Keeping a Promise

Keeping a Promise – Luke 2:22-35
Sermon for January 5^th, 2013

Our scripture today comes from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 22 through 35.           

            When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

            Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

            And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Will you pray with me?

God may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable to you. We ask that you be with us during the hearing and doing of your Words and in these ancient words, may we find a living word. Amen.

            Promises. I can distinctly remember one of the first promises my mom ever made to me. I was about 5 years old and my parents decided it was time for me to have a “big kid” bedroom. They took down my fun polka wallpaper and replaced it with this peach floral striped wallpaper. My mom promised me that although I may not like it much at that time, I would like it when I was older. Ten years later, I felt like that promise had been broken because I still didn’t like it. I realized that by “older” my mom meant her age, not 15 and I decided it was time to paint my room lime sherbet green. It’s been almost ten more years since I painted my room, but my bathroom still has that same peach floral wallpaper and I’m STILL not old enough to like it.

            Promises. For a few years, my dad’s mom, Grandma Taylor had been BEGGING me to sing “O Holy Night” at our church’s Christmas Eve service. Although I had sung at our church several times before, I was also absolutely terrified of singing in public and always refused to do it when she would ask me. Finally, Christmas 2008 rolls around. My Grandpa had passed away that August and Grandma decided it would be okay to leverage that. “You know Erin, I would really love to hear you sing on Christmas Eve… and now that I’m getting older and especially with Bob gone, this COULD be my last Christmas… but if you’re too afraid to sing I GUESS that’s okay….” Overwhelmed with guilt I reluctantly promised to do it if she promised to be there, which of course she would because that was her favorite service of the year. Christmas Eve came, I had practiced the song several times but still had what felt like giant walruses flapping around in my stomach, and my Grandma DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER TO SHOW UP! She tried to tell me being in the hospital was a valid excuse for not coming, but I still teased her for not showing until the following Christmas Eve service.

            Promises. About two months ago when I found out I needed to get my wisdom teeth taken out, several people promised me that it would be easy and not hurt one bit. As we all know, that promise was clearly broken.

            Promises. We’ve all made them. We’ve all broken them. We’ve all had promises broken. The Bible talks quite a bit about promises. We find several of them throughout both the Old and New Testaments. We read about promises God makes with us and promises that others have made with God. Right now, we are transitioning from the season of Advent to the season of Epiphany – from the season of God being revealed to us to the season of God being with us. We are witnessing one of the greatest, if not the greatest, promise of all time being revealed to US.

            During my first semester of seminary, my New Testament professor assigned this text from Luke to research and interpret. It used to be one that I glossed over. It seemed like just a filler story. It didn’t seem that exciting. Jesus was already born… but he wasn’t able to do anything cool yet. I mean, newborns are cute and all, but they’re not the most exciting people to read about. I much preferred the excitement of rushing to the stable or Jesus getting sassy with the Disciples. After having to write a paper on this scripture and after rewriting it a few times because, according to my professor my first three drafts were not worthy of the B that I ultimately earned, I began to read this text much differently. It was no longer dull or just a filler. I fell in love with this story. I fell in love with the character of Simeon, sorry Sam.

            To best understand this passage in the Book of Luke, we need to take a look at what is happening just before Simeon’s encounter with the Messiah. Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the temple to be named and circumcised. Naming and circumcision are traditional rites of passage in the Jewish tradition and occur when a male child is eight days old. With this assumption, the time period in which this passage takes place is most likely around the year 4 B.C., which is during the reign of King Herod and the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire came into power through conquest and was followed by subsequent taxation of those who were conquered. Herod also came into power with much resistance from the Jewish elders in Jerusalem. For generations, the Jewish people faced oppression and marginalization from those in power and faithfully awaited the arrival of the prophet who would fulfill God’s promises and shake the powers that had been exploiting and harming them for so l ong.

            The Holy Spirit has told Simeon, an old, pious, Jewish man, that he will not die before encountering the Messiah. Simeon is said to have had two oracles come to him with this message, similar to those who came to Elizabeth and Zechariah announcing the birth of John the Baptist and then to Joseph and Mary announcing the birth of Jesus the Messiah. Simeon has faithfully held fast to the texts of the Torah, which tell of the prophet, of the coming King who will bring God’s peace to all of Earth.

