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Claude King

“Hope Through Redemption”
Luke 2:22-40

Sermon – 2012-01-01

Happy New Year! We are now one week after Christmas Sunday and still basking in the warmth of all the Christmas worship services and time spent with our families and friends, after buying gifts, traveling, eating and gathering and now celebrating the New Year. We have been graced by God with an opportunity to see those whom we love and have joined in worship last weekend and have completed a week back to work. Do you still have the hope that Advent proclaimed of good things in Christ that are yet to come our way; as well as the joy that Christ’s birth meant for all of us? I hope that you still do.

I hope you did not experience a letdown this past week; let us remember the preparation and joy that we have shared over the last thirty plus days since Advent began and particularly over the last week including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day. It is like the preparation for the birth of a new baby. It is full of expectation and joy, and a little anxiety but then when the baby is born there is an explosion of emotion and celebration of family and friends over the birth of the new addition to the family.

There is always the promise that the baby will grow up to be someone who will accomplish great things at sometime during her or his life and possibly may even be a source of a life altering invention or idea that may change the world for the better in the years to come all from that little baby girl or boy. Let’s keep that hope alive!

But like the welcoming of a new baby into the home, there are things that must be done for the baby to live in this world. She or he needs a birth certificate so the baby will be listed as a citizen and resident of the city and county where he or she was born. Then at some point the church will be contacted in the months to come and a baptismal conference and a baptism will be scheduled so the baby will be added to the preparatory roll. An application for a Social Security number for the baby should be completed as soon as possible so when the baby grows up and goes to school and eventually gets a job there will not be any problems.

Those details must be taken care of because we do not want to prevent progress in school or in work as the baby grows. But more importantly, because the baby is dearly loved and is special we want to do all that we can to help the baby reach the height of her or his fullest potential. No one does those things without having hope that good can come from that child one day even though we know that every baby can and will make mistakes. But not all of us feel that same hope in the face of possible failure, or the expectation of good things to come especially during the period after Christmas and the beginning of the New Year, it seems like the rollercoaster we have been riding during the days leading up to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays is coming to a stop.

We start to look around and it seems like the joy we possibly had before and during Christmas and the New Year is being taken over by money and job worries. A recent report from the Reuters news organization last week stated that because of the lure of free shipping costs by one of the major electronics chains and as well as many other retailers using the same incentive, market analysts saw a boost in their online sales divisions and I quote:

“U.S. shoppers spent $30.9 billion toward online purchases during the current holiday season, a 15 percent increase from the year-ago period, according to comScore.”

But the increases in sales are not as promising as they seem because of the deep discounts that were given to spark those online purchases. So, other than being upset at the lack of professionalism caused by stores that were unable to fill all the online orders, it was said that the debt that was built up during the past year, and particularly for the Christmas holiday, is causing a lot of concern for people. Couple that with so many mortgages that are underwater and the ongoing job cut backs that have taken place and are still being planned, and the looming federal tax break issues that are still being debated in Congress; it is no wonder why so many of us are feeling some anxiety in these days after Christmas. But do not allow those things to get you down.

These financial and job related concerns as well as difficult personal issues can steal our joy and cause us to lose hope that our future will still hold the good things that are promised to us through Christ who is our hope for a stable spiritual life because we may feel burdened by the weight of the various problems that surround us and not being able to see a clear cut solution to remedy our nation’s financial condition or for increased employment opportunities in the future. Even the solutions that are being offered as cures for our problems by some of our politicians often do not seem like they are going to be enough to fight off the ills that we face. But in the midst of all these areas that need fixing I say there is still hope.

I want you all to know that this type of worry and anxiety has been experienced before by the people of God long ago and it was worse then. In hearing today’s bible reading from Luke it relates the account of the real hope for a brighter future which was foretold and then lived out back then and is a key part of the Christmas story that is being re-told today.

The bible reading in Luke chapter two tells of a time when things were going badly for the Jewish people that Jesus was born into the midst of roughly two thousand years ago and who were experiencing, what seemed like, very hopeless circumstances. But the old saying is true that “The more things change, the more they stay the same” for the Jews were living in a land that was truly occupied by the Roman Empire. But unfortunately, this same scenario had been played out long before Rome took over Jerusalem.

Back in 586 B.C.E., Babylon conquered Judah and destroyed the Temple led by King Nebuchadnezzar and the Jews were also forced into exile. And Luke’s gospel takes place after the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. by Rome and the city of Jerusalem with it where most of the people of Jerusalem were driven out into the towns and villages surrounding Jerusalem and beyond. As before, the Jewish people were once again held in exiled by Rome, a brutal task master and though a promise had been foretold to them, through the prophets, of a Messiah coming to save them hundreds of years had passed and no sign of the great deliverer was seen.

But life went on and so did regular worship and rituals, the commemoration of holy days, harvest cycles, the celebration of weddings and births were all carried out even though the Jews were being treated harshly by the government of Rome. But it seemed that the people had begun to lose hope that there would be a better life because so many of them had been born and died without experiencing deliverance from the Roman Empire.

