Reflection on Luke 6:27-38

Luke 6:27-38

27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; 28 bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive payment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Reflection

As the divine Son, Jesus, steps down from the heights, and settles on a level place to heal and connect with the poor, hungry, grieving, excluded, and persecuted, he shares a glimpse of what God’s vision for humanity looks like.  It is a level place where the mighty are brought low and the lowly are lifted up so that all can live together, equally, as God intended.  It is a vision that has been painted for him with musical brush strokes since he was a child as Mary sang into his ear, “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly” (Luke 1:52).

The vision of the level place is a song that made its way across the sea on ships of slavery and weaved its way through the red hills of Georgia, until it reached the lips of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who gave it voice: “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood” (Martin Luther King Jr., Speech at Civil Rights March, Washington, D.C., 28 Aug. 1963).  Again, the vision is of a level place where the mighty are brought low and the lowly are lifted up so that all can live together, equally, in a level place, as God intended.

And, if Jesus is going to make that vision become a reality, to make that kingdom come “on earth, as it is in heaven,” then Jesus is going to have to find some way for the sons of slave owners and sons of slaves to sit at the same table.  Jesus is going to have to find some way for the sons of the rich to eat the same food as the sons of the poor.  Jesus is going to have to find some way for enemies to become friends.

It can happen.  I have seen it happen.  When my dad was going through graduate school late in life, I would talk to him on the phone and hear about how he could not stand a certain loud mouth in his classes.  I would hear about how that loud mouth thought he knew everything.  I would hear about how that loud mouth thought he was so intelligent and so funny with his lame and inappropriate jokes.  I would hear about how that loud mouth just needed to disappear.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I pulled into my parent’s driveway as I came home for summer break to see my dad and the loud mouth having beers together in the front lawn!

“I thought the loud mouth needed to disappear?” I questioned my dad that evening. 

It turns out that my dad saw that the loud mouth needed a friend, so my dad started joking with him and they soon became good friends.  And, that is the story that I remind myself every time that an enemy arises within my life.  Enemies can become friends.

“But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27).  Enemies can be transformed into friends when you “do good” to them.  I have seen it.  I have a story about that sort of love and I hold that type of story close.

And, so did Jesus and the rest of the Israelites.  They too held close a story; the story of Joseph.  You remember Joseph.  He was despised by his jealous brother’s, thrown into a pit and then sold into slavery by the very brothers who were supposed to love him.  The children of Israel all heard the story of how Joseph was falsely accused of adultery, was imprisoned, and was finally lifted out of the pit, lifted out of jail secretly by God, and was put in control of Egypt under the reign of Pharaoh.  Tears were wiped from children’s eyes by their mothers, who also wiped their own tears, as they heard how Joseph provided food to the very brothers who showed him hate during seven years of famine.  Joseph became steward over a new Garden of Eden, where all the hungry were fed and enemies were forgiven.  Good can and does overcome evil when enemies are loved and goodness is shown to those who hate.

Joseph understands the big picture after showing love to his enemies.  He says, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20).  The high can be brought low, and the low can be lifted, and all can sit at the same table of equality.  God’s level place can fill the depths of the tough terrain of our lives.

These stories of forgiveness and love of enemies are important to hold close to our hearts and also share. After-all, stories have the power to capture and hold close Jesus’ teachings in a way that can shape and form us as God’s people.  And, that is important if we desire to experience in the here and now the level place that Jesus creates.

Those stories of reconciliation help us to remember to “bless those who curse” us and “pray for those who abuse” us (Luke 6:28).  Our blessings and prayers for our enemies are not all done in vein.  They are done because we live on the level place with God.

Those stories of reconciliation give us a reason to listen to Jesus and “offer the other” cheek when an enemy “strikes” us “on the cheek” (Luke 6:29).  In making our enemies slap us twice, we force them to do more harm than they intended, and in doing so, maybe, just maybe, they will actually stop and see the harm they cause.  Maybe then, their eyes will be turned from harm to compassion.  Only then can they see that they are welcome to step down onto the level place with Jesus and us.

