Sunday, December 27, 2020

First Sunday after Christmas
Isaiah 61:10-62:3
Psalm 111
Galatians 4:4-7
Luke 2:22-40

Yahweh’s works are great, pondered by all those who delight in them.

Christmas will be over by the time we hear the scriptures for the First Sunday of Christmas, at least for the world. Many stores are already rolling out the spring and Valentine’s Day merchandise. Yet, despite the recommendations to “cancel Christmas” most people seem to be finding joy in the holy day and I’ve even heard people wondering if they could get permission from the home owners’ associations to keep Christmas lights up until February.

There are no more presents under the tree. The celebration may go on since the holiday means an extra long weekend, although this year with the restrictions there will be fewer parties and gatherings. Some people will remove their Christmas decorations over the weekend; we will begin seeing Christmas trees on the curb. Thoughts will turn away from Jesus to the coming of the New Year, an event that many people hope will change our lives for the better again.

It is sad that we rush through one holiday and move on to the next. Here’s the thing, you’ve heard of the twelve days of Christmas, right? Well, it isn’t just a song. The church continues to celebrate Christmas through twelfth night, the night before Epiphany. This Sunday is just the third day of Christmas. Do you think Mary and Joseph were done celebrating the birth of their baby so quickly? They were recovering from the trip and Mary was recovering from the labor, but the joy they felt at the birth of Jesus did not end with the setting sun. Mary still had many things to treasure and ponder about the little boy that had been entrusted to her care and the promises that were fulfilled in Him.

Jesus was surrounded by promises that God had giving to His people throughout their history. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, which came true in Jesus. David was promised that his throne would last forever, which came true in Jesus. The book of Isaiah the prophet is filled with promises fulfilled in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is the culmination of God’s promises.

God spoke much more specific promises to the family of Jesus. Elizabeth and Zechariah were given John, the one who would make way for Jesus. Mary and Joseph were promised the incredible gift of a baby who would truly change the world. Two others were made promises: Simeon and Anna.

Simeon was a righteous and devout man who had the Holy Spirit on him. We do not know his age, but he is portrayed as an older man, white haired and wise in appearance. Tradition holds that Simeon was Gamaliel’s father. We know Gamaliel from the book of Acts, when the counsel was discussing the problem of the Apostles. He told his fellow councilmen to be patient and to let God take care of the situation. “Now I tell you, withdraw from these men, and leave them alone. For if this counsel or this work is of men, it will be overthrown. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it, and you would be found even to be fighting against God!” This was wise advice, although I’m certain the council was hoping everything would turn out much differently.

Gamaliel may have had a concealed motive for speaking such wise words. We know that this Pharisee was a Jewish scholar and teacher of the Law. His most famous student was Saul of Tarsus, otherwise known as Paul. If Simeon was Gamaliel’s father, it is likely he heard that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise. Perhaps Gamaliel knew that the men standing before the Sanhedrin were followers of that baby in the Temple. It is believed that Gamaliel did become a Christian and was baptized by Peter and John, but that he kept his Christianity a secret until his death so that he could remain in the Sanhedrin to offer aid to the Christians who were being persecuted. The Jewish account of his life maintains that he remained a Pharisee until he died. But his speech at the trial of the apostles gives some credence to the possibility that he had faith. His council saved their lives so they could continue to share the Gospel.

God fulfills all His promises and He does so in miraculous ways. We don’t know for sure that there is a familial connection between Simeon and Gamaliel, but wouldn’t it be just like God to do use a father to tell a son to train an apostle to change the world?

God promised Simeon that he would see the salvation of Israel before he died. One day a couple with a young boy came into the temple to dedicate their son. Simeon saw the boy and knew God had fulfilled his promise. He praised God and said, “Now you are releasing your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples; a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.” Simeon’s purpose was to see the Light, which is Christ, and once he saw Jesus he could rest in peace. We do not know what happened to Simeon after that day. I have always assumed he died immediately, but it really does not matter. Here we see the fulfillment of yet another promise.

