Scripture: Luke 2:22-40; Colossians 3:12-17; Genesis 12:1-3; Luke 2:38 Series: Christmas
Pairing the Presentation of Jesus in Luke 2 with Colossians 3, the sermon asks how we respond to the incomparable gift of the Incarnation. Starting from teaching children to say thank you, Wilson dwells on Christ’s circumcision as God fully entering (and satisfying) the covenant with God, citing Milton and Chrysostom for its immensity. He then offers three models of gratitude we can never fully reciprocate: Simeon’s hymn of praise, Anna’s words of hope as the first evangelist, and Catherine of Siena’s call to love our neighbors and enemies since we cannot repay God directly. The charge for the fourth day of Christmas is to sing praise, share hope, and show mercy.
Illustrations: kids-saying-thank-you, manners-like-riding-a-bicycle, milton-upon-the-circumcision, chrysostom-nativity-sermon, simeon-nunc-dimittis, anna-first-evangelist, catherine-of-siena-love-neighbors
December 29
How to Say Thank You
Colossians 3:12-17
Luke 2:22-40
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” 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. 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; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “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.” And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 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 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” 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, 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. 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. When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.”
Luke 2:22-40 NRSV
It is important to teach our kids to say thank you. It is important for each of us to know how to say thank you. My kids are blessed each Christmas to have gifts from family members so they get to practice how to thank you. We have tried to frame manners as a way to think about other people. We practice saying thank you and sitting down at the table because we care about the people in our life.
Manners are habits, like riding a bicycle. The point of teaching our kids to do them when they don’t want to is so that they will practice saying thank you to the point that it is second nature to them. Manners are not about controlling our kids but teaching them ways of showing love. One of those ways is saying thank you. Every gift is not the most exciting and surprising but it is helpful to act as if it were, so that we can learn to see the gift not as the object in front of us, but as the act of giving itself and our relationship with the giver. We all know what it is like says (sarcastically), Oh, wow, thank you. We try to avoid sarcasm in the thank you.
Yet what do we do when the gift actually is amazing? How should we respond to the greatest of gifts?
Response to Jesus
The first folks who respond to Jesus, the shepherds, don’t really understand what is going on. They are like, “this is awesome, this is cool!” This is what happens right after Jesus is born, but then Mary and Joseph take the infant Jesus to be circumcised on the 8th day. This is the point where Jesus enters the covenant of Abraham. It is an important thing. An essential thing, because before the circumcision of Jesus, he was not a part of the covenant. Even though he was born of the people of the covenant, it is at this moment that the God who became human in Jesus Christ enters the covenant fully.
John Milton, the English poet and author of Paradise Lost, wrote a short poem titled Upon the Circumcision of the Lord, and I want to quote a few lines from it.
For we by rightfull doom remediles Were lost in death, till he that dwelt above High thron’d in secret bliss, for us frail dust Emptied his glory, ev’n to nakednes; And that great Cov’nant which we still transgress Intirely satisfi’d,
The Bible doesn’t show value by length. That is, the longer a story doesn’t mean that it is more important. The circumcision of Jesus is an immense thing that has happened. One verse in the Gospel of Luke, but an immense event. God has entered into the covenant with God. To rehash the story, God makes this promise to Abraham, this covenant:
Genesis 12:1-3
“Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, those who curse you I will curse; all the families of the earth will be blessed because of you.”
This covenant is continued with Moses and the giving of the Torah, the Law, the Way on Mount Sinai. The way that is offered for people of the covenant to live a faithful life.
And then, at this brief moment of the circumcision, Jesus enters into that covenant. God become flesh enters into the covenant with God. So now God is in covenant with God. In the language of Milton, it entirely satisfies that covenant. And we will see on the cross the ultimate satisfaction, but that is for another day. It is the immensity of this gift that we must begin to comprehend today. The immensity of this gift on Christmas.
In the early Church, Christmas was not a big deal. By the early church, I mean the first six hundred years. Birthdays were not celebrated in Judaism. They were seen as pagan occurrences.