Those stories of reconciliation give us a reason to listen to Jesus and give an aggressor our underwear when they have taken our shirts and pants.  Only when they see us naked and vulnerable may they see the harm they cause.  Maybe then, their eyes will be turned from harm to compassion.  Only then can they see that they are welcome to step down onto the level place with Jesus and us.

Those stories of reconciliation remind us that even the ungrateful and the wicked can become a friend when they are shown mercy.

“Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36).

Jesus reminds us that, for God, transformation always begins with mercy.  You cannot truly be rid of an enemy unless you love them first.

I guess that is why Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” as people scoffed at Jesus and soldiers mocked him while he hung on the cross to save us (Luke 23:34-36).  His salvation included those very people.

For Jesus, transformation always begins with mercy.  You cannot truly be rid of an enemy unless you love them first.  But, this is hard. 

Loving someone who loves you back is easy.  Now, I am not saying it is not important to love those around you; it absolutely is.  You were put in your place on this earth, at this very time so that you can love others in a mutual way.  So, loving those who love you back is a good thing.  But, love does not stop there.  It is not a more important love.  As Jesus says, “even sinners love those who love them.  If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same” (Luke 6:32-33).

“We sat at the lunch table together.  We’re friends now,” one of my children happily told me after weeks of sadness and struggle with a classmate.  They showed a mean classmate some love, and the enemy became a friend.  It all happened because they took a chance, and showed the enemy some kindness and compassion. 

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood” Martin Luther King Jr. once said, and its deep meaning reverberated into a school lunchroom.  It is the same message that hummed into the ear of a baby from the lips of his mother Mary.  And, it is the hope of the one who stepped onto a level place of equality, encouraging enemies to love each other and to do good to those who hate.  Who knows, maybe we will, even in this day and age, get a glimpse of heaven.

Reflection on Luke 6:17-26

 

Luke 6:17-26

17 [Jesus] came down with [the twelve] and stood on a level place with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon.18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

 20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: 

 “Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.  

21  “Blessed are you who are hungry now,

for you will be filled.  

 “Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.  

 22  “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

24  “But woe to you who are rich,

for you have received your consolation.  

25  “Woe to you who are full now,

for you will be hungry.  

 “Woe to you who are laughing now,

for you will mourn and weep.  

 26  “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.”

 

Reflection

There is one thing that I want you to keep in the back of your mind as we explore the “blessings” and “woes” in this scripture: I want you to keep in the back of your mind all of those normal, everyday folk like yourselves who gather around Jesus to be healed and cured of unclean spirits.  In fact, I want you to imagine that you are right there as Jesus descends the heights, stepping down the rocks onto a level plain, to be present with you, a person, like any person, with struggles, illnesses, and fears in life. 

“The good life belongs to those of you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of heaven” (Luke 6:20).  That is what Jesus says. 

But, what you hear is, “The good life belongs to you; you who have been forced from your very homes by forces that you cannot possibly stand up against, and now you and your children are forced to beg for a place to stay and scraps of food to eat.  You will be given not just a house, but a kingdom: God’s kingdom.

“The good life belongs to those of you who are hungry now, for you will be filled” (Luke 6:21a).  That is what Jesus says.

But, what you, as a hungry child hears is, “You will be living the good life, you who sees your friend snacking away on a chocolate dessert, lovingly packed away in their lunch pale by their Mom, while you eat the disgusting school meal because you know it will be the only meal you get, because God is going to fill your belly with good things.”

“The good life belongs to those who are in deep grief now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:21b).  That is what Jesus says. 

But, what you hear is, “The good life belongs to you, you who have tried to hold it all together for the good of the family when all you want to do is curl up in a little ball and die because you cannot imagine how life can possible go on without the one you love, for your lungs will fill with laughter again.  God will see to it.

