Text: Luke 2:22-32
Facebook live : My eyes have seen your salvation!
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
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.”
What is Peace?
Is it the absence of war?
Only when we feel safe?
While thins go well for some others struggle.
At times, Peace can seem unobtainable.
Peace though, can take on the many different looks, both for young and old, from the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, to the man Christ Jesus hanging on a cross crying out,
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
But there is both joy and true peace for all, in Christ’s sinless life and in his purifying death that allows all who depart this life, trusting in Christ Jesus as both savior and Lord, to receive eternal peace!
St. Luke writes in his gospel about Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the temple of the Lord to make a sacrifice as the Law required.
And while there a man named Simeon, who as we are told was righteous and devout and waiting for the consolation of Israel, or the comfort and peace of God, and we’re told that the Holy Spirit was upon him.
27 … 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 see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
I’ve had a joyful time visiting with many members in their home, and in the hospital or care facilities, and bringing the Lord’s Supper to them as it was difficult for them getting to church on a regular basis.
Many would always tell me how much they enjoyed being in worship and wished they could be there with us again, but they are thankful well when they can attend and so enjoy receiving the Lord’s Supper in their home or hospital, when they can’t.
We can all see the effects of time in our lives as we look into the mirror each morning.
As much as we might all hope to have the blessings of a long life, as so many are blessed to do, the reality of death is real and sooner or later we will all answer the door when death knocks.
But also, we have comfort and peace because:
Death’s sting has been swallowed up in victory by our Lord Jesus Christ and His blessed work that frees us from the shackles of our fallen nature, that in and through Jesus Christ and his work, God and man have been reconciled.
As we together grieve the loss of our dear loved ones – as I visited last Saturday with my brother’s extended family at the loss of his brother-n-law who had passed away on vacation, and think about this frail existence we all inhabit here in this world, we can still have hope and peace.
At the time of death, struggles ensue.
Why now?
Why here?
Why me?
When Christ is not involved, peace is hard to come by.
I received this note in the mail about God’s blessings some years back. It was from Cindy Welch, Ed and Virginis Blasius’ daughter. It read:
You may not recognize my name as I've never had the pleasure of coming to a Peace Lutheran Church service. I did happen to be in town several times at Christmas and had the pleasure of hearing Christmas carols in the house from members of the congregation.
Ed and Virginia Blasius looked forward to special visits like those and your monthly visit to their home for an in-home service.
Mom and Dad are both in heaven and I miss them dearly. Today mom would have been 92 and in her honor, I would like to give a check. Thanks to all that made their lives a little brighter. I know how very much it was appreciated by mom and dad.
Our family was blessed to have you and your beautiful congregation in our lives.
Thank you
Cindy Welch
Saying in a sense.
Lord, now you are letting my parents depart in peace,
according to your word; for their eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples …
At the time of death, the Lord can bring comfort and peace, even for the well-known and adored in life like the famous basketball player, Kobe Bryant who died so tragically.
Fr. David Barnes wrote this in the aftermath of his death:
"As sad as Kobe’s death is, a friend texted me today to tell me that a friend of hers attends the same Catholic Church as Kobe and saw him this morning at Mass. There can be nothing more consoling to those who mourn than to know that a loved one worshipped God right before his death because worshipping God is what heaven is.”
- Fr. David Barnes
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
Comfort and peace, is what Ed and Virginia Blasius knew. It is also what so many of our dear members knew and continue to know, and it is what Kobe Bryant knew.
That Christ had come to rescue him and you and I can know that as well and have peace.
Comfort and peace know the joy of Christ Jesus in each of our lives by God’s grace and mercy, through his Word and Spirit.
Comfort and peace, is being called to follow Christ by God’s Holy Spirit who indwells all believers, and is called the comforter even by Jesus himself.
For Jesus says:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Dear friends, you too have access to real peace.
The father through Christ Jesus our Lord, has came to live, suffer, die and rise again for you and me and all who he gives true peace –
found only in His saving arms that were outstretched upon the cross as He gave up His life for you.
Because of Christ’s purifying death he allows you too, to depart in peace!
So when the trials of life burden you, and the storms of life rage, and when even death is near, rest in the peace of Christ no matter the storms of life.
Because, true peace rests in the loving arms of Jesus, the savior of the world, who reminds us in John’s gospel the wonderful comfort that we can all know:
27 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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