"Seeing Salvation" The Presentation of Our Lord and the Purification of Mary Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany February 2, 2014 Luke 2:22-32
How do you see what you need to see? You look. You use your eyes. That's what Simeon did. He saw the Messiah with his own two eyes. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord's Christ. And now that he saw Him he was seeing what God had promised: salvation. He prayed to God, "My eyes have now seen Your salvation. You may let Your servant depart in peace. I can now see death because I have seen Your salvation." How do you see what you need to see? It's an important question. God has promised you salvation. God has promised you that when you see death you will enter into eternity. How do you see that salvation? Dear Friends in Christ, you see it in the very same way dear old Simeon did as he held in His arms the Lord's Christ. That Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, he held in his arms was about a month old. And there was Simeon, holding Him, looking at Him. Seeing salvation. He could now die. Now he could see death, knowing that he had seen the Lord's salvation. Simeon received a direct revelation from the Holy Spirit that this would happen. What you have received is a direct, personal promise of God that in Baptism you have been saved. At the moment you were Baptized you were sealed for salvation. You were born into new life that has no end. Once you were Baptized, whether you live or die, you are the Lord's. You can see death knowing that you are saved eternally. What did Simeon see? He saw the Lord's Christ. He saw the baby Jesus in his arms and then he was ready to go. He was ready to be called home by his Lord, ready to die and enter into eternal rest and glory. He could depart in peace. What Simeon saw was a one-time event. He saw Jesus that day in the temple and then Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus ended up going back home. Simeon did not continue to gaze upon his precious little Savior. He saw Him once and then God in His own time would call him Home. What you experienced in your Baptism is a one-time event. You were saved in those waters. But that's not the end of it. Oh no. Your Lord wants you to see His Christ, His Messiah, your Savior Jesus, again and again and again. He wants you to see His salvation again and again. The way you do is by seeing Jesus. And unlike Simeon this is a repeated event. How do you see what you need to see? How do you see the salvation your Lord has given you? You use your eyes. You look at where He has shown you His Christ, His Son, your Savior, is present. For Simeon it was in the temple. For you it is in His Gospel and His Sacraments. It is no accident that God sends men--prophets, apostles, and pastors--to proclaim His word of the Gospel. You can see them. You can hear them. When the Gospel is purely taught and proclaimed you are seeing and hearing God's salvation. It's not for no reason that God gives His salvation in the waters of Baptism. You can see that water. You can hear it splashing. You can see the pastor speaking the words, "I Baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." You can hear him speaking those words upon the person being Baptized. You are seeing the very salvation of that person in that Sacrament, the word of the Gospel given in visible form. It's not a small thing that God forgives you in things like bread and wine. You can see that bread and look upon that wine. You can taste it, and swallow it. You can see and hear the pastor speaking the words of Christ in consecrating that bread and wine. You are seeing your Lord's salvation in that bread and in that cup. Just as Simeon gazed upon his Savior and God's salvation in that baby, you gaze upon your Savior and His salvation in that bread and wine, His body and blood being given to you in the bread and wine. This is all true, but isn't it different from what Simeon experienced? He actually saw Jesus. We don't see Jesus when the Gospel is proclaimed and when a person is Baptized. We don't see the actual body and blood of Jesus in the bread and wine. So isn't it a different thing from Simeon? It's true that there was only one time on earth, for a period of about thirty years, that Jesus was present as a human being where people saw Him as you and I see each other. It's true that He ascended into heaven and so we no longer see Him in this way. But this shows us more how it is similar with us and Simeon than how it is different. What were the words of Simeon? "My eyes have seen your salvation." These are words not of intellectual comprehension but of faith. There were others milling around the temple that day who, when they saw the baby Jesus, saw simply a baby. Simeon, he saw salvation. He saw the Lord's Christ. He saw with his eyes but he believed by faith. He didn't see simply a baby but his Savior. It's the same with you. You see with the eyes of faith as well. Whereas many people would see a preacher and see just another man who's got some religious things to say to others, you see him by faith--the one the Lord has called to proclaim Christ and Him crucified. While most people would see the application of water and the speaking of words of being Baptized in the name of the