Luke 2:22-40 [Christmas 1]
Pastor Ron Koehler Grace—Tucson, AZ December 31, 2023
It often happens right back there (pulpit side near the back) or over here (lectern side in the front). Someone walks by and sees a new baby and they stop in their tracks and begin cooing over the child. Or you’re in mid-conversation and a baby is brought somewhere in the vicinity, and you just drop the person you were talking to so that you can talk to the little one! I know I’ve done it; maybe you have too. There was a baby who caused the same thing at church one day very long ago. You know from the gospel reading from Luke just a few minutes ago, that it was Jesus, who was brought to the temple in Jerusalem by his parents. A little over a month after Jesus was born, there were a couple things that God’s law required of the parents. This went all the way back to the time of Moses. After giving birth, the Law of Purification required a woman to bring an offering to the Lord (Lev. 12:1-8). In the case of Mary and Joseph, it was the gift of those in humble circumstances: the price of two doves or pigeons. They were also there to present, or dedicate, Jesus to the Lord because he was their firstborn son (Ex. 13:1-2, 11-16). As they faithfully went about their worship of the Lord in this way, they ran into some interesting people! As we meet those people this morning, we’ll see that The Baby Who Brought Peace to them also brings peace to this world and to us. Peace to Simeon What brings you peace? For moms of little ones, it might just be breaking away long enough to take a shower—just a few moments of peace. Others find peace as they place one foot after the other down on the path, hiking and taking in the beauties of nature. Some of us nerds find peace in our budgeting spreadsheets working perfectly and all our bills paid and accounts in order. If we only think of peace in a worldly sense, we’re missing a vastly more important kind of peace, the kind that Simeon was looking for and eventually found. What an unusual man. If God describes a person as “righteous and devout,” someone looking for the Savior to come, that person kind of sounds like a superhero of faith! There’s also this: He had something no one else had. The Holy Spirit told him that he would not die before he saw the Savior! Imagine having that kind of faith and waiting, wondering each morning when you woke up “Will today be the day! And talk about the Holy Spirit working in your life! The Spirit told him he would see the Savior, then moved him to go to the temple the day that Mary and Joseph went there for these special things, and somehow made it clear which child was the right one— because Mary and Joseph and Jesus looked like any other family there doing similar kinds of things. Somehow Simeon was led right to the Christ child—and it brought him peace.