Pastor's
Weekly Sermon
Sermon “Endings and Beginnings”
Is it only me, or is anyone else glad that Christmas is over? The Christmas season is certainly lots of fun! It’s a relief, though, when it’s over at last. The cookies have all been baked and eaten, and the Christmas cards have all been sent. The gifts that were bought and carefully wrapped have all been given. Houses that were noisy with family have become quiet again as loved ones have returned to their own homes. Most of us heave a huge sigh of relief as we put away our Christmas decorations and our lives settle back into their familiar routines.
I imagine that Mary heaved a huge sigh, as well, when the child Jesus was finally born. Any woman who has given birth can tell you what a relief it is when her pregnancy is finally over! No more running to the bathroom because the baby is kicking your bladder. No more terrible backaches because of all the weight that you’re carrying around. And you can finally see your feet again! It’s true that pregnancy can be exciting and filled with joyous anticipation, but it is a huge relief when the wait is finally over!
This morning we heard about the end of another time of waiting, one that had lasted even longer than the 9 months of Mary’s pregnancy. The person waiting was Simeon; and he had waited for an entire lifetime! We don’t know much about Simeon. Luke tells us that he lived in Jerusalem, and that he was both righteous and religious. He must have been careful to follow the Jewish law; and he probably visited the Temple regularly, maybe every day. And we know one more important thing about Simeon. The Holy Spirit had told him that he would live until he saw the Messiah – in the flesh, with his very own eyes! This morning’s scripture reading tells us the story of how that happened.
The story begins in a very ordinary way. Simeon went into the Temple courts one morning, and he in the midst of all the crowds who were there, he saw a young peasant couple carrying a baby. Somehow – we don’t know exactly how; Luke doesn’t provide any details – Simeon recognized this newborn child as the Messiah. He swept the child into his arms and offered a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving, the prayer that has become known as the Nunc Dimitis:
Lord, let now your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
For my eyes have seen your salvation
which you have prepared in the presence of all people:
A light for revelation to the gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel!
This chance encounter in the Temple was the fulfillment of Simeon’s entire life! He was ready to die, because he had seen the Messiah! His entire life had been spent waiting to see this child; and the long wait was finally over.
But the end of any wait is always the beginning of something else. To talk about an end without also talking about a beginning is incomplete! For instance, while the birth of Jesus was the end of Mary’s pregnancy, it was just the beginning of many years of caring for the growing child. It was the first of many sleepless nights until the baby Jesus was old enough to sleep through the night. It was the beginning of years of watching Jesus as a child, making sure that he didn’t wander off or get hurt. It began what having a family always leads to: extra cooking and cleaning and sewing for Mary; and Joseph working extra hard to support that new family. That first Christmas was certainly the end of a nine-month wait, but it was also the beginning of a new time in the lives of Mary and Joseph as Jesus grew into an adult.
The end of Simeon’s waiting also began a new era in history; and if Simeon represents the end of the old, Anna represents the beginning of the new. We don’t know much more about Anna than we do about Simeon! Luke calls her a prophet; and he tells us that her husband died after only seven years of marriage. Now Anna is 84 years old – a very old woman for that time in history – and she has lived in the Temple during the entire time she has been a widow. Through the unerring timing of the Spirit, she stumbles upon Simeon holding the infant Jesus in his arms; and she immediately runs out to tell anyone who will listen that the Messiah has arrived! Yes, as Simeon ends one era, Anna begins a new one. The time of waiting for the Messiah is finally over, and the time for telling the world about the Christ is just beginning! The time for the religious obligation of Temple sacrifice will soon be gone, rendered obsolete by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Like Simon himself, that old era will depart in peace; but the work of telling the story of Jesus has gone on, all the way from that day to this one!
