Nunc Dimittis

Christmas offers an opportunity to reflect upon important parts of life – family and faith. On those, I hang today’s blog. Three Bs – baby, body and beauty. The baby Jesus beheld by Simeon; the body of Christ we receive; and the beauty we behold.

First, the Baby Jesus beheld by Simeon. … Grandparents and parents frame pictures of their grandchildren and children. Similarly, in our Gospel, Luke framed pictures of Baby Jesus. Luke framed Jesus around the faithfulness of his parents who fulfilled the commands of the Torah as they brought him to the temple.[ii] As He entered, two Old Testament saints, waiting in the temple for the Messiah to arrive, greeted him.

Joseph and Mary fulfilled the Torah by bringing Jesus to his true home. Being poor or of humble state, they sacrificed two pigeons because they could not afford a lamb; however, no lamb was necessary, because at 40 days, Jesus himself was the lamb brought to the temple.

Although Luke did not indicate Simeon’s age, he portrayed him like the other Old Testament saints in the infancy narrative – Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph. Like them, Simeon, a righteous member of Israel, received and announced the consolation of Israel.

There are two parts to Simeon’s words. He began by intoning a canticle that sounded like the Old Testament, but was filled with New Testament themes announcing the presence of God’s salvation in Jesus. The Holy Spirit inspired his song about the messiah for whom he was waiting.

His canticle echoed Zechariah’s Benedictus, but he directed it at Baby Jesus and not Baby John. His song was a beautiful example of the immediate response to the inauguration of God’s consolation and redemption in the Christ Child. Simeon is now set free to depart in peace according to the Lord’s word for Jesus freed him – as he did others – through his presence in the world.

God opened Simeon’s eyes to the salvation cloaked in the 40-day-old Jesus, still wrapped in infant’s clothing. His opened eyes referred not to physical vision, but an understanding of Jesus’ work. Throughout his gospel, Luke wove the metaphor of closed and opened eyes for the motifs of minds closed or opened to the preaching of a crucified and resurrected Jesus.

Luke used the eyes as the means of illumination, and ended his gospel by telling us that his disciples walked in the light straight into the Book of Acts. Conversely, he ended Acts with Paul reciting Isaiah’s prophecy. “This people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed.”[iii]

Simeon’s eyes were opened to salvation, a salvation that is a light of revelation to all nations, but as he blessed the parents, he sounded a somber note when he said to Mary, “This child is why many people in Israel will be condemned and others will be saved. He will be a sign that will expose the thoughts of those who reject him. And a sword will pierce your heart.”[iv]

Simeon’s words coupled to the angels’ message to shepherds – “a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger”[v] – are dual signs of humility and poverty. That perfect image of humility and poverty, an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, foreshadowed Jesus’ crucifixion, the ultimate manifestation of humility and poverty. The world rejected Christ because he did not meet human expectations.

Jesus echoed Simeon’s words to the scribes and Pharisees in his final parable. “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.’ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Jesus’ word passed through Israel like a sword, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy that said, “He made my mouth like a sharp sword,”[vi]and he compelled people to reveal their secret thoughts.

Every participant in Jesus’ life, including his mother, experienced sharp pain because of his teaching and death. Simeon’s announcement shocked readers who did not expect Jesus to lead people to conflict and upheaval and reveal their hearts.

Because of sin, people were – and are – scandalized and crushed by Jesus’ words and death, but through his death, his Father displayed the ultimate sign of revelation, the Resurrection.

Luke summarized the Law and Gospel in a brief song sung by Simeon. You now know why Simeon sung his canticle. Now, we explore why we sing it. We move from the baby Jesus beheld by Simeon to the Body of Christ we receive.

In our Christian tradition, after we receive the Body of Christ, we sing Simeon’s Canticle. Have you ever wondered why we sing Simeon’s Canticle, also known as the Nunc Dimittis? Nunc Dimittis comes from the Latin of the Vulgate Bible, which reads: “Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum, in pace.” Because Simeon’s canticle implies fulfillment, peace and rest, the church viewed it as appropriate for the ending of the day. Since the 4^th century, the church used it in evening worship services – Compline, Vespers and Evensong.[vii]

Thomas Jefferson used the canticle in official correspondence. Novelists and poets T. H. White, T. S. Eliot, Joseph Brodsky, Ezra Pound and John LeCarre employed it in their works.[viii]

Within the context of our Lutheran liturgy, it appears we take Simeon’s words out of context. After all, what does his experience have to do with ours? How can Holy Communion compare to Simeon's unique honor of holding the infant Jesus in his arms during the child's first visit to the temple?