            Although Jerusalem is controlled by the Roman Empire, Judaism still has a strong presence. The temple, in Judaism, is the central location for liturgical gatherings as well as the center for Israel’s hopes and affections. Jesus’ presentation at the temple is a pivotal moment in not only his life, but for all of those in Jerusalem—especially those who are Jewish and the officials of the Roman Empire. For Jesus, this is his recognition of birth and entrance into the Jewish community. This is God coming to be with God’s people… to walk among His own people… to talk with them... to grow with them… to BE with them. For those who practice Judaism, this could potentially be the long awaited Messiah. This could be the one who is to deliver them from suffering, sorrow, and rejection. For the officials of the Roman Empire, this could be the force that challenges them and leads to their fall and the end of their reign. This eight-day-old baby could turn their world upside down. This newborn child has the potential to put an end to political dominance and the oppression that the Jewish people have endured for hundreds upon hundreds of years.

            The temple serves as a symbol for the people of Israel. The temple is where they gather to worship God, the One who gives them hope for a future with no more tears, no more suffering, and little to fear. The temple is where they are able to strip themselves of what separates them from their community and just simply bask in the presence of God and in the HOPE they have found in God’s promises. Having Jesus and Simeon’s lives intersect at the temple is a way of giving proof to the Torah texts and God’s prophecy being revealed. The temple, especially in this particular case, serves as a pivotal place for the people of God and for the prophet. The temple is where God keeps His promise.

            We know that for quite some time, the people of Israel have been awaiting the Messiah—the one who would bring God’s peace to Earth. Within the texts of the Torah, the revelation of God on Earth was expected to be in the form of royalty and extravagance. And as for Simeon… oh for Simeon, he KNEW that he could not die until he was able to meet the one whom they would call the Messiah. He had absolute faith that one day, he would meet the Messiah. As he awaited consolation of Israel, he felt the Holy Spirit come in contact with him, declaring that he would meet the Lord’s Messiah before his death and that he should go to the temple. And so he went…

            When Simeon got to the temple, he met God face to face. He held the Christ child, he held an 8-day-old newborn baby in his arms and he knew in that very moment that God’s promise was being kept. As he kissed the tender cheek of Jesus, he kissed the tangible face of God. As he listened to the giggles and coos of this small child, he found hope for the people of Israel. As he wiped away the tiny tears of this precious gift, he wiped away the tears of thousands who came before him and helped to dry the tears of all who would come after him. Simeon was overwhelmed with pure joy and from the most inner depths of his soul cried out to God, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

            I don’t know whether it’s Simeon’s devout faith or his pure joy, but there is just something about Simeon that makes him so appealing. It’s taken about two years to understand why, but I recently figured out what exactly it is that made me fall so in love with Simeon. I realized that I have known Simeon my entire life. Simeon is my mom’s mother, my Grandma Woodson. My Grandma was one of the strongest, if not the strongest, women I have ever met. Her faith was so deep and genuine that it wasn’t a mustard seed – it was a mustard vineyard. She was also full of joy. She was always singing or dancing or laughing or lifting up prayers of gratitude to God or sharing her faith with others. In fact, she was filled with so much joy and laughter that when all of the grandchildren saw her during the funeral, we didn’t even recognize never because it was pretty much the first time we had ever seen her with her mouth shut. 

            This past May, my Grandma lost her home of 50 plus years do to imminent domain by a large cooperation in our hometown of Lake Charles. The corporation had decided to take her home to build a private exit off of the interstate, which would create direct access to their business. It was an incredibly emotional time for all of us that was clouded with a lot of anger and a lot of pain… except for my Grandma. Any time we asked her how she was doing, she would always reply by saying, “Oh, I know that the Lord is taking care of me. He promised to take cake or me and I know He is. I’m so blessed and favored by God.”