This story of ending and beginning points to an even deeper Christian truth: through Jesus Christ, every end is a new beginning, because wherever you find Jesus, you find endings and new beginnings. Before Jesus even begins his ministry, John the Baptist calls for repentance to prepare the way for the Messiah. The word “repentance” literally means “turning.” When you repent, you change your mind; you turn your life around; you make a new beginning! Repentance isn’t just being sorry for what you’ve done wrong – it’s a new commitment to do right! Jesus was all about new beginnings! He opened the eyes of the blind so that they could see clearly for the first time in their lives. He ended the exile of lepers so that they were able to make a new beginning in society. Why, Jesus even forgave the sins of the people around him so that they could begin again in a new relationship with God! That really set the Jewish religious leaders off. “No one can forgive sins but God,” they complained to each other. “Who does this guy think he is?”
Who does Jesus think he is? Jesus knows very well who he is. Jesus is the one who can touch us with grace and offer us new beginnings despite all the endings in our lives. Even when the endings are difficult – the loss of a job, the loss of our health, the loss of our youth, or the loss of a loved one – through Jesus Christ, we can begin again in ways that we had not even thought possible! Even death itself is not an end! It may seem odd to talk about the Resurrection when we’ve scarcely left the manger, but these two events are really two aspects of the same truth! Both birth and death are beginnings: birth begins our earthly lives; and death begins the life eternal.
Yes, indeed, for every ending there is a beginning! The end of Mary’s pregnancy led to the beginning of new life. The end of Simon’s waiting brought about the beginning of the good news which shall be to all people. The end of Jesus’ earthly life offers us the beginning of eternal life through the grace of God. As we bid goodbye to the old year and say hello to the new one, we don’t need to be afraid of what that new year might bring; because the presence of Jesus – the master of all our endings and all our beginnings – will be with us throughout all of it. Thanks be to God!
God of all our lives, sometimes an end is a time of rejoicing; sometimes it brings relief; and sometimes it causes us to fear what lies ahead. Give us the faith to remember that you hold both our endings and our beginnings in your hand. Help us to hold fast to your grace so that we may look beyond all of our endings to your glory that lies beyond us all. Amen.
Is it only me, or is anyone else glad that Christmas is over? The Christmas season is certainly lots of fun! It’s a relief, though, when it’s over at last. The cookies have all been baked and eaten, and the Christmas cards have all been sent. The gifts that were bought and carefully wrapped have all been given. Houses that were noisy with family have become quiet again as loved ones have returned to their own homes. Most of us heave a huge sigh of relief as we put away our Christmas decorations and our lives settle back into their familiar routines.
I imagine that Mary heaved a huge sigh, as well, when the child Jesus was finally born. Any woman who has given birth can tell you what a relief it is when her pregnancy is finally over! No more running to the bathroom because the baby is kicking your bladder. No more terrible backaches because of all the weight that you’re carrying around. And you can finally see your feet again! It’s true that pregnancy can be exciting and filled with joyous anticipation, but it is a huge relief when the wait is finally over!
This morning we heard about the end of another time of waiting, one that had lasted even longer than the 9 months of Mary’s pregnancy. The person waiting was Simeon; and he had waited for an entire lifetime! We don’t know much about Simeon. Luke tells us that he lived in Jerusalem, and that he was both righteous and religious. He must have been careful to follow the Jewish law; and he probably visited the Temple regularly, maybe every day. And we know one more important thing about Simeon. The Holy Spirit had told him that he would live until he saw the Messiah – in the flesh, with his very own eyes! This morning’s scripture reading tells us the story of how that happened.
The story begins in a very ordinary way. Simeon went into the Temple courts one morning, and he in the midst of all the crowds who were there, he saw a young peasant couple carrying a baby. Somehow – we don’t know exactly how; Luke doesn’t provide any details – Simeon recognized this newborn child as the Messiah. He swept the child into his arms and offered a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving, the prayer that has become known as the Nunc Dimitis:
Lord, let now your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
For my eyes have seen your salvation
which you have prepared in the presence of all people:
A light for revelation to the gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel!
