30
December 2012
St. Athanasius Lutheran Church
Christmas
1 Vienna, VA
“The Great Waterfall of God’s Grace”
Text: Luke 2:22-40; Colossians 3:12-17
(The
analogy of the waterfall of God’s grace from Concordia Pulpit Resources, Vol. 23, Part 1,
page 22-24.)
Grace,
mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. Amen.
I hope
you all had a Merry Christmas. I hope you also all had a Blessed Christmas. For
I don’t think
the two are the same thing. Many had a Merry Christmas because they got some
special gift; because they got what they wanted - but they missed out on the
blessed because Christ was not a part of their celebration. Some, I would
think, had a Blessed Christmas in rejoicing at our Saviour’s birth, though it may not have been
very Merry - maybe because they were missing a loved one, or away from family
serving our country overseas, or because of depression or other troubles. I
hope you had both, as I think Simeon - that we heard about in the Gospel today
- did. For when the newborn, forty-day-old Jesus came to him that day in the
Temple, it was both a Blessed and Merry Christmas for Simeon. He received the
gift and blessing that he had been promised - that he would not see death
before he had seen the Lord's Christ - and it filled him with great
joy. The Word and promise of God had been fulfilled.
But it
was not just the Word and promise of God made to Simeon that had been fulfilled
- his joy went much deeper than that. It was the Word and promise of God made
to His people all through the Old Testament. Luke makes that clear, for the
words that we heard about what happened in the Temple that day are steeped in
and oozing the Old Testament. Let me mention just three of them here, in connection
with Simeon.
First, we are told, Simeon was waiting for the consolation
of Israel. Or in other words, he was waiting for the consoler,
the advocate, the comforter. The one who is on our side; the one
come to help us in our need; the one come to comfort us stuck in sin with the
forgiveness of our sins. The one the Lord had promised to send from the first
book of the Old Testament to the last - from Genesis to Malachi. Simeon was
waiting not just for the one promised to him, but for the one promised to the
world.
Second, Simeon says, my eyes have seen your salvation.
What exactly did Simeon see when he looked at this forty-day-old child nestled
in his arms? The word translated there as “salvation” is the Old Testament word for the sin offering. He
saw the Lord’s sin offering. Hanging out in the Temple as much as he did,
Simeon must have seen lots of sin offerings come, lots of lambs, but now
he saw the one that all those other offerings were a shadow of and pointed to.
The one who came to be the once and for all sin offering; the one come to
fulfill all those other offerings. The Lord’s sin offering. The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of
the world.
And third,
Simeon says he sees a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for
glory to your people Israel. Which
sounds like what we heard from Isaiah in our Christmas readings: The people
who walked in darkness have seen a great light . . . for to us a child is born,
to us a son is given (Isaiah 9). The darkness of sin and death would be shattered by this
one for both Jew and Gentile alike. For this one is the Saviour not just of
Simeon or of the Jews, but of the world.
So what
is happening here is that all the rivers of Word and promise in the Old
Testament are converging here in this child and
forming a great waterfall of grace that is now plunging down on Simeon
and all people! Think of Niagara Falls - where does that come from? Where does
all that water come from? From reservoirs, from snow melt, from rain, all
coming down through rivers and streams, until finally they all converge and
form that incredible waterfall. That’s what’s happening here. The
Word and promises of God, spoken to so many people in so many times and places
in the Old Testament, and which have been flowing for so long, finally have now
converged in the birth of Jesus. All the Old Testament, fulfilled in
Him. All the promises, fulfilled in Him. A great waterfall of grace from
God in His Son now born for us, as one of us. That’s what Simeon saw.
The
thing with waterfalls, though, is that you hear them before you see
them. When you go to Niagara Falls, or even if you’re walking through the woods to see
another waterfall, as you get closer, before you can see any evidence of
the waterfall, you hear it. You hear the sound of the mighty, rushing
waters, getting louder and louder, until you get to the place where the terrain
opens up and you can finally see it, and you see the majesty of all that water
falling so far and so gracefully down.
So it
was with Simeon. Before he saw this great waterfall of God’s grace, he had heard it. He had heard the Word and
promises of the Old Testament so that when he finally saw Jesus and held Him in
his arms, he wasn’t
dumbstruck at the sight, he spoke. He spoke the words he had heard for so long.
He spoke the words he had heard about this great outpouring of God’s grace - about the consolation of
Israel, about the Lord’s sin
offering, about the light coming into the world. Finally, He had come. Finally,
it was time. Finally, Simeon could now depart in peace. He had
seen it; he had seen Him. And so he was filled with joy and peace.
And then
there was Anna, an old widow who had devoted herself to fasting and prayer
since her husband had died. This great waterfall of God’s grace now poured out upon her when
she came up and heard Simeon’s words, and then she began to pour them out upon others, speaking
of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
And now
this great waterfall of God’s grace has been poured out
upon you. What the prophets long foretold and Simeon held in his arms has now
been proclaimed and given to you. That not only your Christmasses be Merry, but
each and everyday of your lives be blessed. Blessed in the grace and
forgiveness of this child born for you.
For just
as Simeon held Jesus in his arms and proclaimed that the great waterfall of
God’s
grace was now being outpoured, so you and
I are held in the arms of pastors as the great waterfall of God’s grace is poured out upon us in Holy Baptism. For now through
water and His Word Jesus takes us up as children in His arms and
blesses us with His forgiveness, with His Spirit, with His life and salvation.
All of His Words and promises are given to us and fulfilled for us
there. From that moment on, we too, like Simeon, can depart in peace.
But if
we do not, if it is not yet time for us to depart and God sees fit to give us
life and breath for a while after that, then like Anna, we hear this Word of the
great waterful of God’s grace poured out upon us,
and we begin to pour it out upon others. This is what Paul was writing to the
Christians in Colossae, as we heard in the Epistle, describing the Christian
life as one of pouring out compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and
patience; as one of bearing with one another and forgiving each other; as one
of loving and harmony and thanksgiving; as one where the Word and promises of
God dwell in us richly as they did in Simeon. That the great waterfall of grace
we have received we also give, that whatever you do, in word or deed, do
everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through him.
Sometimes
we do that, sometimes we don’t. That’s our reality - we’re saints but we’re also sinners. We’re God’s children but we don’t always live like it. I’m sure Simeon had his moments too, waiting and waiting to
see the Lord’s Christ. So
when you get dirty living in this world, when you don’t live as the child of God you are,
when you wallow in you sin, be washed again under the great waterfall of God’s forgiveness, hearing the word of
His absolution spoken to you both publicly and privately, forgiving and being
forgiven by one another, and then also come and receive Body and Blood of the
Lord’s
Christ, not held in your arms but placed in your mouth; given and shed for you
for the forgiveness of your sins.
And
then, as we do in the liturgy, sing with Simeon his song of faith: Lord
lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word. Which you can
sing, for you too have heard, you too have seen with the eyes of faith, and you
too have received this great waterfall of God’s grace, and so are filled with peace and joy. The peace and joy
that surpasses all understanding. The peace and joy that only your Saviour can
give.
And when
that is given, you are blessed, whether you’re merry or you’re not. For you have received something far more and far
greater than happiness: you have received the Lord of all, who has redeemed you
and made you His own, His dear child. And now in His arms, He rejoices
over you!
In the
Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.