord, for the wicked.” (Isaiah 48:22).  If your conscience testifies about the wickedness on your record, you will be consumed by terror, feverishly trying to come up with reasons why you deserve to be excused for your sins, why God’s judgment is not real, or that it won’t be really bad.  If you know death is imminent, you will also feel the pressure to make these arguments convincing.  No time will be long enough.  No argument will be good enough.

     Now you can understand why Simeon and Anna were so overjoyed to greet Jesus.  Anna “began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38).  Anna did not have to worry about buying her way into heavenly glory.  She had a Redeemer who would pay the price for her.  She gave thanks to God for presenting the one who let her live and die in peace, and she proclaimed this peace to everyone in earshot.  Simeon “took (Jesus) up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word’” (Luke 2:28-29).  Simeon took up the one who had come to take up his sins.

     When we are dying, the devil puts us on trial.  He presents the evidence that convicts us of sin, that condemns us before God, and that consumes us in guilt and fear.  But God has presented the one who lets us live and die in peace.  Jesus has come to stand on trial in our place.  When Jesus stood on trial before his accusers, he did not attempt to refute any of the charges against him.  Although Jesus’ accusers could not prove their charges, Jesus accepted them all anyway.  He accepted the guilt of all sinners and let himself be judged accordingly.  The baby held by Simeon grew up to suffer the indignities and shame and torment which sinners deserve.  The punishment which brings us peace rested upon Jesus. 

     God presents the one who lets us live and die in peace.  Simeon had been waiting for “the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25).  This is Jesus.  He consoles your heart and mind from the terrors of conscience.  Jesus consoles you by speaking up as your Advocate.  He presents his wounds as the evidence that all your sins have been paid for.  He shows the gash in his side out of which flowed the blood and water which have purified you in baptism and in holy communion.  Jesus issues the final verdict: Your sins are forgiven.  Even if your conscience objects, Jesus overrules it.  The devil’s accusations do not stick.  The grave does not get the last word.  The Christ lives victorious over sin, death, and the devil.  Jesus lets you live in peace, assuring you that God’s favor rests upon you.  Jesus lets you die in peace, assuring you that there is no condemnation for those who believe in him.  When you to close your eyes in death, you will open them again to see Jesus.  So, we confess with aged Simeon, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:29-30).

     God presents the one who lets us live and die in peace.  But that does not mean that Jesus is a pushover or harmless.  In fact, Jesus produces a divide that cannot be bridged by any human effort.  Simeon explained it: “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed…, so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35).  Since Jesus is the judge of the living and the dead, he cannot be avoided.  Even if he is ignored during one’s life, he will have to be faced in the end.  All people will be divided—either with Jesus or against him.

     Jesus is appointed for the falling and rising of everyone.  Before him, everyone must fall.  The truth is that all people are fallen.  All have sinned and continue to fall short of the glory of God.  God’s word reveals the thoughts of our hearts.  It shows us that we are turned in on ourselves.  We don’t love anything as much as we love ourselves.  We cannot fix our sinfulness, so neither can we escape the death and judgment that sin deserves and demands.  Before Jesus, everyone falls.

     We may try to elevate ourselves.  This goes back to making arguments with God about how we are not as bad as he says we are.  You may boast that your works are good, or at least that your intentions are good.  You may believe that it is enough to be nice or humble or generous.  If so, you don’t want a Savior; you want a reward.  But nice people, generous people, and humble people are still fallen people.  Sinners cannot raise themselves up to holiness, and the dead cannot raise themselves back to life.

     Therefore, we fall before Jesus now.  We confess our sins, knowing that Jesus is also appointed for the rising of many.  Jesus raises people up from sin and death by his redeeming work.  He alone does the work to save.  Rather than asking God for the credit we deserve, we rely on Jesus who credits us with all we need, credit which only Jesus can supply.  We need a holy life for God to be pleased with us; Jesus gives us credit for his.  We need to be rescued from a condemning judgment; Jesus has taken away all our sin.  We need the grave to be overpowered so that it does not hold us forever; Jesus has done that by his resurrection from the dead.  We need to be renewed so that we do not fall right back to the wretched condition we have been brought out of.  Jesus has sent us his Holy Spirit who makes us a new creation, eager to hear God’s word and zealous to do it.  The Holy Spirit raises us up to the good and noble purposes for which we have been created.  And he will raise us up at the Last Day to the glory Jesus has won for us.

     God has presented the one who lets us live and die in peace.  We do not have the pressure of trying to earn God’s favor.  We have the peace of knowing that God’s favor is upon us through life and through death.  Like Simeon and Anna, we will depart from this life in peace according to God’s word.  For we have seen his salvation delivered to us in the words of Scripture, in the waters of baptism, and in the body and blood of Jesus hidden under the bread and wine—just as Simeon saw the Lord hidden under infant flesh.  Whether you are granted many years or few, whether the path of life has been rocky or smooth, whether death is imminent or comes unexpectedly, the peace of the Lord will be with you always. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.