The First Sunday after Christmas
Sermon Text: Luke 2:22-40
Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Holy One whose birth we continue to celebrate, Christ Jesus. Amen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Long lines of people… we have all experienced it, and very recently during the busy seasons of Advent and Christmas.
Quite frankly, we are glad when the time comes when such long lines are over… done with… all, that is, except one.
One line that stands out grand and glorious.
One line that has its origin actually in Old Testament times.
One line that perpetually grows and, thankfully, will do so to the end of time.
In this line we find those whom we have read and heard much about of late. You know them well… Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zechariah and even John still in the womb.
The line includes a group of shepherds who cannot get to Bethlehem fast enough having heard that unto them is born, “in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)
A grand and glorious line of faithful men and women who, in the presence of their Redeemer-King, give unceasing thanks, praise and adoration.
To this line now is added Simeon and Anna. They, too, worship and give glory and honor to the long-awaited Savior of the world.
Indeed, both Simeon and Anna were faithfully, diligently, waiting for the “consolation of Israel” … the “redemption of Jerusalem”… the Messiah promised of old who would come and free God’s children.
Dearly beloved, for a few precious minutes this morning it would do us good to consider some of the qualities and characteristic of those who were among the first in line to worship our Savior now in the flesh.
Why? Because these same qualities and characteristics are found in those who came before and all who will come after them… all who will be in line, join the line, the faithful throng… countless saints down through the ages right up until the present time… right up until now… today… and beyond… to the end of the age.
Notice that they are all of one heart and mind… as we see so wonderfully in our Gospel text with Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna. They are one that is… amazingly… in Christ!
Notice, too, that they are all connected and fully immersed in the Word of God… the very Word through which the Holy Spirit works, bringing us to faith… the Word which enlightens us, opening our eyes, our hearts and minds… that we may know, believe in and embrace our one and only Savior, Christ Jesus.
How amazing it must have been for Simeon to hear God tell him he would not pass from this world until he had seen the Lord’s Christ and then for him to hold in his aged hands the Christ Child… the very Word Incarnate… the Word made flesh.
What a privilege it was for faithful Anna to see what she saw with her own eyes, to give thanks and share, right then and there, the Good News.
Notice as well that among all the faithful in line from the very first of believers to those who will be the last before the Lord’s coming, is the common quality of being “righteous and devout.” And this, not of their own doing… their own gaining or maintaining… but rather, by the work of the Holy Spirit.
By the Spirit, in the Spirit, Simeon and Anna believed in the One who came into their presence. And even though they would see their Savior go from the temple when all was done according to the Law, they would not let Him go spiritually. They held fast to Him, their faith bolstered by the glorious Gospel. It meant everything to them as it does to us.
It is what life is about, my friends… our life here on earth. It is the purpose for us being here… to come to faith… live in that faith… die in that faith and spend eternity with our Lord in heaven… all because He once came to earth to save us.
That is why we consider our faith to be so precious and give unceasing thanks for it. As do all in the great line of believers spanning all of time… all who are devout… DEVOTED to Christ… to the Church and to the one true Christian faith not partially, but completely… not sometime, but all of the time… every day… every hour of every day to the end of days and beyond.
In addition to all of this, in looking at the long line of believers extending down through the ages, century after century, one cannot help but see the common locale where they are invariably found. The place they are drawn to, gravitate to and long to be… long to remain. It is the house of the Lord and being in His sanctuary.
Make no mistake about it. The line starts here… at the font and continues here… emanates from here and from this holy place. The line, that is, of God’s people. The line of the faithful. They are found in church because they are the Church!
And this is quite obvious when one realizes and recognizes, fully understands what happens here… what takes place here again and again… Who comes to us here again and again… namely, our Savior, Jesus.
Of course, just being, physically being here is not enough. How many people were inside the temple, physically present, when Mary and Joseph brought in the Christ Child? How many besides Simeon and Anna? How many considered themselves to likewise be righteous and devout who nevertheless had no clue of the Holy One who was in their midst… that they were in the very presence of the Messiah?
How many were there in the temple when the Prince of Peace was presented and yet, they left having no peace… the peace which surpasses all human understanding… the spiritual peace which certainly Simeon and Anna had… the spiritual peace which belongs to everyone in the long line of the faithful?
It is the peace that you and I have… now and always… the spiritual peace which comes about with the Christ Child resting and residing in our hearts as we joyfully stand in a grand and glorious line which ends at heaven’s door and our true home. Thanks be to God, and to Him alone be the glory! Amen.
May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.
“In the Line”
12/29 /24 The Rev. Mark H. Hein, pastor emeritus
Zion Lutheran Church, Naperville, IL