The Purification of Mary and the
Presentation of Our Lord
February 2, 2025
Text:
Luke 2:22-40
Old Simeon lays eyes on the
Child and he knows. He sees His
salvation. This is the One who
will redeem Israel, indeed, the world. This
is the One who will save His people from their sins. He takes the Child from the arms of Mary, His
mother, and he prays… to the Child!
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace” (Luke
2:29; ESV). “I can die now, without
fear, with joy, having beheld the fulfillment of Your Promise. Messiah has come. I hold His little body right here in my arms. He is appointed for the fall and rising of
many in Israel, for a sign that is opposed.
Oh, and Mary, a sword will pierce your own soul, also. That is, this Child is destined for the
cross.” And that is the great scandal
that will separate those who are God’s from those who are not,
believers and unbelievers, the saved and the damned, the fall of all who reject
Him, the raising of all who receive Him… this great offense that God saves the
world by this flesh and blood Baby, this flesh and blood Man, who
gives His flesh and blood into death for the life of the
world. That is the great sign
that is spoken against, the sign of the holy cross. That is the sword that pierces Mary’s soul as
she stands by her precious Boy at His execution, and can do nothing to
alleviate His suffering. That is the sign
that reveals the thoughts of many hearts.
What do you think of the Crucified?
Is He an object of scorn? Do you
pass by Him unheeding? Are you
scandalized, offended by Him and His Words?
Or do you cling to Him, to His Words and His blood and His death, for
your very life as your only Savior from sin and condemnation?
History repeats itself, here and
now, today. For you are old Simeon, and
your ears lay upon the Child, and your eyes behold the bread and the
wine, and you know. Your ears
have heard and your eyes have seen your salvation. This is the One who died, and who is
risen from the dead, who lives and reigns, who comes to you now in His flesh
and blood, by Words and water, bread and wine.
But just as assuredly as Simeon held God in his arms when he held
the little Lord Jesus, so you hear His voice in the Scriptures and the
preaching, and you hold Him within you as you eat Him and drink Him in the Holy
Supper. And so, having held Him on your
tongue, you pray to Him, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in
peace.” The Nunc Dimittis. I can die now in peace, without fear, with
joy even, having received the fulfillment of Your Promise under bread and wine.
Now, that may seem like a strange
thing to pray (“I can die now”). But you
know, unless the Lord returns first, you will have to die. Ignoring that fact, or pretending that isn’t
the case, doesn’t change the truth of it.
So you can die without Christ and have no hope or
assurance or comfort heading into the darkness.
Or you can die in Christ, with Christ Himself in your ears and on
your tongue, knowing all your sins are forgiven, and when you close your eyes
in death here, you open them to behold Him in heaven there. And you have the absolute certainty that,
baptized into the risen Christ who died for you, Christ now having entered into
you with His crucified and risen body and blood and becoming one with you, He
will raise you from the dead. Bodily. On that Great Day.
See, that is what Simeon knew as he
held the Child in his arms. I can die
now because this Child has pulled the very teeth out of death. He is my life. He is your life. When He comes to you, as He came to Simeon…
when the Spirit lifts your eyes of faith to Him, as He lifted Simeon’s
aged eyes to the Baby… when He is placed into your ears and mouth as Simeon
received Him into his arms… death can’t harm you anymore. This Child is the resurrection and the
life. He who believes in Jesus, even
though he dies, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in Jesus will
never die (John 11:25-26).
We see here the importance of the
Lord’s Supper and why it is we often sing Simeon’s song after eating and
drinking our Lord’s true body and blood.
This is where we receive Jesus into us, and where our eyes
see our salvation. This is the medicine
of immortality. This is the antidote to
death. Here our sins are forgiven. Here we are enlivened with the risen body of
Christ. As one sainted teacher of the
Church famously said, “We go to the Lord’s Supper as though going to our death,
that we may go to our death as though going to the Lord’s Supper.” He didn’t mean that we have to go to
Communion frowning and sullen, but we go in repentance and hope and faith and
joy, knowing that this marks us for resurrection and eternal life. And so we can go to our death the same way,
not frowning and sullen, but in repentance and hope and faith and joy, knowing
that we will see Jesus just as we have received Him in the
Sacrament. This is just what we dying
sinners need, Jesus Christ for us, under bread and wine, for forgiveness
and life. St. Ambrose said, “Because I
always sin, I always need the medicine.”