Triune God as a ritual, you see it with the eyes of faith. You see salvation happening. You see Christ at work in that person's life. Though most people see simply bread and wine in the meal that we call the Lord's Supper, you see that bread and wine in faith. You see and believe that in that simple bread and wine the very body and blood of Christ is given to you. And there's something else you see. You see salvation. You will one day see death. It will happen. There are only two people who have not experienced this, and you probably shouldn't think that God is going to take you to Himself in heaven bypassing death as He did with Enoch and Elijah. When Christ returns in glory on the Last Day all those living will not die but rather by judged, unbelievers to eternal condemnation and believers to eternal life. But until He does, people keep dying. You don't know when you will die. Simeon knew it wouldn't be before he had seen the Lord's Christ, you just simply know it will be in the Lord's good time. You also know that it is the same way with you as it was with Simeon. You see the Lord's Christ and you see His salvation. You are prepared. You may now see death knowing this. You may now depart in His peace. You are ready to die, you have seen His salvation. That's our prayer together after receiving the Lord's Supper as we sing the words of Simeon, "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel." You know that in a few minutes after that you will receive the Benediction and you will go into the fellowship hall and drink coffee and eat some donuts. You know that as you depart from here you will be heading into another week where you will work and carry out your responsibilities and juggle schedules and take care of things you need for yourself, and things you need to do for your family, or things you need to do for those organizations or groups you belong to. You know that this week will present challenges to you like any other week. You know that you will sometimes wonder how Sunday translates into any given day of the week. How having heard the Gospel and having received the Lord's Supper makes a difference in your life when you're carrying out the day-to-day things of ordinary life. How departing in peace means anything when sometimes your life is anything but peaceful. When this week you're going to be struggling against temptation. You're going to be wondering why you have to deal with death, whether your own mortality or the pain of having lost your loved ones to death. You will wish at times that you could see something as clear as what Simeon saw, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh Himself, in his very own arms. And you know what you will be able to do? See. You will be able to look, to use your eyes, to see salvation. It doesn't matter if you're blind or deaf or have 20/20 vision and can hear like a hawk. You will be able to see your Lord's Christ. You will be able to see His salvation. Because God won't leave it up to you to see these things. He will show them to you. He will open your eyes, He will give you the faith to see. He will make known, boldly can clearly, His Gospel to you. He will promise you again and again that though you will see death you have already seen His Son. In seeing His Son you have seen His salvation. He will not flash it before your eyes and make you go on your way with that image in your mind as you try to hold on to it. No, He will give you again and again His Son, so that you may see Him and see His salvation. He will invite you again and again to hear His Gospel proclaimed and to receive the body and blood of His Christ, your Savior Jesus. He will daily bring His Word into your home and your life with the remembrance of your Baptism, that daily you die to sin in repentance and daily you rise to new life in the forgiveness He gives through His Christ, your Lord and Savior. You will see things in a whole new way. You will see people in a whole new light. Rather than waiting for and wishing God would in some way show you who He is and that He is with you, you will see what Simeon saw: that you have seen the Lord's Christ, you have seen His salvation. And now you are ready. You are ready to die. Which means that now you can truly live. Rather than living for yourself, you can live in utter reliance on God. Relying solely on His word, His promise. That He has given you His Son. You have seen Him, you have seen His salvation. Now you can see those in your life and those God places in your life as precious individuals that the Lord's Christ has died for. As the joy was set before Him to endure the cross, you can in joy love others and serve them in their needs and bear their burdens with them and be patient with them and show them mercy. You are prepared to see death, you are prepared to live. Now you see by faith and live by faith. Then you will see Him face to face. Amen. SDG -- Pastor Paul L. Willweber Prince of Peace Lutheran Church [LCMS] 6801 Easton Ct., San Diego, California 92120 619.583.1436 princeofpeacesd.net three-taverns.net It is the spirit and genius of Lutheranism to be liberal in everything except where the marks of the Church are concerned. [Henry Hamann, On Being a Christian] _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