Perhaps in a way Simeon did die that day. The nation of Israel had certain expectations about the type of Messiah that would come to save them. Simeon was in the temple that day, not because he was waiting for the Messiah but because the Holy Spirit led him there. Imagine his thoughts when he realized he was seeing the salvation of God in the flesh of a poor infant child. Could the Messiah, the king of Israel that would bring salvation to the Jews, really be found in such a humble being? What were his expectations of the promise? Did he believe with unwavering doubt or did he go forth with the same question we have heard throughout the birth story? “How can this be?”

Anna also knew God’s promises. She never left the temple, spending all her days and nights worshipping and praying. When she saw Mary and Joseph’s child, she praised God and told everyone who was waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises that she had seen the Redeemer. How many did she tell? Why weren’t there more people who knew that Jesus was the one for whom they had been waiting?

Why did the Jews doubt when Jesus appeared thirty years later? In the nativity story we see the shepherds sharing the Good News. The wise men asked around Jerusalem before they met with Herod. Certainly people had heard about the birth of this new King and wondered. Yet when Jesus began His ministry thirty years later, few people believed in Him. The stories of the Nativity may have become nothing more than myth, or they were not associated with Jesus of Nazareth; the people did not see Jesus as the miracle He is because they had no proof that He was the boy about whom the wise men, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna spoke. Myths may make us wonder, but they make us ask “How can this be” and we do not believe.

We have not changed that much over these many years. People are people, after all, and we don’t believe without proof. We put our own expectations on the promises. The baby in Mary’s arms didn’t seem like a Messiah. Thankfully some people had faith to share their stories. Simeon’s telling may have led to Paul’s great work for God’s kingdom. We, too, amidst our own question “How can this be” are called to believe that God has, and does, fulfill all His promises. In faith we glorify God as we praise Him for His faithfulness.

Even as we share in the joy and the miracle of Christmas, we have to face the lingering doubts of our own relationship with God, and Paul’s letter brings these doubts to light. How affectionate is your relationship with God? Is He like a family member with whom we are free to share our deepest thoughts and fears? Or is our relationship with Him strained and uncomfortable? It is interesting that the scripture for today looks at this relationship through the eyes of slavery. We were once slaves to sin, but now are set free to be sons of God. Yet, we tend to hold on to our sins. We are slaves to those things that keep us from knowing and loving God fully and freely.

Christ came, born of a woman, as human as you and I. But He is something much more. He is the Son of the Living God, as fully divine as He is human. He came to make us sons and daughters, setting free those who are burdened by the Law and enabling us by grace to be adopted by God our heavenly Father through faith. The Kingdom of God belongs to us, we are His heirs. And as heirs we are called to be more than children. We have been adopted to live and laugh and love in that Kingdom for God’s glory. We live in an incredible promise.

We try too hard to fit God’s promises into our ideas and expectations. The whole Christmas story is ridiculous; no writer would have created a story with so many miraculous moments because they make it unbelievable. We want God to fit in a box we’ve created. It was no different for those in the days of Jesus. They were looking for a powerful king, not a poor son of a carpenter who grew up in Nazareth. They were looking for a warrior who would defeat their enemies, not an itinerant preacher who would defeat their self-righteousness. They were looking for David. Any stories that might have been passed from those who witnessed the baby Jesus and later remembered would never make sense in the context of their expectations. Jesus didn’t fit.

David knew that the promise would have to be bigger than our expectations; he had hope that the Messiah would be all that God promised. When considering the work of God we might want to reduce it to a few important tasks like giving daily bread and providing deliverance for those who seek His mighty hand. Yet, David saw that God’s work goes even farther than just what we can see happening in the world. He made His wonderful works to be remembered, passing the message of mercy and grace from generation to generation through faith. God remembers His promises; He not only remembers but He is faithful. He provides justice and displays His power for the sake of those He loves. It might seem unbelievable, but it is to be believed, for God always keeps His promises.