And that is exactly what you need to
know, that this Supper is medicine for sinners and life for the
dead. For otherwise you might say,
“That’s great for a holy man like Simeon, whose whole life was dedicated to
waiting for the coming of the Lord… He can hold Jesus in his arms and
declare he can die in peace. But if you
really knew my sins, Pastor, you would know that these Promises are not
for me. I dare not hold Jesus or receive
Him into my very mouth and body in the Supper.
He is too holy, and I am too sinful.
And so I must die alone and in terror.”
Did you know that I already know
that about you, that you are a poor miserable sinner? That He is holy, and you are not? And, in fact, I encourage you to just own up
to that… come to me and confess it, so that you can hear just what God has to
say about your sin in the Absolution, namely, “I forgive you all your sins in
the Name of the Father, and of the Son X,
and of the Holy Spirit. Depart in
peace. You are free! You live!
God is for you and not against you. He loves you and gave His own dear Son for
you, to make you His very own.” That is
what you receive tangibly in the Supper.
So that you know without a doubt the Absolution is true, that the death
and resurrection of Christ are for you.
Here it is, the very body crucified for you, the very blood shed for
you, now risen from the dead and living, for you to eat and to drink.
The great irony of it all is, it is
only those who know their unworthiness who are worthy to receive
the Supper. For this meal is for sinners
only. Those who believe they are worthy
by their good works or lack of sin or credentials as “Good
Christian Folk” must stay away. Now, of
course, you must be instructed in the faith, and specifically regarding
the Supper, before you come. In other
words, no one should receive the Supper until they’ve been catechized, taught
the things of God. Our children don’t
commune until they are able to examine themselves, as St. Paul says (1 Cor.
11:28), and have been instructed. And
under no circumstances should an unbaptized person commune, for Baptism is your
birth into the faith; the Supper is the food that sustains and nourishes
your baptismal life. Baptism comes
first. And because St. Paul tells us
that those who eat and drink “without discerning the body,” eat and
drink judgment on themselves (1 Cor. 11:29 ff.), only those who share our
confession of doctrine, especially regarding the Supper, should commune. Which is not to say we don’t recognize other
Christians as Christians, as brothers and sisters in Christ, but it is
to take the Lord’s Supper seriously as the great and powerful gift that it
is. And that is why, ordinarily, only
members of Missouri Synod congregations commune with us. When our Lord comes again, all those
divisions will cease. But until then, we
strive to be faithful as we suffer under the cross.
And finally, unrepentant sinners
should not receive the Sacrament. The
key word there is “unrepentant.” Sinners
should absolutely come. The Supper is for
sinners, and sinners only. But unrepentant
sinners are those who do not recognize and acknowledge their sins, who believe
that they are righteous in and of themselves, and that what they are
doing is righteous, even if it is counter to God’s commands. Do you see this irony? Sinners who know their unworthiness
and look to Christ alone for worthiness and righteousness are precisely
those who should come. Those who believe
they are worthy and need no repentance are unworthy nonetheless
and should not come.
Simeon knew his sins. And that is why he so eagerly took hold of
his Savior. And so you. You know your sins. You confessed them mere minutes ago. Now, having been absolved, you come eagerly
to the altar to take hold of Jesus Christ.
Today is also known as Candlemas,
the day Christians of old brought their candles to Church to be blessed, as
well as to donate candles for the Church’s use.
We don’t do that. We could. But the point of that tradition is quite
beautiful. Jesus is precisely what old
Simeon says He is: The Light that lightens the Gentiles, and the glory
of His people Israel. Here we are
enlightened as we see our salvation in the flesh and blood of the Savior. Just like Simeon. And like Anna, who couldn’t help but spread
that Light to all who would hear.
On this day, the Light came
into the Temple, in the flesh of a little Baby Boy. His mother gave the sacrifice of the poor for
her purification, a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons. The sacrifices themselves point to her Son
and His death for our sins. And this is
the Presentation of Jesus as the Firstborn.
In the Old Testament, every firstborn of man and beast belonged to the
LORD, the animals to be sacrificed, the humans to be redeemed by sacrifice. Think of that. Jesus gives the sacrifice, but in reality, He
is the Sacrifice. The Firstborn,
not only of Mary, but of God, who redeems all the firstborn and all people from
sin and death, and brings many brothers and sisters into the Father’s Kingdom.
Come to the altar, beloved. Eat and drink and behold your salvation. Then depart in peace, sins forgiven,
and go spread the Light to all who will listen, until your eyes see
that Light for yourself in all His heavenly splendor. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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