“The good life belongs to you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets” (Luke 6:22-23).  That is what Jesus says.

But, what you as a lonely and bullied child in school hear is, “You will be living the good life, you who gets pushed and called names, even by the good kids in school, all because you refuse to mock and bully them back, being taught by your family and by God to love always, you have a safe place with Jesus where the lowly are raised up and the bullies are brought low.

You are there as Jesus walks toward you, speaking as he goes, and you watch the healing of people right before your eyes as he walks through the crowd; like a parting of the now healed who run off in joy. 

Finally, Jesus reaches his hand out to you.  Jesus has intentionally descended the heights, to come down onto the level plain to reach out to someone such as you, and bring healing to all hard working but struggling people.  The good life is given even to someone as lowly as you.

Keep that love and hope close to your soul, and do not lose them as we now delve into the “woes” that follow, because this love and hope is really, really important.

Once after worship, at another church, I talked with a man who puffed on a cigarette outside the church door with a disturbed look on his face.

“I have a question for you,” the man threw my way as I exited the church.  “I think it is great that Jesus blesses the poor and the struggling and the excluded.  I would too.  But, the problem that I just can’t shake is all of the ‘woes’ that Jesus gives.  He seems to be cursing all sorts of people: people who have money, people who are happy, and people who are well liked.  I come to church to hear about our loving God, and I did hear that today, but right after that Jesus seems to start cursing people and sending them to hell for being well off and happy.  And, I know it’s not you pastor; you are just preaching what is right there in the Bible.  But, to tell you the truth, my job pays me well.  I am respected at work.  And, quite frankly, I am happy most of the time.  Is Jesus saying that I’m going to hell?  I ran away from a terrible church that preached a God that curses us a long time ago. I don’t need that.”

“But woe to you who are rich…Woe to you who are full now…Woe to you who are laughing now…“Woe to you when all speak well of you” (Luke 6:24-26).  That is what Jesus said.

And, that is exactly what this man heard.  These “woes” quite honestly shook the man to the core.  And, I understand where he is coming from.  Countless are the times that I have heard stories of people who have fled from an image of God as punisher who brings curses to burn us, a rotten and disposable people.

This image of God is very much alive in the imaginations of people and pastors out there.  So, to many of them, the good news of Jesus’ forgiveness and never-ending love of the sinner (which is the essence of the gospel message…which is the message of the cross) is always a welcome and freeing word.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is at work, saving people from such assumptions about who God is and what God does.  But, that was the very problem for this guy, because the one seemingly doing the cursing was Jesus himself!  And, it is right here in the Bible.

What this man needed, was a little good old fashioned Bible study.  That is right; Bible study is not only a device of torture, inflicted upon children by evil pastors of fun-less-ness.  Sometimes, those very words can truly bear the good news of Jesus Christ, and through it Jesus can save.

When delving into the Bible together, the man realized that he had made a really big assumption.  He assumed that “woe” means “cursed.”  And, that is totally natural because when bad things befall us even today we hear people say “Woe is me!”  But, in the Greek, “woe” does not mean “cursed.”  And, if “woe” does not mean “cursed,” then that means that Jesus is not cursing anyone here.

What “woe” does mean in the Greek, and this is a little hard to get at in the English, is something like, “Watch out!” with a strong hint of grief mixed in.  It is an exclamation that something bad is happening or, more to the point, something bad could happen.  And, when you read these “woes” in this way it sounds kind of like this:

“But watch out all of you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Watch out all of you who are full now, for you will be hungry.  Watch out all of you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.  Watch out all of you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:24-26)

Reading the “woes” in this way just makes a lot of sense because it speaks of a deep truth: anything can happen in this world.  Anything can change. 

You cannot rely on your wealth or job because the stock market could crash tomorrow or someone could just swoop in and eliminate your job and it could all be gone. 

