Luke 2 22-40 2006
Christmas 1
Luke 2:22-40
December 31, 2006
“God’s Great Promises”
Once upon a Christmas program…”All the songs had been sung, and the candles lit. The shepherds had come to peek at the baby, and the wise men had brought their gifts. The angels had given their message. Then all the cast in the story of the first Christmas began to leave...wise men, shepherds, angels. Only Mary and Joseph and the child remained. Then Joseph turned to go. And Mary, glancing back at the crib, began to follow. But suddenly she turned back, snatched up the baby doll by the foot, clutched it under her arm, and left." (1)
One person that watched that Christmas pageant was struck to the quick of her heart. Mary had almost forgotten Jesus. Then, suddenly, she remembered and fiercely clutched him under her arm. Even as Christmas has passed, it is important for us to not just go on with our lives and leave Jesus behind. It is time to embrace Him again and again. For in Him all the promises of God are fulfilled. This Sunday after Christmas gives us another opportunity to hold onto the Christ child and to “reaffirm the simple truths of Christmas. And what are these?
FIRST, GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES. Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus stayed in Bethlehem for a week. Mary and Joseph were devout Jews who took their religious obligations seriously. When Jesus was only eight days old they took him to Jerusalem to the Temple. The custom was for first born males to be presented to God there. According to their law the first born male was sacred to God. An offering was required of either two turtledoves or two young pigeons. Jesus was to be dedicated to the Lord according to the Law of Moses.
As Mary and Joseph proudly carried Jesus up the steps of the Temple, they encountered an old man named Simeon. Simeon went to the Temple on a daily basis. God had promised Simeon that, before he died, he would see the Messiah. Every day Simeon went to the Temple looking to receive God's promise. That particular day he saw a young couple with a baby going up the steps. He wondered if this baby might be the one he was waiting for. Simeon asked Mary if he might hold the child. With wrinkled hands Simeon stood there holding this newborn child.
The Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that Jesus was the child he had spent his life waiting for. Simeon began to sing, "Master, now you may dismiss your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation...." From that moment on his life would never be the same ” for he had seen the Messiah. God always keeps His promises.
So it is when God makes a promise. That promise will be kept. There was an ad in a national magazine for an insurance company sometime back. It was about promises. It showed a picture of a man and his daughter. The ad read like this: "A promise to attend recitals, late meetings notwithstanding.” “A promise not to show up when you're with friends at the mall.” “A promise to keep it all safe no matter what. “Nothing binds us one to the other," said the ad, "like a promise kept...." This is what Christmas is about, a God who keeps His promises.
There is something we need to understand: GOD DOESN’T PROMISE US A ROSE GARDEN. As Simeon held the baby Jesus in his arms the Spirit revealed to him that this baby was the long-awaited Messiah. This was indeed a special moment for this old man. He had waited all his life for this moment. He was holding the Messiah in his unsteady arms. Simeon blessed Mary and Joseph. This would have been one of those warm Christmas memories that Joseph and Mary would have cherished forever if Simeon had stopped there. He did not. He turned to Mary and uttered a heartbreaking prophecy, "A sword will pierce your own soul...." What could he mean? A sword would pierce Mary's soul? Simeon, by the power of the Holy Spirit revealed that this child would someday die on a cross for the sins of all people, for our sins, and Mary His loving tender mother would be there to watch Him suffer and die. How painful it is for a parent to watch their child suffer, to watch their child die. How much more painful would it be for Mary to watch her Son die and carry the burden of the world’s sins upon His shoulders. How painful it must have been for her to see Him shoulder the judgment and wrath of God. How much more painful knowing that she too, according to her own sin, was responsible for her Son’s death. Certainly this is the sword that pierced her own soul. At the end of this child’s life it would be defined by a cross. This knowledge pierces my own soul. I hope it pierces yours as well. The cross is for me, the cross is for you.
