New Orleans Day 2

Good morning!  It's already Day 3, but I'll update about that tonight when we're back from working.

The Lord blessed us this trip with safe travels and gracious hosts along the way - we arrived late last night and have settled in to Camp Restore.  Saturday night and Sunday morning we were the guests of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Nashville, TN.  Their hospitality was fantastic, and we couldn't have hoped for a more perfect place to stop on our travels.  Rev. Philip Young and the congregation he serves there were gracious hosts and we will definitely be through there again when next we head south for mission work!

I wish it were warmer here in NOLA, but it's like we have brought the record cold temps with us.  Thankfully record cold for NOLA is 'only' 28 or so degrees, but it's not quite as warm as we hoped.  Oh well, we came south for more than warm weather, we came to serve.  Pray for our group to have courage and willingness as we begin the work for which we came!

New Orleans Trip: Day One

Waking up at 4:45 has its advantages - no line for the shower!  :-)

I'm preparing to embark now on a trip with the students I serve to New Orleans for some service work to help rebuild in the wake of Katrina.  You can see details about the trip at our Chapel website.

It's going to be exciting and challenging.  We're bringing together a group of 24 people who, at best, only know about half of the group, and several who know less than a handful.  Your prayers for patience and courage in the coming week would be appreciated, along with safe travels!  I'll be updating throughout the trip as a way of keeping a journal of what happens and how we're doing.  If you don't hear from me tonight in Nashville, it will be because there was no Wi-Fi.  We'll catch up for sure again in New Orleans!

Blessings, Pastor Bakker

Sermon for the First Sunday after Christmas

Seeing Salvation

Luke 2:22-40

First Sunday after Christmas, 2009 C

Zion Lutheran Church

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

            Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.  The Holy Scripture for our consideration this day is the Gospel reading from St. Matthew.

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  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.  So he came by 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, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said: ‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.’ 

            Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, are you still celebrating?  Christmas is not yet over - today, according to the carol, your true love owes you three French hens!  The presentation of Jesus in the Temple did not take place on the second day of Christmas, that is, the second day of his life, but when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus there in accordance with the Law, they made the appropriate offering of two small pigeons, or a pair of turtledoves.  Christmas has only just begun, friends, and just like the joy of a new baby does not end on the day of its birth, our Christmas joy does not end with the Savior’s birth.

            In today’s Gospel we have a rare picture of the joy Jesus’ birth brought to the people of his time.  When we look at the Scriptures as a whole, they are the book of the life of Jesus Christ, our Lord.  They tell us who he is, why he came, from where he came, what he said, what he did, and what he still does.  The Scriptures are also a book about the life of Jesus’ Bride – his body, the holy Christian Church.  They tell of our origins, our fall, our need for the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and most importantly, they tell of our future.

             Like I said before, today’s Gospel is a rare account – like many events with Jesus, this was no ordinary trip to the Temple.  The text today certainly focuses on the Gospel, on what God is doing for his people in Christ, but in it Jesus performs no miracles and he heals no sick people.  In fact, Jesus does not say one word – it is the other people in the Temple who speak today for joy at his appearing.  Anna spoke of Jesus to those seeking redemption in Jerusalem, giving thanks to the Lord.  She was a widow who lived at the Temple, praying and fasting night and day, and she rejoiced to see her redemption, her salvation, in the flesh.

            The other speaker in the Gospel was named Simeon.  He was a faithful man who, by the Holy Spirit, believed the promise that God would send a redeemer.  It had been revealed to him, in fact, that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

            In recent weeks we have heard of the difficulties some of the key people in the New Testament had with doubts over Jesus’ identity and mission.  John the Baptist wondered whether Jesus was the Christ or if they were waiting for another.  Joseph, his mother’s husband, struggled over whether or not Mary was telling him the truth about this pregnancy. 

           Today in Simeon, we learn of a man who believed that Jesus was the Savior without question.  His words upon seeing the infant Savior for the first time are such a part of the life of our church that most of us probably have them memorized.  ‘Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy Word.  For mine eyes have seen the salvation which thou hast prepared before, the face of all people.  A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.’  Surely you recognized them when you heard them the as part of the Gospel reading – we sing them nearly every week when we gather for the Divine Service. 

            What we do not hear every week is the surrounding context of Luke’s Gospel.  Hearing who first spoke those words and the circumstances around his seeing and holding Christ in the flesh gives that canticle a significance we may not regularly consider when we join in Simeon’s song.  This is the ‘Nunc Dimittis’ we sing immediately after the Dismissal from communion.  We kneel at this altar and receive the true body and blood of Jesus, and then we return to our places and join together to sing the words of a man who was finally ready for death.

            Yes, you heard me say that correctly – when we sing those words after we receive the Lord’s Supper, we sing the words of a man asking for death.  ‘Lord, now let your servant depart in peace.’  We might think that someone who has been waiting his whole life to see his salvation would ask for something different.  Surely he must have misunderstood God’s intention for him.  Surely there had to be a better reason for his long life than to merely wait and see the Lord.

           Some Christians hear Simeon’s story and wonder when they will ‘depart in peace according to God’s Word.’  Life in this world can make one weary – for many, retiring from a career, losing a spouse, or watching your children move away can leave you tired of living and wondering what else is left.  The Gospel does not tell us whether Simeon died that very day or lived for many more years, which comes as little comfort for those who suffer from the hard-knocks of life.

            It is a provocative question, to be sure, but it is ultimately unhelpful because that is not what the account of Simeon teaches.  Such questions put the focus on Simeon and not Jesus; looking at what Simeon was to do instead of who Jesus was and what he would accomplish.  Simeon knew this and took comfort instead in God’s promise.  He understood that he was created by God to live forever, just like each one of us, and he knew that only God could give eternal life.

            Through Simeon’s marvelous proclamation at seeing and holding Christ, Simeon confessed his faith in Christ and his trust in God’s promises.  He was a man who had lived in anticipation of seeing salvation, and God blessed him greatly.  Not only did he see his Lord, he also took Jesus into his arms and blessed God as he spoke those words.

            It is this context of the most important day of Simeon’s life that makes his words so appropriate for us to sing when we receive the Lord’s Supper.  With those words we confess not only that our lives are in the hands of God who has forgiven our sins; with those words we proclaim not only that we long for the eternal life he has promised for us in Christ; with those words we declare that we, too, with our own eyes, have seen our salvation.  More than that, though, we have tasted salvation.  In the bread and wine of Holy Communion, we receive the very body and blood of our Lord.  It is the same body and blood that was born of the Virgin Mary; it is the same body and blood that suffered, died, and rose again for the forgiveness of our sins; and it is the same body and blood that Simeon held in his arms when he first spoke these words so long ago.

            As we continue to live in this world and suffer the earthly consequences of the fall into sin, do not forget why we sing what we sing when we receive the Lord’s Supper.  God has heard our prayers and will not leave us alone or in the darkness; God lightens us with the salvation that is ours in Christ, with the glory of his people.  He shows and feeds us salvation and we stand ready, in peace and joy, for his eternity!

            To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.

            The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord, amen.