Grace Lutheran Church Sermon First Sunday after Christmas, December 31, 2006

The Rev. Evan Gaertner

First Sunday after Christmas “Waiting in the right place”

December 31, 2006 Luke 2:22-40

Todd Gutt, a 21 year old German tourist recently planned a four week holiday to visit his girlfriend in the Australian metropolis Sydney. His girlfriend waited at the airport to pick him up. But to her frustration he did not show up. Todd Gutt had entered Sydney as his destination on a flight book Web site. But he did not notice till he was in Billings, Montana, about to board a small commuter plane that his destination was Sydney, Montana, a small oil town with a population of 5,000.

Waiting for someone to arrive is a time of anticipation and excitement. In November Christi flew to St. Louis. As I waited at the airport for her to return I found myself checking the arrival time TV screens several times.

We wait for people all the time. Are they going to arrive? Are we waiting in the right place? When they arrive will we recognize them? Will they recognize us?

Waiting is easier if you know the time and the place where the person you are waiting for will appear. Waiting is more difficult if you don’t know the time or the place. We do not know when Christ will come again to judge the living and dead. But we do know when and where Christ comes to visit us. Like Simeon who went to the Temple to wait for the Lord, the Spirit leads us to the Word of God and the Sacraments to find our savior revealed to us.

Simeon was a man in Jerusalem, “and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.” St. Luke continues by telling us that to Simeon “it had been revealed that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple.”

Like the other saints that surround Jesus’ birth, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, Simeon is a righteous member of Israel. He is Spirit-filled and Spirit-led. What defines the saints of the Old Testament and this time surrounding Jesus is their faithful waiting for the promised Messiah. Trust in the promised messiah is our salvation to. We are not saved by works and neither were the saints of the Old Testament. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ the messiah.

Simeon had been promised that he would not taste death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ, the messiah, the anointed one, the promise fulfilled.

By the power of the Spirit Simeon was led to the temple. He had been promised the messiah and the spirit led him to wait in the right place. Simeon by faith obeyed and waited in the right place. Would it have made any sense if Simeon had been told to go to the Temple in Jerusalem and instead he went to Rome or Athens?

By faith Simeon found his salvation in Jesus Christ. It was by faith that he trusted the revelation of the Lord. It certainly was by the Spirit that Simeon sang his song about the fulfilled hopes of the Old Testament while he was holding a baby being carried by Mary and Joseph through the temple courtyards.

Simeon took the forty-day old Jesus in his arms. He held in his arms his salvation, even as it was cloaked in infant’s clothing. Simeon had been prepared for the salvation he held in his arms by the Old Testament. Simeon saw his salvation not just in terms of his own needs. He rejoiced in his song that his eyes had seen the salvation which the Lord has prepared in the presence of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for the glory of the Lord’s people Israel

Simeon gave thanks that not only had he seen his salvation but that this salvation had come for all people. I am impressed by Simeon that in this moment of personal revelation he keeps his focus outward towards the world and does not become sinful with pride.

Like Simeon we are waiting. Simeon found his salvation when he held in his arms the baby Jesus. We are waiting for the promised return of Christ. We find our salvation revealed to us when we hold in our arms the Word of God.

Simeon would not have found the promise fulfilled unless he followed the spirit. The Holy Spirit led him to the temple. Today have confidence that the Spirit works through the scriptures. St. Paul wrote to Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16)

Martin Luther called the Bible the manger that cradles the Lord Jesus for us to find. Just as the shepherds were sent by the angels to go find the baby Jesus laying in a manger we are led by the Spirit to go to the Bible and find our messiah.

My wife would be upset if I was supposed to pick her up at the airport and instead I waited for her at Best Buy or Circuit City.

We can have confidence that in the Word of God we will find our savior. Simeon would have been foolish to look anywhere else besides where the spirit led him, so also we would be foolish to try to find our messiah other than where he has promised to be.

Besides the Word of God Jesus has promised to be with us through the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. He said to his disciples take eat this is my body given for you and take drink this is my blood of the new covenant shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

Simeon in the Temple held in his arms the savior of the world. In this holy meal we hold the savior of the world.

Go to where he has promised to reveal himself. Go to the Bible. Regularly get into the Scriptures. Bible Study, personal devotions, and regular reading of Scriptures are all signs of a healthy faith life. Regularly receive Holy Communion. There in the bread and wine, you receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

Simeon waited faithfully for the promises of the Lord to be fulfilled. He looked forward to the comfort of Israel. We live in a time when we must continue to have faith in the promises of the Lord and have confidence that our comfort has been born in Jesus Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria

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