I want all of us who are parents to think back to a time when you presented one of your children for baptism. What was it that you were asking God to do when you brought your child for baptism? Grandparents, if it’s fresher to think about your feelings at the birth of a grandchild, do that. What would you want the Lord to do for your youngest grandchild?
For me, my deepest dream is that the Lord would make my children whole inside, confident that they are loved, confident that they can explore all of the gifts that God put inside them, confident that they can serve and make a difference in the world. I want them to know that God loves them and I want them to love God in return.
When you see a little baby, like Megan, don’t you just want the best for her? I don’t mean the best toys or the best bedroom furniture or the newest Nintendo or the hottest car. I mean the best in her heart, the best gifts from God.
Last Sunday we celebrated the birth of Jesus. Today we move ahead just a short time and see Mary and Joseph presenting their first-born child to God. Let me read the story for you. As I do, I hope we can feel all the high hopes that were in their hearts as they dedicated Jesus to God. And watch what God did to support them in their desires.
Now hear the word of God from Luke 2:21-35, then jump down to verse 40.
“21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
22 When the time of their purification according to the law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, `Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord'), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: `a pair of doves or two young pigeons.'
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."
33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: `This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."…
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.”
What do we see happening in the text? We see two young parents, Joseph and Mary, determined to give their child the proper religious upbringing. The passage says over and over again that they didn’t take short cuts. They did it right.
Verse 21 tells us they named him Jesus “the name the angel had given him.”
Verse 22 says that Mary completed a time in seclusion that was a requirement of mothers in the Law of Moses.
Verse 23 points out that they took Jesus to the temple to fulfill the Old Testament law that first-born sons be consecrated to the Lord.
Verse 24 says that they offered God the sacrifice “in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord.”
And then verse 39 confirms it, they returned home to Nazareth, “when Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord.”
In these first steps of providing spiritual care for their child, there was no skimping, was there? I don’t hear any discussion about what was convenient or what was too expensive or what didn’t fit into the schedule this week. They didn’t have their minivan yet to get them down to Jerusalem. But they got there. They were committed to giving Jesus, not just a good diet of food nutrition, not just a warm place to live, not just emotional love, but the best spiritual start they could.
And God was there to help them. In the temple that day that met this old man, Simeon. Luke tells us that he “was righteous and devout.” And it looks like they walked into the temple and this old stranger walked up to them and asked to hold their baby. And Simeon blessed them. Just out of the blue he seemed to understand something of what a special child Jesus was and he confirmed to Mary and Joseph his special calling to bring salvation for the world. He understood their longings and he shared them.
Can you feel what that would mean to young parents? One of the saints of the temple, who valued your child so much, who affirmed you in your every desire for your child to be blessed. Parenting is hard these days. There are so many dangers for our kids. The church can have such an important ministry of supporting and encouraging young families.
This church has had a long tradition of ministry to children. I hear it in the stories about the gym in the old building that burned down. I see it in this building with all the classroom space and the beautiful lawn. I see it in the programs for children that are here: Head Start, Mother’s Day Out, Kid’s Club, Scouts, Sunday School, Children’s Choir, youth groups.
And as we wrestle with the question of what God has called us to do that is special as a congregation, ministry to children seems like such an obvious fit for us. Children were a high priority to Jesus. Children are a big part of our history, here. It was just in the Northwest Herald a few months ago that they needed to make our street a one-way street from our intersection here because over 450 children go through our intersection here on the way to school each day. I encourage us to see ourselves as a church that loves and supports children and their families.
What did Simeon give to Mary and Joseph and Jesus? He gave them love. The first thing we read that he did was that he took Jesus in his arms. Boy, there are a lot of kids hungry for love today. My dream is that the church would be a place where any child will find a whole bunch of extra grandmas and grandpas, aunts, uncles and cousins, that every child who walks into this building would know that there is love here, and that he or she is included in God’s love.
I think back to one of my Sunday School teachers. I’ll guess I was in junior high. His name was Mr. Moore. I can’t put my finger on anything he taught us. But I remember feeling loved in our classroom, because he cared for us. Simeon gave Joseph and Mary and Jesus the gift of love.
Simeon gave them a gift of vision, also. Simeon had immersed himself in the scripture. He was so hungry to see God’s Messiah come and save Israel that God had promised to him that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. He was just immersed in scripture. The prayer that he prayed over Jesus pulls together a number of phrases from the Old Testament, especially the prophet, Isaiah.
And in Jesus’ case, he was confirming a totally unique identify and calling and vision. But I dream that every child who is part of this congregation would grow up with a vision for this world that is much greater than business as usual, dog eat dog, the one who accumulates the most things is the winner. I dream that every child would have a first hand experience here, from us, that God can enable people who may be very different to share their lives in Christian love, that God can enable us to really make a difference in the world as blessings to others. Those things are caught more than taught. They are experienced by the different generations serving God together.
When kids get to go on mission trips and see the needs of the world and see what a few servants of God working together can do, there is power in that. When a youth group has a conflict but they make the commitment to sit down and talk it out and resolve it using Christian principles, such important lessons are learned.
When kids can go Christmas caroling with the adults or waiting on tables or washing dishes at the mission dinner with adults, they are seeing for themselves glimpses of what God can do among us.
May this be a church where many children would grow up with a new vision for what God can do on this earth.
And then, one more gift that Simeon gave, the gift of understanding. Parenting can be really hard. There are many days when you really aren’t sure whether you are doing the right thing or not. You do the best you can but it is years before you get to see the finished product, so you hope and you pray and you do your best. Most parents have times when they wonder if they are really blowing it, and feel like there must be something wrong with them when parenting gets rough.
Well, it got really rough for Mary. The day came when she watched her beloved son die in agony on a cross. There aren’t words to describe that pain. I can picture Mary at the cross blaming herself, “Why didn’t I stop this a long time ago? Why didn’t I teach him better common sense?” And this old man, Simeon warned her of the pain that would pierce her soul from being the mother of Jesus. I like to think that his words might have been a little comfort to her in the pain she experienced as the mother of Jesus, that this was part of God’s plan.
Most things are a lot easier to bear when there is someone who understands and who cares, like Simeon did. It can be so helpful for a young parent to hear from an old timer, “It’s all right, I understand your struggle very well. I struggled, too.”
I dream that this church would be a place where many parents would find support in this so difficult calling of parenting. I’ve really enjoyed organizing parenting groups in the past, where we went through a book or a video series on parenting together and then just talked about our challenges and our successes. This gift of understanding can mean so much.
So today we meet a young couple, determined to do everything they can to give their child a solid spiritual foundation for life.
And we meet this precious saint, Simeon, whom God sent to help them. May God grant us to work together in just the same way to be a blessing to many children.
Let’s look to God in prayer.
Almighty God, Father in heaven. We thank you for this dear man, Simeon, and the support he gave to this trembling young couple, Mary and Joseph. We pray that you would speak to members of this congregation, here, to make the commitment to do the same things for our children here, to give them the gifts of love and vision and understanding. We thank you for the gift of our children. Lord, Help us to be faithful to give them the best possible start on the road to being your disciples. AMEN