Of course, we would love to have been in the temple and shared in the experience with Simeon. We would give anything to have been the first – along with the shepherds – to see the infant Jesus, or to be with the Magi as they offered him their gifts. However, as Luther insightfully taught, we do not find Christ in those places.

Through the events of his incarnation, birth, crucifixion and resurrection, our Lord accomplished our salvation; but the benefits of his saving work – forgiveness, life and salvation – are distributed to us through Word and Sacrament, his means of grace. We cannot go back to stand with Simeon, but the good news is that we do not have to. Christ is present here.

So when, following our reception of the Lord's Supper, we sing Simeon's canticle, nothing could be more appropriate. Our eyes saw his salvation, and better yet, we tasted and saw that the Lord is good. So, what could be better than holding the infant Jesus in our arms? How about eating and drinking his body and blood given for the forgiveness of our sins? This truly is heaven on earth, because here we have Jesus and all his benefits.[ix]

We have Jesus and all his benefits because we believe and receive. That is the beauty of pure Christianity as expressed in the Lutheran tradition. We believe what we receive – Word and Sacrament. That in itself is pure beauty. Hence, my third point, the beauty we behold.

We define beauty as the combined qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit.[x] What pleases us? The literature of Shakespeare or Luther, sculptures of Michelangelo or Rodin, glasswork of Chiluly or the Cathedral of Chartres, music of Beethoven or Chopin, mom’s apple pie or dad’s grilled steak. The list is endless.

Then, there is nature. We are pleased to gaze at stars in the midnight blue or puffy clouds, to smell freshly cut grass or ocean’s breeze, to hear children playing or words of forgiveness, and to taste the fruit of the vine. In the words of Poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.”

As I said earlier, the beauty of Christmas is that it shifts our senses to the important parts of life – family and faith. Unfortunately, for some, Christmas is the fourth quarter of the calendar year – a period to calculate whether retail business can survive another year. For others, it is just another day. My brother, a self-employed handy man, told me on Christmas Day some guy called him to repair his washer. For many, Christmas is just a busy season to shop, bake and party – void of the reason Christians observe Advent, the Incarnation and Epiphany.

For me, Christmas is a marvelous time to meditate on God’s beauty; and an essential function of beauty is to give humanity a healthy shock! Whether beauty appears in talent, nature or an act of love – an infant cradled to its mother’s bosom or a dying man slumped in the arms of a Mother Teresa – it shocks us back to what is important in life and creates an ineffable moment we experience but cannot sometimes name. That is why we recall the Spirit-filled moment of a Simeon. In the moment and presence of true beauty, he responded, as we would love to respond.

The beauty of the first Christmas – the beauty of the first encounter with God incarnate – is enough of a healthy shock for a lifetime, and it leaves the shocked struggling for utterance. God entered our world as a human being, and in our world, God has places where he can hide and reveal himself.[xi]

In the beauty of art and nature and human relationships, God hides and reveals himself. In the people God put in your life, God hides and reveals himself. Where love and mercy are withheld, God hides. Where love and mercy are communicated, God appears.

In the Baby Jesus and in the Body of Christ, love and mercy are communicated. In the means of grace, given to you through Word and Sacrament, love and mercy are communicated.

When you communicate love and mercy to the people God put in your life, He is present. In that moment, when relationships are reconciled, like Simeon, you too can cry your own Nunc Dimittis to God for the beauty of His presence has set you free.

And so, I close with a request. … God gave you this Christmas to realize the blessing of forgiveness that comes to us through his means of grace. The Baby Jesus, the Body of Christ and a beautiful moment reflect God’s love, God’s mercy.

