Simeon’s Promise, Your Promise
St. Luke 2:22-32
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
St. Luke 2:28-32 [Simeon] took [Jesus] up in his arms and blessed God and said: “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… You probably know the words of today’s Gospel nearly as well as you know the Our Father. And that is so because you have learned these words in the liturgy of the Divine Service. We sing these words every time we receive the Lord’s Supper, right after Holy Communion. These are the words of the Nunc Dimittis, which is Latin for “Lord, now You are dismissing…”
You probably also know the story behind these words as well. There was a man named Simeon who was divinely informed by God that he would not see death until he saw with his own eyes the Savior, the Messiah; literally the Greek in v. 26 is “the Christ of the Lord.” On the fortieth day after Jesus was born, when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple for the sacrifices required by God’s Law – two turtle doves or two young pigeons – the Holy Spirit brought Simeon to meet them in the temple.
God opened Simeon’s eyes to see that, even though Jesus looked like any other baby, He was the One, the fulfillment of His promise; He was the Savior of the world, and the One about whom God told Simeon that he would not die until he had seen Him with his own eyes. Then Simeon, taking the Child in his arms, erupted in the great words of praise that we sing at the end of the distribution of our Lord’s body and blood.
Simeon said, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace.” The word translated “depart” is better translated “releasing.” God was now releasing Simeon from having to hang on to this world and continue to wait until the Savior came. Now he could, with God’s blessing, enter heaven and be with His Savior.
Remember, up until this moment, Simeon was literally hanging onto God’s promise that he would not die until he saw with his own eyes the Savior, the Messiah, the One who fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophecies. Simeon was, in a way, captive to this world and knew that he would not be released from it until that promise would come true for him. And now that it did, he was simply overcome with joy as the words of the Nunc Dimittis burst forth from his lips.
When you consider this amazing event, it is tempting to think, “Boy, Simeon sure received a unique blessing from God. God certainly must have really favored him.” And that is true to a point, if for no other reason than God let him see and hold in his hands the Savior of the world.
But the liturgy of the Church teaches us to see that all of us receive that very same blessing. What God did for Simeon, He does for you: He places Jesus, the Savior of the world – your Salvation – into your hands, into your mouth, into your life here in this temple, so that whenever God calls you home to be with Him, you also may “depart in peace” according to His Word and be released from this earthly life in peace.
Problem to Interact: Generally, when men go through a stressful cialis generic usa period, they skip being social and interacting with people around him. Yet simple lifestyle changes and a viagra 25mg online bit of a challenge. People tend to be more successful when they have more cialis online http://www.icks.org/html/03_conference.php?seq=28 information about smoking, its health risks, and quitting, so specialized information about common gender differences can make it through all of those school years and stay sane. You can buy Shilajit get viagra online ES capsule, which is one of the Healthiest Organic Supplements out there. This peace spoken of here is not peace in your heart. It is not a warm fuzzy. It is not just some tingly good feeling you get about yourself. Nor does it refer to a peaceful life in this world and peace with your neighbors. In fact, receiving Jesus into your life brings anything but peace as we understand it. And that is because when you have been joined to the Holy One you are immediately engaged in war – a civil war with your sinful nature, and war with Satan and all the sin he launches at you in this life. This war must be fought every single day of your life, every day that God keeps you in this world.
We live in a sinful world. We live in a sinful body. And the devil wants nothing less than to take your soul with him to hell. Those three things – the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh – wage war with us every single day. We are tempted in every way in our everyday life. And we ought never be nonchalant about that, for that is exactly what the devil wants.
If you are not troubled or disturbed by your sins, either because you think God will overlook them, or because you think you are pretty good and holy already, then beware, you are in danger. Repent. If you are not fighting against the sin that God shows you in yourself, then beware, you are in danger. Repent. If you are comfortable partaking of all the sinful things that this world offers, then beware, you are in danger. Repent.
And remember this: even though you must fight and you must struggle against sin, none of your own efforts or strivings will ever give you victory over your sinful nature and your sinful thoughts, words, and deeds. None of your own efforts will ever give you true peace.
Victory and peace, dear fellow redeemed, are given to you only in the hearing of the Gospel of Christ and His coming to you in His sacraments. For here, Jesus the Victor and Himself the Prince of Peace, is given to you into your ears, into your hands, and into your mouth. The sacrificial Lamb of God who Himself has made peace for you with God the Father by His bloody sacrifice and death is given to you in and through these holy mysteries. The peace of which Simeon spoke is peace between you and God; it is a peace that exists because everything God has against you is now washed away and taken away in Christ and in His sacrifice for your sins.
And your life now consists in and through that sacrifice. And the blessings and benefits of that sacrifice are poured into your ears and into your mouth in the Divine Service through Word and Sacrament. Every time you receive that peace through preaching, you are reminded of what you have received when the pastor, at the end of his sermon, says, “The peace of God which passes understanding guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” And the Christian’s response is to receive those words and that peace by saying, “Amen.”
Likewise, every time you eat and drink Jesus who is your sacrifice of peace at this altar, you are dismissed with the words, “Depart in peace.” And the Christian’s response is to receive that blessing of peace by saying, “Amen.”
And then, following the entire distribution of Christ’s body and blood you apply Simeon’s words to yourself as you sing, “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word. For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.”
And you have the same promise that Simeon had – that you will be given and continue to receive your Savior before you depart this life so that in Christ you may leave this world at peace with God; so that in Christ you may enter into His beautiful and glorious heavenly kingdom where there is complete rest from all strife, all sickness, all disease, all suffering, all sin, all death.
You have received Him in the preaching of His Gospel Word. Come now and receive Him who comes to you in His body and blood.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
