Christmas: The Big Perspective

For my eyes have seen Your Salvation. -Luke 2:30

To say the Holy Gospel appointed for this day has a lot in it would be an understatement. Its length is over 400 words. Included among those words are the following subjects:

The days of purification according to the Law of Moses.
The Presentation
The Sacrifices prescribed by the LORD God for dedication.
The Temple (Herod’s Temple)
The devout man Simeon.
The Holy Spirit.
The revelation to Simeon that he would not die before He saw the Christ.
The Nunc Dimittis (Latin for “now you dismiss”).
The potent and poignant address from Simeon to Mary.
The devout prophetess, Anna of the tribe of Asher.
The “very moment” Anna spoke out concerning this child.
The Redemption of Jerusalem
The devout father and mother Joseph and Mary.
The Child Jesus, Who continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom, with the grace of God upon Him.

It is this Christ Jesus who is at the heart and center of this Gospel and all that is preached and administered to you in this place and on this day.

But let us take things up a notch in the way of “a lot.” Yes, there is a lot in this Gospel text. From a wide angle lens perspective consider this:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

For some time and space perspective – because time and space are created for you in the beginning, consider this, O you who of late have been looking at the skies to see a rare convergence of planets: By all appearances you are fairly well just sitting there, but do you have any idea how fast you are moving right now? How fast are you moving right now?

Just by virtue of the earth spinning on its axis, and by virtue of living near the 41st parallel (the 90th parallel is The North Pole, and the 0th parallel is the equator), you are moving fast enough to get from here to Elkhart in one second. “One thousand one.” 18-1/2 miles just like that.

Because you live on God’s created planet earth which is place in a solar system within a galaxy within a universe, you are moving fast enough to go from here to Buffalo, New York in one second. “One-thousand-one” 375 miles.

It may seem arcane, or odd, that I would bring this up, but the LORD God would have you know that the same creation you inhabit - which at its first was formless and void – has taken its shape and now has you in it because God speaks His Word and through it sustains all things.

And that is not all. Believe me, that is not all.

It is this same creation that came about in and through the same Christ Jesus that Simeon holds in his arms, and whose father and mother bring Him to the temple at the appointed time, the fulness of time – a time when the nations were largely at peace and a common language extended over a wide range of lands, when there was no broadcast media, film, photography, audio recording, internet, Facebook, YouTube, and so many selfish distractions - so that He may be dedicated to God in His Holy Temple for your sake, out of God’s everlasting love, so that He may be your Temple in His very flesh, so that you make take refuge in Him and He shall cover you with His blood and righteousness.

You see, the same Spirit of God that hovered over the waters before there was light has also caused the four Holy Gospels to be written. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, whom the Church recognizes this day, and whose Gospel ends by saying:

Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

But it is the Holy Gospel of St. Luke, placed into your hearing this day, that begins by saying (and all this is formed by your Father in heaven out of the cosmos by the Holy Spirit from the beginning for you to hear this day as you move at 375 miles per second):

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.

St. Luke’s investigation is not in vain. No other of the Gospels has these passages or references to Simeon, Anna, and all the things listed at the beginning of this message.

So think of it. That whole formless and void “ball of wax” in the beginning has been shaped and formed in such a way that you now are in it, moving more quickly than your reason and senses are able to perceive. The same spirit of God has seen to it that the Gospel of Christ Jesus, by Whom and through Whom all things were created and are sustained, has reached your ears. Through this Gospel His everlasting righteousness is applied to you not only in this body and life, but in the life of the world to come.

I will rejoice greatly in the LORD,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

“Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word,” says Simeon.

He does not use the word “Kyrie” when he says LORD. He uses the word “despota.” He refers to a master into whose hands all authority is placed, included the authority to cause death and life; to forgive and retain sins. And that is precisely Who this Christ Child is, for He alone can release the prisoners of sin and death and the devil. He alone, though His innocent suffering and death and His resurrection from the dead can satisfy the wrath of God and reconcile all flesh to the Father.

Also, Simeon does not use the word “logos” when he says, “according to your word,” but the word “rhema,” which refers to things that have been spoken and written by God through the prophets. To hold the Christ Jesus in his arms and to look at Him with his own eyes, is a confirmation of, is in accord with, agrees with, and is proof of all he had studied and learned from the Holy Scriptures by the grace of God, for he was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

The same holds for you who are baptized into Christ Jesus and abide in him. You do not cast the Sacred Scriptures aside, but having been saved by your Father in heaven through Christ Jesus, you hold the Scriptures sacred and gladly hear and learn them, for these are they which testify of Christ Jesus.