Easter was seen as the holiest of days. Christmas was not lifted up, until a preacher named John Chrysostom in the 7th century, celebrated it with quite a sermon. Here is an example.
What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of days has become an infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men. He Who has broken the bonds of sinners, is now bound by an infants bands. But He has decreed that ignominy shall become honor, infamy be clothed with glory, and total humiliation the measure of His Goodness.
What John Chrysostom tries to show us is the immensity of this gift. The immensity of the birth and the immensity of Christ entering the covenant.
Okay, so what we have at Christmas is a gift we cannot possible reciprocate. We cannot possibly say enough thank yous for it, and yet we try.
Today, we can look at three responses. Two from our text and another from the tradition.
Simeon
The first response is Simeon. He is a wise man. An elder, that many folks respected. He sees the child and responds with a song. This song has been song every night somewhere in the world since at least 516 AD and many nights before then.
Lord now you let your servant go in peace Your word has been fulfilled My own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every peoples. A light to reveal you to the nations. And the glory of your people Israel.
So we have this one example of Simeon who sings, who sings as a spontaneous response to realizing the gift that God has become human, taken on the covenant, taken on our sins, and is ready to live and satisfy the Torah fully so that we can enter into the bosom of Abraham, so that we can enter into the life of God.
Anna
Anna is the next one. Anna was a prophetess who lived in the temple. She lived and prayed all day. She slept in the temple. She ate whatever was given to her. She prayed without ceasing. When Jesus goes to be presented at the temple, now she understands why she has been praying all of those years. Luke writes, “She approached at that very moment and began to praise God and to speak about Jesus to everyone who was looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” Luke 2:38
Simeon sings praise to God. Simeon feels like he finally understands the point of his life. Anna shares anew the story of God and the redemption of God in the world found by the child Jesus. Both are attempts to say ‘Thank you’ to God. Neither of them fully reciprocates God’s gift. Yet all we can do is make these attempts. Both of these are good. One attempt to say thank you is that we worship. One attempt, one response to the amazing blessing of God in Jesus Christ, the amazing miracle of God taking on flesh at Christmas is to sing praise to God, to see ourselves and our lives fulfilled in Christ. Another is to share the good news as Anna did, the first evangelist. She is the first human to share about the redemption found in Jesus Christ.
Catherine of Siena
And finally, we have, a few centuries later, a holy woman in Italy named Catherine, who writes about God becoming human. Catherine writes that we can never reciprocate Christ’s love for us. In a dialogue, she speaks to God, “I ask you to love me with the same love with which I love you. But for me you cannot do this, for I loved you without being loved.” And then God replies, “This is why I have put you among your neighbors: so you can do for them what you cannot do for me—that is, love them without any concern for thanks…and whatever you do for them I will consider done for me.”
We are never deserving of God’s love, in the fullness of it. But what we can do, as a response to that love, is love those people in our lives that also do not deserve our love. What we can do is love our enemies. What we can do is love the people that we already don’t like. What we can do is love the people who annoy us and bother us and vote differently and act differently and look differently; the people we can’t stand. May we try to love our enemies, not because we are so awesome, but because God is so awesome. It is impossible on our own love our enemies. You cannot do it. I cannot do it. It is not a skill you can get. It can only occur in a life infused with grace, so today you have to ask for it, you have to ask for the spirit to come into your life to offer mercy in your life, because God has loved you undeservedly, you can go forth and love others.
So we have these three ways of saying thank you at the birth of Jesus: hymns of praise, like Simeon, words of hope, like Anna, and actions of mercy, like Catherine. My brothers and sisters, my hope for you in this Christmas season, and it will be Christmas until January 6. You know, the 12 days of Christmas start on December 25. The world likes to move away from Christmas as fast as possible, but we don’t have to.
And so on this fourth day of Christmas, let us try to respond in every way. Let us sing songs of praise, let us share words of hope with each other, let us seek to love people in our lives who are unlovable.
We cannot fully say thank you, what we can do is try. Let us take a step of faith this day to thank our Lord for his everlasting love.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.