God gave you Christmas so that your eyes may be opened and you may be set free from any sin that binds you. If you have the benefit of family for Christmas, take a moment and embrace each person in your arms, and if there is an opportunity to offer forgiveness, please do. I guarantee you that when you offer another family member love and mercy, the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.[xii] Amen. …

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[i] Psalm 122

[ii] Arthur A. Just, Luke 1:1-9:50. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (1996), 114ff.

[iii] Acts 28:27

[iv] Luke 2:34-35 (GOD'S WORD® Translation)

[v] Luke 2:12

[vi] Isaiah 49:2

[vii] http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/422490/Nunc-Dimittis

[viii] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nunc_dimittis

[ix] http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=1116#nuncdimittis. See also Fred L. Precht, Lutheran Worship: History and Practice. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (1993).

[x] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beauty

[xi] Rohr, 169

[xii] Philippians 4:7

Word became Flesh and Dwelt among Us

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My focus is John where we read: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”[i] Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

First of all, Merry Christmas. … Those who have been attending Trinity Lutheran since the end of August can tell you that my sermons, like the Trinity, generally consist of three points. Since this is Christmas, I have a treat for you. Each of you is going to get a Christmas bonus – a four-point sermon! Moreover, a mnemonic device so you can share these points when discussing religion during dinner. Four points, four P’s – profession, poet, prologue and power. The Profession of Faith, a poet’s story, the Prologue of John, and the power of the Word.

First, Profession of Faith. Every Sunday, we trudge in and out of church; sit and stand for readings, prayers and hymns; say the introit and sing Alleluia. We kneel for Christ’s Body and Blood, and, we recite the Nicene Creed sometimes without thinking about the version or the words we speak.[ii]

I profess faith, “in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only‐begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary.”[iii]

If I spent every day from now until the day I die meditating on those words, I would never fathom their depth. … The Book of Concord reminds us that by pledging ourselves to the Creeds, we reject all heresies and dogmas which [are] contrary to them …”[iv]

As a brief, devout and glorious confession of the faith, founded on God’s Word, the Nicene Creed refuted all heresies that arose in the Christian Church up until that time.[v]

However, since a Christmas sermon is not a catechism class on a confessional statement on the incarnation of Christ, I move to my second point, a poet’s story.

John Donne, the 17^th century poet, told the story of a man searching for God. The man heard that God lived on top a tall mountain at the end of the earth. After a long journey, the man arrived at the mountain and began his climb.

About the time, the man began his climb, God said to himself, “How can I show my people how much I love them?” God got the idea to descend the mountain and live among his people as one of them. So, he began descending the mountain.

As the man was ascending one side of the mountain, God was descending the other side. They did not see each other because they were on opposite sides of the mountain.

When the man reached the mountaintop, he was crestfallen to find no one there. He thought, “God doesn’t live here after all.” He began to think God that does not exist, and said, “If God does not live here, where does he live?”

Donne intended his story for the people of his time. Many of them were searching for God on mountaintops, in deserts and at the ends of the earth. When they did not find God, they became discouraged. Like the man in Donne’s story, some concluded that God does not exist. To these people, Donne said, God does not dwell on mountaintops, or in the midst of the desert or at the ends of the earth. God dwells among his people. He lives in the towns and cities of the world.[vi] This is the great message of the incarnation: God dwells among his people.

God dwells among his people. That is the basic message of our Christmas story – in the Second Person of the Trinity, God dwells among his people. … From a poet’s story to the Prologue of John, my third point.

Prologue is not a word we use daily. Its roots are Greek. Prologos comes from two words: pro meaning before and legein meaning to speak. Together they formed a word that described that part of a Greek play preceding the entry of the chorus.[vii]

Chaucer and Shakespeare used prologues in their tales, and most of us can complete the opening line of Star Wars’ prologue: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.”

The Christmas Eve and Christmas morning Gospels from Luke and Matthew tell us how God came to dwell among us by tracing Jesus’ origins to biblical ancestors. John opens with a prologue that makes the story of Jesus begin not in a remote Middle Eastern village, but in the very bosom of God. And because Jesus represents – in the world – the absolute beginning, meeting Jesus in the flesh meant meeting God.[viii]

Yet, we find in John a contrast between those in the world who refused to know Jesus as he was and those who believed and accepted him as he was: the only begotten Son of God. The latter, who met God in the flesh, professed their faith in Him.  …

Finally, power. The power of God’s Word is great indeed. How great? Listen to this.