But they kept on doing what they had always done or were allowed to do as a people but the expectation of liberation was no longer felt in the same way as before when they were expecting the Messiah to show up and show out at anytime; to give them victory once and for all and kick the Romans out of their land and reestablish the kingdom of God in Jerusalem.

Turning to the Temple in Jerusalem where the rite of purification took place for Mary and for Jesus’ circumcision which was once the shining example of the glory of God’s favor for the Jewish people, it was God’s house. For Mary and Joseph the stage for the purification rite with the backdrop of the ruined Temple must have reminded them of the fact that they could not even participate in their own religious rituals without the looming presence of the Roman Empire in every single part of their life. The destruction of the Temple, which was the center of religious life for the Jews, was meant as a symbol of the destruction of the very fabric of the Jewish culture by Rome. A messiah was truly needed to redeem the Jews from their exile.

Into this story comes Simeon, the righteous and sincerely religious man, who looked forward to the consolation of Israel which is the fulfillment of the Jews’ hope for the Messiah’s entrance and divine salvation and also the prophet Anna, daughter of Phanuel, who spoke about Jesus being the Messiah to all who were looking for the redemption of Israel came as holy book ends of salvation and deliverance to verify who Jesus was to Mary and Joseph and also to those who were possibly gathered to pray at the Temple when they came to present the baby Jesus to the priests as one set apart for God’s service.

But Simeon tells Mary and Joseph that their son Jesus is destined for the ‘falling and rising’ of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed. That the opening of the hearts of men and women and thus their transformation into godly people would also bring stiff opposition and finally the pain of seeing Jesus scourged and killed for the sins of the world. But where is the hope in all of this?

The words of Simeon seemed more like the same heartache and pain would be coming to them instead of redemption, which is to make amends and atone for the sins of all of humanity. But hope was near and real not only for the Jews but for all of humanity!

We are all waiting for consolation like the exiled Jews were but we like they must realize that our consolation can only come from God’s salvation through redemption. Peace in the world is our goal but redemption through Christ makes that peace possible. Economic stability is wonderful and more jobs are needed to make that happen but without redemption it is only a dream. The end of disease and suffering is desperately needed and would make every one’s life easier but without redemption we cannot attain it. Free and equitable education for all the world’s children would totally transform the world and it could bring us the peace, healing, and economic stability that every nation on earth desires but how can it happen without the knowledge about what the need for redemption means to all of humanity. Redemption means that God made a way for human beings to get back into a right relationship with God through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross because of the harmful effects of sin on that relationship.

Judah had broke with God and began worship the false gods of their neighbors and even of their conquerors, they gave away the most cherished thing they had, their relationship with God. What do you do when you have given up a close relationship with God and you find yourself in bondage to whatever you have taken up as a replacement to God?

Now we all experience bondage of some kind. We may be bound by our addictions, our unhealthy family dynamics, or the rampant consumerism in our society, by various personal stressors and environmental conditions that cause us anxiety and depression or other chronic diseases.

But once we wish to be free from the things that have bound us how can we live as people who know that we are redeemed? I believe the ancient exiled Jews showed us examples of how that can be done. They participated in acts that reflected Christ’s redemption in the midst of their exile and we too can show our faith in Christ even as we are dealing with things that presently bind us up.

It looked like all hope was lost for the Jews, that the Messiah would not come to save them from Roman rule. But they continued to teach their children about God while still in bondage, they gave thanks to God for their children blessing them for God’s purpose, and they helped those who were in need by treating the sick, teaching God’s word consistently, encouraging those who grew faint of heart while living under harsh circumstances, they helped the social outcasts and the poor with regular donations. They gave to the work of the temple too all the while not knowing when the Messiah would return but maintaining the signs of hope that they would one day be consoled and redeemed by God. As with the writer of Hebrews 11:13 they could also say not all died but: 13 Many of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them.

Those consistent acts that reflect Christ’s redemption were also signs of hope in the Messiah, hope in God. Those acts themselves did not save or redeem anyone because no amount of good deeds can save us there is no such thing as works righteousness, but those acts did show that the people who participated in them with faith and hope relied on the one who does save and who does fully redeem everyone who believes in him.

We too can show our faith in Christ as we await his second appearance by participating in acts that reflect Christ’s redemption by caring for those who struggle financially, or with their healthcare, or because of discrimination, or due to unfair education, housing and employment practices. These all reflect Christ’s single act of redemption and which are also signs of our faith (confidence) and hope (expectation) in the God of us all who loves us so deeply that God came in the form of a baby and then grew into a man who sacrificed his life for us all who we now call Savior, Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Jesus is the sign of God’s redemption in which we still hope. Do not let this world steal your joy from you, join in taking care of each other’s needs and in so doing we will reflect Christ’s redemption of this world.   AMEN.