This chance encounter in the Temple was the fulfillment of Simeon’s entire life! He was ready to die, because he had seen the Messiah! His entire life had been spent waiting to see this child; and the long wait was finally over.
But the end of any wait is always the beginning of something else. To talk about an end without also talking about a beginning is incomplete! For instance, while the birth of Jesus was the end of Mary’s pregnancy, it was just the beginning of many years of caring for the growing child. It was the first of many sleepless nights until the baby Jesus was old enough to sleep through the night. It was the beginning of years of watching Jesus as a child, making sure that he didn’t wander off or get hurt. It began what having a family always leads to: extra cooking and cleaning and sewing for Mary; and Joseph working extra hard to support that new family. That first Christmas was certainly the end of a nine-month wait, but it was also the beginning of a new time in the lives of Mary and Joseph as Jesus grew into an adult.
The end of Simeon’s waiting also began a new era in history; and if Simeon represents the end of the old, Anna represents the beginning of the new. We don’t know much more about Anna than we do about Simeon! Luke calls her a prophet; and he tells us that her husband died after only seven years of marriage. Now Anna is 84 years old – a very old woman for that time in history – and she has lived in the Temple during the entire time she has been a widow. Through the unerring timing of the Spirit, she stumbles upon Simeon holding the infant Jesus in his arms; and she immediately runs out to tell anyone who will listen that the Messiah has arrived! Yes, as Simeon ends one era, Anna begins a new one. The time of waiting for the Messiah is finally over, and the time for telling the world about the Christ is just beginning! The time for the religious obligation of Temple sacrifice will soon be gone, rendered obsolete by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Like Simon himself, that old era will depart in peace; but the work of telling the story of Jesus has gone on, all the way from that day to this one!
This story of ending and beginning points to an even deeper Christian truth: through Jesus Christ, every end is a new beginning, because wherever you find Jesus, you find endings and new beginnings. Before Jesus even begins his ministry, John the Baptist calls for repentance to prepare the way for the Messiah. The word “repentance” literally means “turning.” When you repent, you change your mind; you turn your life around; you make a new beginning! Repentance isn’t just being sorry for what you’ve done wrong – it’s a new commitment to do right! Jesus was all about new beginnings! He opened the eyes of the blind so that they could see clearly for the first time in their lives. He ended the exile of lepers so that they were able to make a new beginning in society. Why, Jesus even forgave the sins of the people around him so that they could begin again in a new relationship with God! That really set the Jewish religious leaders off. “No one can forgive sins but God,” they complained to each other. “Who does this guy think he is?”
Who does Jesus think he is? Jesus knows very well who he is. Jesus is the one who can touch us with grace and offer us new beginnings despite all the endings in our lives. Even when the endings are difficult – the loss of a job, the loss of our health, the loss of our youth, or the loss of a loved one – through Jesus Christ, we can begin again in ways that we had not even thought possible! Even death itself is not an end! It may seem odd to talk about the Resurrection when we’ve scarcely left the manger, but these two events are really two aspects of the same truth! Both birth and death are beginnings: birth begins our earthly lives; and death begins the life eternal.
Yes, indeed, for every ending there is a beginning! The end of Mary’s pregnancy led to the beginning of new life. The end of Simon’s waiting brought about the beginning of the good news which shall be to all people. The end of Jesus’ earthly life offers us the beginning of eternal life through the grace of God. As we bid goodbye to the old year and say hello to the new one, we don’t need to be afraid of what that new year might bring; because the presence of Jesus – the master of all our endings and all our beginnings – will be with us throughout all of it. Thanks be to God!
God of all our lives, sometimes an end is a time of rejoicing; sometimes it brings relief; and sometimes it causes us to fear what lies ahead. Give us the faith to remember that you hold both our endings and our beginnings in your hand. Help us to hold fast to your grace so that we may look beyond all of our endings to your glory that lies beyond us all. Amen.
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