So then, it is He who made the heavens and the earth who has come down to save you. His right hand and His holy arm are bared and shown before all the nations as this one Child is lifted up, first in Simeon’s arms, and soon upon the Cross, as the sacrifice that delivers you for all time and eternity from the terrors of your sin and death, and from a creation that for a short time is subject to futility.

Consider how small you are and how great is the creation into which God has placed you – not by accident, but at just the right time according to his purposes for you. Then consider how He places three simple words in the middle of this Gospel: “Depart in peace.”

The immensity of the entire creation, both the heavens and the earth, this day come down to these three words, “Depart in peace,” given by the Holy Spirit, the paraclete, for Simeon to speak while Holding the Christ Child in his arms. These three words are also given to you to hear and to sing aloud with joy, having received that very same Christ Child into your body for the forgiveness of your sins and everlasting life. The words “depart in peace” are spoken to you each time you depart from this altar of the Sacrament of Christ’s precious body and blood. That is what your pastors, Christ’s called and ordained servants of the Word, say to you after you have received the body and blood of your Savior, Christ Jesus. “Depart in peace.”

It is interesting to note more precisely what Simeon says, as opposed to the Nunc Dimittis you sing in nearly all instances of Divine Service. You sing and pray by song, “LORD, now lettest Thou thy servant depart in peace.” The sense of it is that you are asking the LORD to do this, to let you depart in peace.

Yet here is more literally what Simeon, who lives and is counted with you among the saints who abide in Christ Jesus, says. Here is what he says: “Now You send Your servant away, O LORD, according to Your word, in peace.” “Now You send Your servant away, O LORD, according to Your word, in peace.”

Now, whether these words are spoken as a way of asking God to act, or stating that He is already acting, the net effect is the same, because God in Christ Jesus has reconciled you to Himself, brought you to Himself, joined His flesh to yours, married you as His bride. “You are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.” He has answered and acted out of His everlasting love from all eternity to let you depart in peace; to dismiss you in peace. To turn you lose from your bondage so that you may love and serve both God and neighbor out of the abundance of His mercies.

For this Christ Jesus is your Peace, and there is no other. Not only the Law of Moses with all the demands for sacrifice, but the whole law of God has been taken up and delivered for you through this Christ Jesus. Where you have failed and been unfaithful, he has gained the victory out of an everlasting love and faithfulness to the Father for you, even as the Father, out of His everlasting love for you gave His only begotten Son into death and raised Him up.

This is a peace for people of every age, no matter what age they are. From the prophetess Anna at 84-years old, widowed and seemingly alone, to the man Simeon, to the infant as yet unborn, for the Word of God who was in the beginning took upon Himself your nature from the very point of conception in the womb. This is a peace the world cannot give.

You were conceived and born into this creation at a time not of your choosing. Your were conceived and born with a condition you could in no way escape apart from the grace of God, as one who could not, would not, and did not recognize or come to your Creator.

It was necessary for Him who was given in the fulness of time to seek you out, and now that He has sought you out and brought you into His kingdom, you may depart in peace, whether it be from this altar of His Holy body and blood week after week, day after day, or whether it be from this life into the bosom of the Father, where He will bear you up just as he has, with His outstretched arm, born up His own people from age to age as He calls them by His Gospel.

There is peace and life — for you and for the many — in this forgiveness because it is a forgiveness that resides in the heart of Christ, and flows from His heart to all the members of His Body. His Body bears with you, and in love His Body shares your burdens as His own. His Body forgives you all of your sins, whatever your trespasses may be.

It is all the blessed good work of this little One who has opened the womb of His Mother, who was brought up to Jerusalem and presented to the Lord: not only in the Temple, but once-for-all upon the Cross.

This One is your Peace.

Though you have not been righteous and devout.
Though you have not kept the Law.
Though you have not been faithful in praying and singing and confessing His Word.
Though you have not fasted, and have not been in the Temple as you ought.
Though you have not honored your parents or cherished your spouse or cared for your children or loved your neighbor.

This little One, the Babe, the Son of Mary is your Peace.

He has performed everything in fulfillment of the Law.

He has grown in wisdom and stature for you, and He is strong.

The grace of God is upon Him, and His grace is upon you. In Him you see not death, but the Lord’s Christ, whose Body bears all your sins and bestows forgiveness.

Take His Body now into your arms, bless God, depart in peace, and live.

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