You might not be hungry today, but you have no idea what will happen tomorrow.  You or your parent’s job could be gone, or a massive famine can wipe out all of the crops and dry up your gardens. 

You might be laughing today, but you know that tragedy can, and probably will happen tomorrow to someone you dearly love. 

And, just look at the highly regarded celebrities of today.  They say just one wrong thing and their career is on the rocks.  Your reputation is just one self-inflicted, idiotic remark away from dissolving like a fine mist in the sun. 

Remember at the start when I asked you to imagine being one of these struggling people on the flat plain who sought to be healed by Jesus?  The truth is that any one of us could be that person at any time.

“I have been that person before,” the man said as he puffed on his second cigarette.  “Many times.  You know what is interesting?  During the times I struggled, I think that I prayed that Jesus would pull me through more than any other time in my life.  I think that I trusted Jesus more in those times.  Maybe, that is what Jesus is getting at?  I need to think on that one pastor.”

And, as Jesus wades through the crowds, healing people on all sides as he approaches you, Jesus looks at you, his disciple and says:

“The good life belongs to you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. The good life belongs to you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. The good life belongs to you who weep now, for you will laugh.  The good life belongs to you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets” (Luke 6:20-22).

And as Jesus reaches his healing hand out to you, you close your eye, trusting that Jesus can heal you too.  You pray that his heavenly power will flow into you also.  You trust that Jesus can make all things new for you as well.

Then you feel the warmth of his hand and the warmth of his healing power.  You also feel the love and respect with which he regards you as he comes down from the heights to be with people such as you. 

We are not just normal, everyday people after-all.  We are the children of God and Jesus approaches us and shows us the love and respect that the world cannot.  The world divides, but as followers of Jesus we are a people who approach everyone in the world with this healing sort of love and respect.  We especially see Jesus with the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the excluded, and we cannot help but stand with Jesus and with them on the level plain where all are treated with dignity.

Reflection on Luke 5:1-11

Luke 5:1-11

¹ Once while Jesus was standing beside the Lake of Gennesaret and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, ² he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. ⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” ⁶ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all who were with him were astounded at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” ¹¹ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Reflection

“Go away from me, Lord…” (Luke 5:8). 

I have been fixated on Peter’s reaction to Jesus’ amazing and grace-filled miracle.  “Go away from me, Lord…” (Luke 5:8).  I cannot stop thinking about it. I have thought about it while driving.  I have thought about it while cooking.  I have thought about it while searching through the cupboards for a new bar of soap.  I have thought about how Jesus graciously fills two boats full of fish after Peter and the others with him spend the night fishing and catching nothing.  Jesus is doing something so wonderful for Peter, and Peter’s first reaction is to tell Jesus to “Go away.” 

Of course, there are plenty of people who just want Jesus to “Go away.”  Usually, we see this response when Jesus has helped or healed the “wrong type of people.” 

When Jesus allows his hungry disciples to gather grain on the Sabbath, the religious leaders chastise him, which begins this desire in them that he go away (Luke 6:1-5). 

When Jesus heals a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, asking the people: “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?” the Bible says that the religious leaders, “discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus” (Luke 6:9-11). 

They want Jesus to go away.  His love is disrupting their lives and his values are not their values.  Jesus helps the outcast and forgives the sinner.  He talks about loving and forgiving enemies.  Jesus constantly loves the wrong people at the wrong times.  This always goes bad.  The powerful and influential people of Jesus’ day make accusations against him, and they make certain that he and his love eventually get nailed to a cross. 

You can expect that love will eventually get you a cross.  You can expect that love will cause some people to want you to “Go away.”

But, Peter’s request that Jesus “Go away” is different than that of the rich and powerful.  Peter does not hate Jesus’ call for mercy, grace, and generosity.  Instead, that grace causes a completely different reaction all together.

