Presentation of Our LORD - Preached February 2, 2014 at St. Paul Dewberry, IN and Resurrection Centerville, IN

 

Sermon Text:      Luke 2:22-40

Title:          Tune Changing 101

 

I.        The song of Simeon – for many years – had been one of lament.

II.       The song of Simeon on this day turned to a song of praise and   thanksgiving.

THROUGH THE CROSS OF CHRIST OUR SONGS ARE TRANSFORMED FROM ONES OF SORROW AND DESPAIR TO ONES OF GREAT JOY AND HOPE.

 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father, and from our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The sermon text for this Sunday, is taken from…

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, 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. 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.”

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I.

I remember when I was growing up, sometimes I would get out of line – I know, hard to believe isn’t it? Sometimes I would be fussing about one thing or another, or I would have a sour attitude and become sassy. My grandma, who I called Meema, watched my younger brother and me a lot growing up. And when my brother or I would get that kind of an attitude I could count on most likely being told one of two things – I better shape up or ship out [my grandpa – Peepa – had been in the navy after all!]. The other one was that I had better change my tune or things weren’t going to get much better, and actually far worse. Being a boy I often times found out what far worse was more than I care to admit.

Have you ever heard that phrase – you better change your tune? I am not sure where it comes from and it probably really doesn’t matter – because we all know what it means. It means that if we know what’s good for us we had better change our attitude or we were likely to find that things were indeed going to get far worse.

In today’s text we find ourselves in the crowded temple of Jerusalem, and in this mass of people we bump into Simeon – a righteous man in the sight of GOD and filled with the Holy Spirit. He was a very old man of Israel and probably spent most of his days in and around the temple preaching and prophesying and singing hymns to GOD and for His people.

If we were there any other day than today we might hear Simeon singing softly a lament for Israel – sorrowful songs of longing to throw off the yoke of the tyranny and slavery of sin. In our text today St. Luke writes…

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. [Luke 2:25]

Here sits this old man against one of the walls of the temple.  He wears dirty, wrinkled and tattered clothes, worn out sandals that have seen many miles of walking the dusty roads of Jerusalem. This ancient man’s dress and demeanor betray his years and personify the songs he sings – of longing for the consolation of his people.

 

Why such a sad tune? First of all Simeon knows his Torah – his Old Testament.  He knows that sin came into the world through Adam and Eve and has been passed down from generation to generation across time like some festering, sickly disease that can’t seem to be eradicated. He knows just as Adam had it – so does he. 

But Simeon – this old and wizened man of Israel – knows that the Torah doesn’t stop there with Adam’s sin. He knows the Promise of the LORD – a Savior from this plight, a cure for this disease, a wrong made right, an answer to their pleas.

So although at times Simeon’s song is one of hope – many times it is one of weeping and longing for salvation from this dreadful place. And this is where we find Simeon today – in the choking dust of Jerusalem wearily resting his tired body against a wall of the temple…

 

II.

…and then Simeon – filled with the Holy Spirit – sees this young man and his wife carrying a Baby and Simeon’s eyes fill with tears.  For as St. Paul tells us [1 Corinthians 12:3] and Simeon proves it – being filled with the Holy Spirit he calls Jesus LORD.

And Simeon’s tune changes. Suddenly are gone the sad and sorrowful tunes and they are replaced with shouts of Hosanna and songs of joy. And the LORD above gives us a truly tremendous gift here in Luke chapter two.  The LORD gives us the song of Simeon…

          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.”

Sounds familiar doesn’t it? It should – it’s been a part of our liturgy in the Lutheran Church as far back as I can remember. And even though I am not as old as Simeon that’s saying something!  It’s a beautiful hymn of praise and thanksgiving for the wonderful gift our Father in Heaven has bestowed on us His dear children.

But given our sinful nature no matter how hard we try to change are tunes with GOD it always comes back sour and out of tune. We keep trying to hit the right notes but just can’t make it happen – and instead wind up sounding like the worst of the failed American Idol contestants. 

 

It takes Jesus and His Cross where He died for us to save us from our sin – here is where we have a tune change.  Here in the Cross of Christ is where the Maestro comes in and painfully writes a symphony in His own blood – allowing us to be a part of this Heavenly song.

 

And all though Jesus gives us the power to be a part of this Heavenly song we still get woefully out of tune and without a special righting of our instruments we would be hopelessly lost. But that special righting of our instruments comes in the way of Christ and His salvation by means of His Word and Baptism and Holy Communion. These are applied to us through Christ and get us adjusted and back into tune – daily.

 

So you see - we really don't change our tunes at all - Christ does all of the changing of our tunes. And then Christ through His blood shed on the Cross for us, gives us – through the power of His Holy Spirit , a song to sing – a song of praise and adoration for our forgiveness and salvation found only in Him. Amen.

 

The Peace of the LORD – which surpasses all understanding – will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus the Light of the world.  Amen.

+ Soli Deo Gloria +