Once there was a Christmas play held in the most unlikely of places, a maximum security prison. This prison held the worst possible offenders including, murderers, armed robbers and rapists. Prisoners themselves would act out the story for the other prisoners. Since they were in a maximum security prison nothing was allowed to be brought in for the play. All the costumes and props had to come from within the walls of the prison.
A mop was found for Mary to use for hair. A ski mask with cotton balls glued on socks was used for the sheep. A discarded cardboard box was used for the cradle. Everything was falling into place, and the prisoners were excited about the play.
Then someone asked a question about the baby. What would they use for the baby Jesus? Of course a real baby could not be brought in. Someone suggested that Mary hold a blanket with nothing inside to represent the baby Jesus. That wouldn't do, the others said, but they were running out of ideas.
On the day of the performance the chaplain came running into the group of actors. He had found something from his office to use for the baby. The show went on. The Christmas story was beautifully portrayed in that prison. Then came the dramatic scene where Mary revealed her baby” the Christ child. She very carefully un-wrapped the blanket. The object she was carrying wasn't a baby, or a doll, but a cross from the chaplain's office. Suddenly in that unlikely place the Gospel message came alive. (2)
What would be a better closing to a Christmas drama than a cross” a cross wrapped in a blanket? God always keeps His promises. Still, He doesn't promise a rose garden. There was no rose garden for the infant Jesus. And there is no rose garden for most of us. Authentic Christian faith is not to be confused with rose-colored glasses.
Dr. Isaac Watts was stricken by a fever that left him an invalid. That did not keep him from writing, "Joy to the World, the Lord Is Come." God does not promise things will be easy. There is a cradle in our faith; there is also a cross.
But there is one thing more to be said: THE PROMISES OF GOD ARE NOT TO BE KEPT to ourselves; THEY ARE TO BE SHARED. We who are followers of Jesus are heirs to God's promises, but they are not ours alone. They are for the whole world. That is why at the heart of Christmas is the giving of gifts. We, as Christians have the greatest gift to share with the world.
Mary took her baby back into her arms and continued up the Temple steps as Simeon left. So much had happened to Mary and her beloved Joseph that they probably didn't know what to expect next. Think of all the things that had happened to them. First there was the visit of the angels telling them unbelievable news. Then Jesus was born away from their family in a stable. Then there were the shepherds storming in to offer their adoration. And finally they encountered Simeon on the Temple steps who sang them a beautiful song, but also startled them with the revelation that a sword would pierce Mary's soul. What would happen next?
What happened next was an old woman named Anna. Anna had been widowed for many years. She spent all of her time at the Temple, fasting and praying. Anna was a remarkable woman. In all her years she had not grown bitter and she had never given up hope. There at the Temple Anna saw Mary, and Joseph holding the baby Jesus. At that moment she came up to the young family, and began to praise God. Anna knew in an instant that this infant was the one she had spent all her years praying and hoping to see.
She did more than just praise God at that moment, however. She began to tell others about God's plan for salvation. Anna spoke words of hope to everyone present because the long-awaited Messiah had finally arrived. She was so filled with joy that she had to tell others about the baby Jesus. Anna knew that God's promises are not to be kept; they are to be shared” particularly at Christmas. That is what Christmas is all about.
A little girl in a Christmas drama reaches back and clutches onto the doll representing the baby Jesus. She almost forgot him” just like we sometimes forget him. But it's not too late. Before we leave the Christmas story for yet another year, let's clutch these simple truths: God keeps His promises; God doesn’t promise us a Rose Garden; His promises are not to be kept to ourselves. They are to be shared.[i]
Jo Carr & Donna Cash, ADVENT, A CALENDAR OF DEVOTIONS, 1982, Abingdon.
Dr. Heather Murray Elkins, professor at Drew Theological Seminary. THE 1992 CONVOCATION ON MINISTRY, Split Rock Resort, PA. October, 1992.
"That Wondrous Airplane." John Uldrich. CHRISTMAS REMEMBERED. Ron DelBene (ed). Nashville, Upper Room Books, 1991, pp. 29-30.
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[i] Duncan, eserm.