The most breathtaking, and inspiring, moments of my life have been in extraordinary places. There’s nothing like standing on top of a mountain, seeing the snow-covered range go on and on seemingly forever. At night, the sky above those mountains is filled with so many stars that they would be impossible to count. A beach at sunrise, with nothing obstructing the view of the rising sun, is amazing. Standing at the foot of a giant redwood is beyond imagination. A field full of bluebonnets, a rainbow sweeping over a plain, and a perfectly still mountain lake can raise in us a sense of wonder and praise like little else. God created all these things and it makes us ponder His greatness.

We are also awed by the power that God has given to the creation. The roar of a lion, the thunder and lightning of a storm, the constancy of the waves crashing against the shore reminds us that we are just a small part of God’s great big world. It is not always pleasant. It is fearful to be in the path of a tornado or a hurricane. The tiniest mosquito can spread life-taking disease. Yet, even those parts of creation have a purpose and are given by God to do His will. A raging wildfire that is out of control is frightening, yet a necessary part of the natural process of forest growth and renewal. We don’t always understand these things, especially when they cause us harm, but as we ponder the world around us we see that God is always worthy of our praise.

I love those extraordinary moments when I can see God’s hand in the world around me. Do we respond to God’s grace with a word of thanksgiving before going on to our normal lives or are we changed forever by what God has done? Those who trust God are changed. They were made new. Faith is not blind. The psalmist confessed his faith in the presence of an assembly, and he did so by recounting the wonderful things God had done. He praised God by referencing the works of His hands. Unfortunately, God’s people often forgot the great and marvelous things He has done and when He came to them in the final and most incredible act of mercy, they did not recognize Him. The people may have heard stories of the Nativity, but they rejected Jesus when He appeared to fulfill the promises of God.

In today’s Psalm, the writer praises God for something much different than the tangible blessings of creation. God’s work as it relates to His relationship with His people is not always obvious or even believable. We have the stories of the Exodus, but we were not there to cross the Red Sea with Moses and the rest of Israel. We can read about the miracles of Jesus and believe in His healing power, but we have not experienced His physical touch. The psalmist knew God’s mighty works among His people, and yet those works were little more than a memory, handed down by generation after generation. These stories are still worth our songs of praise. God did these things, and in them we see His power, faithfulness and grace. Those stories point us to the greatest act of salvation when God sent Jesus. This news fills us with awe; even those who were nearest to Him pondered His life and His purpose.

And so, as we ponder His story and wonder about the witnesses who shared the Good News, we are called to praise Him, not only for the beauty of His creation or for the goodness of His dealings with His people. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and that fear leads us to a deeper and fuller relationship with our God. We know of His power. We also know of His mercy and grace. We know He is faithful. Wisdom is seen in the lives of those who live according to His good and perfect Word; not in the things we can see but in the things that are. This fear – awe – leads us to delight in Him because by His power, mercy, grace, and faithfulness He is done the greatest thing of all: He made us His children and heirs to an eternal kingdom.

The lesson for us this first Sunday after Christmas, and every day, is that God remains faithful even when we are not. He does not desert us because we have doubts, He doesn’t reject us when we wonder. He fulfills His promises and He even reminds us over and over again that He has spoken. He tells us in the most incredible ways, through the most unexpected people. He reveals Himself to us so that we can see that it wasn’t a dream or our imagination. He really has promised these things to us. At Christmas we see the fulfillment of the greatest gift, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the stories of those who were there help us to know that it is real.

The wise men, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna were sent by God to strengthen Mary’s faith. The life of her child would be extraordinary and not always pleasant. She would see her baby rejected, persecuted, beaten and crucified, a promise fulfilled that no mother would want to bear. Yet Mary treasured every word and sign; she pondered them, but she trusted God’s faithfulness even through any uncertainty. We can do the same. We delight in God because He has done this great thing and our praise is our witness to the faithfulness of the God who has kept His promises for His people. This gives us reason to rejoice and to praise God today, tomorrow and always.