After Jesus provides Peter and his fellow fisherman with weeks and weeks worth of wages from all of the fish they catch, Peter’s response is not, “Thank you, thank you, you are truly great and generous.”  Rather, his full response is, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8).  He is shown goodness, and he immediately rejects it because he feels unworthy.

I have seen this before.  A woman once mentioned to me that she had broken up with her boyfriend. 

“Oh, things just didn’t work out?  You weren’t good for one another?”

“Actually, he was perfect,” she responded.

“I don’t understand.”

She resumed, “He was so good to me.  He was so kind.  When I was on the rebound from another relationship, he listened to me and gave me the space to heal.  When I got angry and crazy, he forgave me.  When my head was messed up, he held me.  He was perfect.” 

“So, what went wrong?” I asked.

“I don’t deserve to be treated like that,” she said.

“Sure you do.  Everyone deserves someone to treat them well.”

“I don’t.  Look at my life.  I ruin good things.  He is so good, I would ruin him.  So, I pushed him away,” she said with a sense of finality in her tone.  And, the conversation was over.  She did not want to talk about it any further.

I have seen, time and time again, people choosing to push away when given a gift.  This is more than, “Oh, you shouldn’t have” when given something of great value.  This is an intentional distancing that someone engages in when something goes well.  It is the perception that they are somehow worse than everyone else around them, and that they deserve worse than everyone else around them.  Maybe, they have been told that at some point in their lives.  Maybe, they too look up at Jesus and say, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful [human being]!” (Luke 5:8).

“Go away.”

How Jesus approaches all of this is so amazing to me.  If I were Jesus, I would try to convince them that they are not that bad.  I would talk about all of the good that they have done, and remind them that they are good.  I would plead for them to believe in themselves.  I would tell them that they are forgiven and that they can just try again.  I would do all of that and more, and I would fail. 

They would not believe my assessment of their character.  They would not trust my promises of forgiveness.  They would push away from others even further than before.

But, what Jesus says is: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people” (Luke 5:10).

Jesus does not try to convince someone like Peter that his old life is not all that bad.  Instead, Jesus simply gives him a new life.  In today’s words Jesus says, “Don’t worry, you now have a purpose.  You will be gathering people together.” 

You who were once lost has now been found.  Your withered hand has been healed.  You who were dead have been raised.  Your old life is behind you.  You were wandering, but now you have a purpose.  You once were lost, but now you are found.

And, do you know what happens when the lost have been given a purpose?  The Bible says, “When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:11).  Peter and the other disciples followed the one who had first given them a gift (the fish), then given them reassurance (“Do not be afraid”), and then given them a new life and a new purpose (“From now on you will be catching people”).

Gift, reassurance, and purpose.  Gift, reassurance, and purpose.  Gift, reassurance, and purpose.

And, for Jesus it is always in that order.

It always starts with gift.  It always starts with mercy.  It always starts with grace.

We do not sing, “Amazing accusations, how sweet the sound.”  Starting with accusations saved no wretches, including me.  But, how many times do we live that way?  How many times do we look out into the world and see how wrong someone is?  How many times do we seek to first chastise and push away so that those wretches do not mess with our blessed life?  We push them out of the boat so that they do not ruin our lives in the boat, but Jesus is not like that.  Jesus fills the boat with fish and it is all for them.

It always starts with gift.  It always starts with mercy.  It always starts with grace.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost, but now am found.  Was blind, but now I see.”

And, I know what the objection is.  “Listen Pastor Jira.  I’ve tried that.  I’ve tried starting with love and they just stomped all over it.  They stomped all over me!” 

And, I get it.  It has happened to me too.  It also happened to Jesus!  He got nailed to a cross because he just kept giving the gift first.  And, even on the cross he keeps giving the gift first as he prays for those putting him to death, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).  He prays this even as the soldiers cast lots to take his clothing and mock him to his face below his feet.  All the way to inhaling his last breath, Jesus believes that it always starts with gift; it always starts with mercy; and it always starts with grace. 