In 1994, I made my first trip to the Holy Land. Like most people, I bought a tiny nativity set carved from olive wood. James Martin, who also bought one, tells the story that when he arrived at the Tel Aviv airport for his return trip to the United States, security was tight. The customs officials x-rayed each figure in his tiny nativity set, even the baby Jesus. The security guards told Martin, “We can’t take chances. We’ve got to make sure there’s nothing explosive in that set.”

Afterward Martin thought to himself, “If those guards only knew! That set contains the most explosive power in the world!”

What is so explosive about the nativity set? The message it contains.

The message says that the Son of God chose to enter our world, not as a prince in a mighty palace, but as a pauper in a lowly stable. It says that the Son of God chose to be greeted, not by celebrities, but by smelly shepherds whose status was so low they were not even permitted to testify in a court of law.

The explosive message of the nativity is that God looks at things in a way that is very different from the way the world looks at them. Nowhere is this more evident than in the life Jesus chose to live.[ix]

Jesus chose poverty: “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”[x] He chose humility: “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.”[xi] And dishonor: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”[xii]

Now, in summary, the four points. If, like the poet’s seeker, I profess my faith in the only Son from the Father, who chose to dwell among us in the flesh, am I willing to put my faith in Him and choose poverty, humility and dishonor?

Am I willing to put my faith in Him and choose poverty, humility and dishonor?

To close, a fifth P – Poirot, the famous Agatha Christie detective, Hercule Poirot. Poirot, in real life David Suchet, met Christ when he was 40 years old. Although he was brought up without religion, David says he was “searching for something” all his life.

“I was a typical teen growing up in the 1960s, when everybody was into gurus and meditation.” He then “forgot about it” until he was making the movie Harry And The Hendersons in 1986. In the unlikely setting of a bathtub in a hotel room in Seattle, David’s search for religion began anew.

“I was in the bath, thinking about my late grandfather, with whom I had an extraordinarily close relationship. … I always felt that he was with me as my spiritual guide. I felt him sitting on my shoulder. Then I thought to myself, ‘Why do I believe that and not believe in life after death?’ That got me thinking about the most famous person who they say had a life after death, Jesus.” It led David to the New Testament.

David read Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, which says that salvation is offered through faith in Jesus Christ, and had a “road to Damascus” moment when Paul’s words chimed with him.

“By the end of the book, I was reading about a way of being and a way of life that I had been looking for all those years,” he explained. Saint Paul made it clear that faith is no easy state to obtain. “When I read his letters, I saw that we both struggle with faith – it’s not an easy road.”[xiii]

Mon ami, you need not be as insightful as Poirot to know that we all struggle with faith at one time or another. However, you may know someone who is searching. That person may be a member of your family or in your circle of friends. He or she may be a co-worker or customer. If this is a season about sharing and caring, I ask you to care enough to share your Damascus moment with someone searching. You may be the person God has put into their lives to bring them to Christ, the eternal Word enfleshed who dwells among us. If so, may the experience of the God who seeks searchers be the most powerful moment of your life, and may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.[xiv]

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[i] Psalm 122

[ii] There are more than a dozen versions currently being used. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and the Lutheran Church–Canada use that of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer with slight changes, substituting the word "catholic" with "Christian" and modernizing the spelling of the word "apostolic", with changes in capitalization of this and other words, and with "Holy Spirit" in place of "Holy Ghost". See footnotes 14 and 15 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_versions_of_the_Nicene_Creed#cite_ref-15.

[iii] Lutheran Service Book

[iv] Formula of Concord, pdf 331

[v] Formula, 364

[vi] Decision, 31f.

[vii] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prologue

[viii] Luke Timothy Johnson, The Writings of the New Testament. Minneapolis: Fortress Press (2010), 474.

[ix] Decision, 41f.

[x] Luke 9:58

[xi] Matthew 11:29

[xii] Luke 17:24-25

[xiii] http://www.express.co.uk/news/showbiz/363810/David-Suchet-reveals-how-he-found-faith

[xiv] Philippians 4:7