Title: Chris’s purifying death allows you to depart in peace!
Text: Luke 2:22-32
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.”
Long ago a man sought the perfect picture of peace. Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally the great day of revelation arrived. The judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered.
The tensions grew. Only two pictures remained veiled. As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd. A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner. The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace?
A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel it’s cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power.
A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.
Berit Kjos, A Wardrobe from the King, pp. 45-46.
Peace can take on the many different looks, from the baby Jesus being brought into the temple … to the man Christ Jesus hanging on a cross saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) But the joy and peace we can have is because:
Chris’s purifying death allows you to depart in peace!
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, [Mary and Joseph] brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
St. Luke finds it necessary to explain to his gentile audience the rites connected with the purification because they were not familiar with Jewish laws. The mother was unclean, according to the ordinances of Moses, for seven days after the birth of a son, and must then remain separate for a matter of another thirty-three days. These forty days denoted the days of the Levitical cleansing, or purification, Lev. 12. At the close of this period the parents went up to Jerusalem with the Child to present Him to the Lord, for the firstborn of man and beast belonged to the Lord, (Ex. 13, 2,) and had to be redeemed with a sacrifice.
Popular Commentary of the Bible PE Kretzmann NT Vol. 1 Pg 274
So Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the temple to make a sacrifice to the Lord of “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” And while there, to do as the Law required, they run into a man named Simeon who we are told was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, or the comfort and peace of God and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
You may get a feel for this as we here at Peace too see when a baby is brought into the Lord’s house and all the people come and gather around wanting to hold the baby with smiles and joy on their faces. But this brings a bit of a different reaction:
27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
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.”
The joy of seeing this child, this Jesus brought to fulfillment for Simeon what the Lord by the Holy Spirit had promised, that he would not die until he had see the Christ. The joy in Simeon’s song is and will be once again sung by this congregation following the reception of the Lord’s Supper as we too will sing in joy with Simeon what the Lord has given for the forgiveness of the sins of the world.
Chris’s purifying death allows you to depart in peace!
I had a joyful time this past Sunday traveling to my Uncle Ernie’s funeral in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. And though there was sadness in his passing we celebrated joy in his life and all the blessings he enjoyed and gave to those who knew him.
There were many stories told, some about all the things he built from his home and buildings for the church to an airplane he built and learned to fly to hangers at the airport for this EAA chapter that he served as President for many years. But, the greatest joy I heard was a story that my cousin Michael told of faith being something that they learned from their mom so it was quite a blessing to hear at Christmas when the family got together they wanted each member to get up and say or do something that they were really thankful for.
Michael said that when it was dad’s turn he got up and sang the Lord’s Prayer done by Andrea Bocelli … “now rest assured, Mike said, it sounded nothing like Bocelli.” But Ernie wanted to sing it because it was, as he said, so important to him. Faith in Christ is a gift and this gift is:
Chris’s purifying death which allows you, His child, to depart in peace!
Death’s sting has been swallowed up in victory by Jesus Christ and we can all have comfort in His blessed work and this blessed Good News. As we lose loved ones and think about this frail existence we inhabit here in this world we can have peace. Charles Wesley wrote about peace in this way:
I rest beneath the Almighty's shade,
My griefs expire, my troubles cease;
Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed,
Wilt keep me still in perfect peace.
Charles Wesley.
Comfort and peace is in Christ who has come to rescue you. Comfort and peace knows the joy of Christ Jesus in your life. Comfort and peace is being called to follow Christ by God’s Holy Spirit who indwells all believers and is called the comforter by Jesus himself.
For Jesus Himself says that:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Dear friends, you have access to the father through Christ Jesus our Lord who came to live, suffer, die and rise again for you and will give you true peace found only in His saving arms that were outstretched upon the cross as He gave His life for you.
Chris’s purifying death allows you to depart in peace!
So when the trials of life burden you and the storms of life rage rest in the peace of Christ like the little bird who sees not the storm, raging waterfall or crooked little branch but rest in the loving hands of the savior who reminds us in John’s gospel:
7 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
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