            Right around the time that she found out she’d lost this year long battle with the state and the cooperation, she was given incredible news that was sure to make her even more joyful. Come early November, she would have her first great-grandchild. Her face lit up when she talked about Isabel. She couldn’t wait to see her face, to hold her, to love her, to teach her, to nurture her just like she had for all of us grandchildren. Isabel was born the same day that my Grandma went in for the routine surgery that would ultimately lead to her leaving us. My cousin called her to tell her the good news and she was elated. We showed her pictures of Isabel that would hold her over until she was able to come up to Dallas, where my cousin and brand new second cousin live, for Christmas. When my Grandma saw Isabel’s face on the screen of my uncle’s iPhone, she knew that God’s promise was being fulfilled. Just like Simeon did when he saw the face of the long awaited Messiah, she knew that God’s love and God’s promises would be passed down and revealed for the following generations. Isabel will never know our Grandma in the way that we did, but as long as she knows the love of Christ, she will certainly know her Great Grandmother.

            Just like Simeon did for the Israelites, she served as a vehicle that would allow God’s unbroken promises to be manifested in our lifetime. There are some promises that may end up broken. There are some times when we may break promises ourselves. But nevertheless, God’s promises are never broken. God promises to hold us, to love us, to teach us, to nurture us and ultimately to join with Him in eternal worship when our lives on Earth have come to a pause. God’s promises are NEVER broken.  Although the execution may be different than we expected, God will never let us down. Israel expected a righteous, powerful king. What they got instead was a fragile, meek baby. When Simeon held this same fragile, meek baby at the temple, he gave us proof that God’s promises are never broken and that God will deliver us out of a system based on greed and power and bring us into a world that is abundant in peace and overflowing with the joy found in the Lord. Like my Grandma with Isabel, Simeon may never see the effects of God’s promises being fulfilled through any other manner aside from a sky light view from Heaven, but that’s okay. Both Grandma and Simeon held fast to their faith and all they needed was to just see the baby… to see the precious, new gift that was so freely and so lovingly given to us.

            Just like Simeon holding the baby Jesus, just like my Grandma seeing the face of Isabel for the first time, the hope of God’s promises transcends generations and brings about peace amongst the people of God. We are promised a living Word. We are promised peace. We are promised salvation for all people. We are promised light and that will lead us into God’s revelation and God’s glory. This isn’t just a story for the people of Israel or an account of what happened one day at the temple. This is a covenant made between God and all of God’s children. God promises bring light into darkness, to bring peace into chaos, to bring joy into suffering, and to bring about a new Israel in the midst of decades of destruction.

            This book isn’t just words and sheets of paper; it’s a promise that God made with you. It’s a promise that God made with you, Polly. It’s a promise that God made with, Kaye. It’s a promise made to you, Cat. It’s a promise that God made with you, John. It’s a promise that God made with you, Mark. It’s a promise made for me. It’s a promise made to each and everyone of us. It’s a promise that is to be kept and is being fulfilled each and every day that we see God’s love made tangible and face of Christ in the people that we encounter. God’s promise cannot and will not be broken. Simeon had absolute faith that God would fulfill His covenant with Israel and that he would see the Messiah before he met his death. We too must follow in the footsteps of Simeon – to place our faith in it’s entirety into the hands of God… to rest assured that God has made an unbreakable promise with us.

            You know, we make some promises too. We promise coats to children who otherwise may freeze during the crisp winter air. We promise a safe place for women and children who are victims of abuse. We promise backpacks of food so that families can have something to eat over the weekend. We promise a place where we can worship together and to grow in Christ. We promise a table where ALL are welcome. When we gather around this table, we gather in the presence of a promise – God’s promise to bring us out of the darkness and into the light of the risen Christ. When we gather around THIS table, we gather with those who have come before us like Simeon, like my Grandma, who knew with every fiber of their being that God would keep His promise. We renew and celebrate that promise every single week when we come together to share in communion and celebrate the life and resurrection of Jesus – to celebrate the promise that God keeps with us.

            On the night Jesus was to be betrayed, he gathered with his disciples for their final meal together and he made them a promise. He took bread and broke it saying, “This is my body, broken for you. Take, eat, and do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup, raised it, and said, “This is the cup of the new covenant – my blood poured out for you. Take, drink, and do this also in remembrance of me.” When we gather together at this table, God’s promise to us is made tangible. This is a promise made with all of God’s people. You do not have to be a member of this church or any church to share in communion. Christ extends the invitation, we merely set the table. Come and share in the living promises of God.