And, maybe, just maybe, as he breathes out that final breath and hangs there, dead, one of those soldiers’ eyes will be opened and he will say, “Certainly this man was innocent” (Luke 23:47).  Maybe, one of those soldiers will see the gift for what it is, and find grace, and reassurance, and purpose.

Jesus’ first disciples did after-all.  After the gift of the overflowing fish, and after the reassurance that they do not need to fear their past, and after being given a new life, a new purpose, the Bible says that, “they left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:11).

Gift, reassurance, and purpose.  Gift, reassurance, and purpose.  Gift, reassurance, and purpose.

That is the way of life.  That is the way of grace.  That is the way of Jesus, whom we follow, and in whom we find our purpose.

Reflection on Luke 2:22-40

Luke 2:22-40

22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, [Mary and Joseph] brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

 25 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. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 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, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

 

29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,

according to your word,

30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,

31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

32 a light for revelation to the gentiles

and for glory to your people Israel.”

 

33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 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 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.”

 36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment she came and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. 

 39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him. 

Reflection

Just the other day, I was listening to a conversation about how chance encounters and decisions have the power to completely shape our lives.  A man talked about how missing the bus forced him to take the train instead, and it was on that train where he sat next to a girl who clumsily bumped and spilled his coffee.  The apologetic girl who was wiping off his coat with tissues would later become his wife.  Chance encounters can completely shape our lives.  In a similar way, if I had chosen to go to Humboldt State University in California, rather than Concordia College in Moorhead Minnesota, into their forestry program, I would not have met Randele, and we would not have had our children.  I also would not be standing here, preaching to you.  I would be in the forests of California, digging ditches to head off forest fires.  Life decisions and the personal encounters they create can completely shape our lives.  And, one girl can trace her faith in Christ back to a routine business flight, where she talked with a woman of faith seated next to her, who just happened to live near her own neighborhood, and who would thereafter become her best friend, leading her to a strong faith in Jesus.

When we sit and think back through our lives, most of us marvel at how our lives have been shaped by these chance encounters and decisions.  

We see this same thing happening in the Bible too.  Forty days after Jesus’ birth, Joseph and Mary take the baby Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem, as is required in the law, both for Mary’s purification after childbirth, and to present the baby Jesus to the Lord.  Firstborn children, as you probably know, were set apart for the Lord’s service.  So, the holy family set out on this journey in order to fulfill a normal religious obligation.  The priests offered such sacrifices for many, many families every single day.  It was special, but it was special in a “We’re having the baby baptized!” sort of way.  It was a normal special.  But, God would make this particular occurrence into one of those all important life-shaping types of special. 

While Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were in the temple, the Bible says that “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 the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple” (Luke 2:25-27).

Simeon is an old man who, throughout his life, has deeply desired to see God come and walk beside Israel, to comfort him and the other Israelites in their troubled world.  And, I think that many of us desire the same thing.  Would it not be nice for God to enter into our troubled world, walk with us, console us, and make things right? 

By a chance encounter, Simeon enters into temple and stumbled upon the baby Jesus.  That is not quite right.  It happens to be the case that this is not a chance encounter.  Simeon was guided by the Spirit so that he could see the Lord’s Messiah. 

And, seeing the Messiah with his own eyes; feeling the weight of the Messiah in his own arms; knowing that the day when God would walk and talk with us had finally come; Simeon breaks out into a poetic hymn that is still sung to this day:

 

“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” (Luke 2:29-32).

 

What God has done for Simeon, who is at the end of his days and who worries about the future of the world, what God has done can only be described as grace.  Holding the future of the world in your arms is pure joy and grace.  Singing to the savior of the world as you rock him in your arms, being filled with a sense of hope for this world that you had not had before, is pure grace.  It is a gift.  It is a grace so powerful, that Simeon is convinced that he can take his final rest in peace.  “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace” (Luke 2:29).

