Text: Isaiah 61:10-62:3 / Luke 2:22-40
Facebook live: Christ has given you life eternal!
2 The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
As we come to the end of the year that 2020 was there is anticipation for something better. We all hope for a new beginning or at least a blessed end to that which has plagued us all for the last 9 months.
Will the vaccines bring peace or is it even possible in this world of masks, lock downs and health concerns? Businesses are closed and many struggle to keep afloat and wonder what to do next. Is peace even possible?
It seems so very long ago, doesn’t it?
God’s deliverance for his children seemed long in coming too.
We see relief, joy and peace in the face of Simeon depicted on the cover of our bulletin as well as in the words he proclaims in our Gospel reading:
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
700 years before the time of Jesus Isaiah wrote of the hope that would come.
So as God’s heirs – his children – God is our Father too.
We can also proclaim with Simeon the promised joy of his revealing to those in our homes and communities. The light of Christ has been shown to us and we reflect this joy in our lives.
Isaiah promises:
2 The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
Christ has given you life eternal!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
2 The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
As we come to the end of the year that 2020 was there is anticipation for something better. We all hope for a new beginning or at least a blessed end to that which has plagued us all for the last 9 months.
Will the vaccines bring peace or is it even possible in this world of masks, lock downs and health concerns? Businesses are closed and many struggle to keep afloat and wonder what to do next. Is peace even possible?
It seems so very long ago, doesn’t it?
God’s deliverance for his children seemed long in coming too.
We see relief, joy and peace in the face of Simeon depicted on the cover of our bulletin as well as in the words he proclaims in our Gospel reading:
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
700 years before the time of Jesus Isaiah wrote of the hope that would come.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.
The Christ child brought to the Temple by Mary and Joseph is the Lord’s righteousness received by Simeon and spoken of by Anna to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
God’s redemption and word revealed the hope of the Messiah’s coming to Jerusalem as God spoke to the prophets of old, and he continues to reveal that same hope to you and me, and the whole world today in that same word and the word made flesh, our Lord Jesus.
The Lord’s peace was held by Simeon in his arms so long ago but continues to be our peace as in Christ as we are held in the arms of Jesus through the trials of life with our promised deliverance from sin and the curse of the fall.
Covid 19 is nothing new. It is how God’s perfect creation, tainted by sin behaves and the result is death. We see it all around us. Whether through sickness, accident or old age the devil wants you to see this life through the eyes of despair in a world without hope.
Vs 10 on our Old Testament reading today was also included in our Old Testament reading from 2 weeks ago so I think the Lord was want us to hear it and ponder it again.
10I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
God has clothed and has covered you with the salvation of his forgiveness and the royal robes of Christ’s righteousness. As we went into the water of Holy Baptism our sinful rags were washed away and we emerged covered by Christ the spotless Lamb of God. That doesn’t change from infant to youth, teen to adult to old age.
One of my steel guitar friends online Jerry Roller at 81 found out that his cancer was terminal and posted this on facebook on December 18th.
I am under Mercy Hospice and checking out. Looking forward to seeing Jesus; I wish I had served him better. So thankful that he said whosoever comes I will in no wise cast out. Goodbye to my Facebook friends. –Jerry Roller
Jerry was an extremely talented pedal steel guitarist but in his final post on facebook it was all about Jesus and his mercy and grace.
Chapter 62 of Isaiah begins:
62 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
The word continues until Christ returns and this light of Christ, like a burning torch, will continue to bring children into the father’s household through that same mercy and grace.
The Apostle Paul sums it up perfectly in our Epistle:
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. – to be his children - 6 And because you are sons, [his children] God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.
The Christ child brought to the Temple by Mary and Joseph is the Lord’s righteousness received by Simeon and spoken of by Anna to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
God’s redemption and word revealed the hope of the Messiah’s coming to Jerusalem as God spoke to the prophets of old, and he continues to reveal that same hope to you and me, and the whole world today in that same word and the word made flesh, our Lord Jesus.
The Lord’s peace was held by Simeon in his arms so long ago but continues to be our peace as in Christ as we are held in the arms of Jesus through the trials of life with our promised deliverance from sin and the curse of the fall.
Covid 19 is nothing new. It is how God’s perfect creation, tainted by sin behaves and the result is death. We see it all around us. Whether through sickness, accident or old age the devil wants you to see this life through the eyes of despair in a world without hope.
Vs 10 on our Old Testament reading today was also included in our Old Testament reading from 2 weeks ago so I think the Lord was want us to hear it and ponder it again.
10I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
God has clothed and has covered you with the salvation of his forgiveness and the royal robes of Christ’s righteousness. As we went into the water of Holy Baptism our sinful rags were washed away and we emerged covered by Christ the spotless Lamb of God. That doesn’t change from infant to youth, teen to adult to old age.
One of my steel guitar friends online Jerry Roller at 81 found out that his cancer was terminal and posted this on facebook on December 18th.
I am under Mercy Hospice and checking out. Looking forward to seeing Jesus; I wish I had served him better. So thankful that he said whosoever comes I will in no wise cast out. Goodbye to my Facebook friends. –Jerry Roller
Jerry was an extremely talented pedal steel guitarist but in his final post on facebook it was all about Jesus and his mercy and grace.
Chapter 62 of Isaiah begins:
62 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
The word continues until Christ returns and this light of Christ, like a burning torch, will continue to bring children into the father’s household through that same mercy and grace.
The Apostle Paul sums it up perfectly in our Epistle:
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. – to be his children - 6 And because you are sons, [his children] God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
So as God’s heirs – his children – God is our Father too.
We can also proclaim with Simeon the promised joy of his revealing to those in our homes and communities. The light of Christ has been shown to us and we reflect this joy in our lives.
Isaiah promises:
2 The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
Christ has given you life eternal!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen
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