First Sunday of Christmas
Luke 2:21-35
When the eighth day came, it was time to circumcise the child, and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to God (as it is written in God’s law, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to God”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in God’s law, “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 God’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, also.”
A Time of Change
Something that I don’t talk about very much is my high blood pressure. It first became a problem for me in my mid-twenties, which is young for that kind of thing, but hypertension runs on both sides of my family. I had medical scare around the time I was getting ready to graduate from seminary. My blood pressure spiked, and I ended up in the emergency room. There was an earlier episode, not as severe, when I first made the decision to go to seminary. What I eventually came to realize was that I apparently don’t handle change very well.
The decision to go to seminary was a big deal, not only in terms of career, but also because I was going to be moving away from my family for the first time. When I moved out of my parents’ house at the age of 22, I moved into an apartment that was only 20 minutes away, and it was only for three years. The thought of going to school 400 miles away was scary.
Change is often scary. I remember when I had to start thinking about moving here to Helena. Not only was it three times further away than when I left for school, it was a whole other state! I had never lived outside of California, before. But, as you know, when the time came for the actual move, I had been through so much trauma with the tree-pruning incident that moving here just wasn’t that big of a deal anymore. Still, it was a big change, and the trauma was an even bigger one.
Change is a part of life. It always has been, and it always will be. Our gospel reading today is about the biggest change that has ever fallen humanity, God coming to Earth as a person, and changing everything that we thought we knew about God and our relationship with God.
The text starts with an echo of last week’s reading; we keep seeing these echoes as we make our way through the first chapters of Luke. Last week started with John’s birth, and his circumcision eight days later. Today, our reading starts eight days after the birth of Jesus. And again, we have someone giving a proclamation about what is happening, this time, a righteous and devout man named Simeon. God told Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah, and now here he is with Jesus right in front of him! And, he scoops the infant Jesus into his arms, 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.”
Simeon is so excited to be seeing Jesus, even as he acknowledges that his death is now coming, because he has seen the Messiah, the salvation for all people, the gentiles and the people of Israel.
Simeon continues, saying to 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, also.”
It’s interesting that Simeon says this here, that Jesus will “be a sign that will be opposed,” because we just talked about this in the weeks leading up to Advent. Jesus is going to be opposed. We’ve been seeing it lately. Not by non-Christians, not by atheists or agnostics…but by some of the very people who claim to be Christian. People going to their evangelical pastors after worship to complain that Jesus is too weak…that Jesus is too “woke.” Don’t talk about weak Jesus here; we need to be strong. Jesus will “be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed.” What does it tell you when people start saying that Jesus is too “woke,” too accepting, too respectful, too forgiving? Jesus came to change things; he was subversive, he came to shake up the status quo. But, here we are, two-thousand years later, and some people still haven’t gotten the memo.
It’s a cliché that change is hard and that people don’t like it. You don’t have to tell me about how hard it is; sometimes I end up in the hospital because I resist change so much. But, that’s what God is asking us to do. God is asking us to change, to change the world…to look at Jesus’ teachings, to trade in our greed and selfishness and revenge, for sharing what we have with those in need, and turning the other cheek.
In this time of transition, as we move from 2024 into 2025, I invite you to think of the ways that your life and the world around you might be in transition, how are things changing. Maybe you have new people in your life, or maybe you’ve lost someone. Maybe you have a new job or a new hobby, or there’s a new project that you’re starting. Or, maybe you thought it was time to give something up. New Year’s is in a few days…are there any New Year’s resolutions, out there? How has your life changed? How is your life changing?
As human beings, we crave comfort and stability. We value stable homes, steady jobs, mild weather. We want our relationships to last, at least the good ones. But, change is inevitable. Time goes by, milestones are reached, goals accomplished. We move. We get new jobs. We finish school. In fact, things change so much in our lives, it’s surprising that we’re not more used to it.
Now, we all know that change is not always good, because we know that some change is very, very bad. But, change has to happen. Change brings renewal, it keeps the world and the universe a living and dynamic place. Without change, everything would just be frozen. Change is what allows us to grow, and mature, and live. There’s no life without change. We can take comfort in the fact that God knew what the world needed when it was created…why the planets need to spin and orbit the sun…why day must become night…how limitations in time can give the events of our lives meaning.
But, we don’t have the eternity of experience that God does to let us know that things will work out in the end. We’re insecure, not as trusting as we should be, but God understands that. God doesn’t expect perfection from us. God doesn’t abandon us because we’re uncomfortable with change. Instead, God experiences the change with us, even as God is preparing for what will happen next. God is always looking forward, setting the stage for the next act and helping to usher it in. And, God is with us, helping us to discern whether to fight the change, or to let it happen.
I feel this happening in my own life, right now. If I’m being honest, I’m worried about what’s going to happen in 2025, and the years to come. Some people think that I worry too much, and maybe I do. I pray to God that they’re right, and that everything will be okay. Because, we have all lived lives of privilege for so long, that we take so much of what we have for granted. We take a well-stocked grocery store and readily available gas for granted. We take running water and reliable electricity and WiFi for granted. We take a stable government and functioning currency for granted. All of these things could change. I sincerely hope they do not…I like this comfortable life that we live here in the United States, and I am grateful to God every day because of it. But, I worry what we have sacrificed for this life. And, I know that things are not like this all over the world, and if we’re not careful, we might lose some of these things that we like so much.
Times of uncertainty and change will always happen, and even though we might be afraid, we can trust that God has a plan for us…each and every one of us. Most of the time, we won’t know what that plan is, but God will not forget us. God is bigger than our fears, bigger than our uncertainty. God is in the change, and we can trust in that.
I would like to invite you now to think back on your life, your personal history and the history of this congregation, and try to see how God has brought you through each transition, so that you could be right here, right now. Sometimes, God’s presence is subtle, other times it will seem like a raging bull in a china shop. But either way, God has been with you each and every step of the way. Someday, you’ll be able to look back at this time and remember how God was working with us during this time of change. But, we don’t need to wait for the future. The miraculous is happening right now. God is with us at this very moment.
Sometimes, change is scary and big, but we do not go through it alone, and it is always worthwhile to try to notice the work of the divine within it. Try to see it. Try to feel it. We are living the history of God’s people right now, and we do not need to be afraid. Amen.
~ Rev. Charles Wei