And Jesus, in turn, is graced by Simeon with one of the most beautiful and powerful starts to life that I can imagine.  After-all, some children start their lives with the poetry of “unwanted” and “burden” and “ugly.”  To have whispered words such as “salvation” and “light” and “revelation” at the very start of your life is also pure grace.

And, all of it was the work of the Spirit.  They had all come together at the right time, in the right place, and it shaped the lives of them all.

Not everything that happens in life is the work of the Spirit, of course.  I used to think that every time that I was hungry and a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup just happened to be right there in front of me, that the Spirit was gracing me with a gift.  “Thank you, Lord!  Grace has no boundary,” and neither did my waistline.  Now, I am pretty sure it was not the Spirit at work; it was just a marketing department at work with product placement.  You can understand how the two might look the same.

What I mean to say is that not everything in life is the work of the Spirit.  Not everything that happens was intended by God.  I am fairly certain that the crash between the passenger jet and Blackhawk helicopter in DC was not intended by God.  That tragedy does not have the fingerprint of grace on it.  Grace can arise from it, of course.  God can certainly use it to bring grace, but tragedy is not intended by God. 

God the Father already sacrificed his son, once and for all, on a cross, to bring us life.  The Son shines light on the world.  The Son brings revelation to the gentiles.  The Son’s life is a sacrifice given to free us from the darkness of the world.  The Father has no need to sacrifice anyone else.  God does not need another tragedy to happen in order to bring us grace.  Not everything that happens in life is the work of the Spirit.

So, how do we know when it is the work of the Spirit?  Well, the question we ask to figure that out is: “Does it have the fingerprint of grace?”  That is how you tell if one of these encounters or decisions is the work of the Spirit.  You ask, “Does it have the fingerprint of grace?” 

I will tell you an encounter that had the fingerprint of grace: the holy family’s encounter with the prophet Anna.  After Simeon hands the child back to Mary and Joseph, the prophet Anna comes and starts “to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). 

Now, the importance of the holy family and Anna’s encounter might be lost on us modern people since she is given no poetry to drip from her lips or words to soothe our souls.  What Anna is given is numbers. 

Numbers do not mean much to us modern people, but they meant a lot to those in the ancient world. 

Seven. 

Anna lived with a husband for seven years of marriage.  Seven is, of course, a number of wholeness and completeness in the Bible.  Anna and her husband had seven years of a wholesome marriage.  But, then she was separated from her husband and became a widow, seeking her solace in God’s temple to the age of eighty-four. 

Eighty-four.

When she is eighty-four years old she finally hears the good news that the Messiah has come.  At age eighty-four she finds out that the good life, the age of the Messiah, is finally here, and she runs to tell the people this good news.  Now, eighty-four can be divided by seven, twelve times.  Twelve is, of course, the amount of tribes in Israel. 

So, in the numerical telling of this story, Anna’s life is Israel’s life.  God gave Israel a good and whole life, just as Anna had with her husband.  And, God separated from the twelve tribes and they were exiled, just as Anna was separated and widowed from her husband.  And, both Israel and Anna waited and waited for God to make a move in their lives for the good.  They waited for one of those chance, but not so chance, encounters with God.

And as Anna places her eyes on the baby Jesus, she knows that God is about to make that move for the good.  She can see it.  She is a prophet in the temple after-all.  And, it has the fingerprint of grace.

And, that is where I think I want to leave you this morning.  I want to leave you in that spot where you see that God is about to make a move, right here and right now, for the good through Jesus Christ in your life and in our lives.  You are standing in one of those spots in life where God is going to shape your life in an important way.  You are standing in a spot where the grace of Jesus is about to flourish.  We, as a people of God, are standing in a spot where Jesus is going to shape our lives in an important way. 

And, when that is about to happen, how do we react?  The Bible says that Anna, “began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for…redemption” (Luke 2:38).  We praise God, and we talk about the grace and power of Jesus to all who want their lives to be shaped in a new and incredible way.