Year B, 1st Sunday after Christmas (January 1, 2012)

·         Isaiah 61:10 - 62:3

·         Psalm 148 (13)

·         Galatians 4:4-7

·         Luke 2:22-40

The readings from Luke this time of year are rather iffy. They're written long after Christ's life and death and don't really fit in with the rest of the story. They create plot holes, if you will. The whole concept of "Christmas" is in fact very dubious, and it's well established historically that the celebration of Christmas was instituted by the leadership of the church several centuries after Christ's death, for reasons of politics more than theology. Nonetheless the prayer of Simeon is interesting and, in my opinion, meaningful. I use it in my evening prayers in the modern form:

Now Lord 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 people;
a light to reveal you to the nations,
and the glory of your people Israel.

The lectionary committee thoughtfully provided us for today with a passage in Isaiah which Simeon echoes:

I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
my whole being shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness...
As the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.

Again, notice the themes in these texts: salvation, righteousness, and the glory of the Lord. Simeon is talking about Christ, and Isaiah is talking about Zion, but they're really both talking about us, Christians, the body of Christ. The Lord has covered us, you and me, Zion, the body of Christ, with the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness. We, you and me, Zion, the body of Christ, are the light to reveal him to the nations. We are the glory of the Lord. We are "a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God." We are the ones out of whom the Lord causes righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

Notice also, once again, what is NOT in these texts. Loot. As I keep saying day after day, the Lord doesn't care about loot. The Lord doesn't hand out loot, he doesn't bless us through loot, he doesn't reward the just with loot and punish the wicked with lack of loot. If you think that, you're confusing the Lord with Santa, and speaking of which, there is a funny story about Santa in 1 Kings 18:20-40; you can read it at home later. In short, the priests of Santa, or Baal as they called him back then, call on his name all day long, and nothing whatever happens. And so it is to this day. You can pray to your gods of loot day and night, and nothing will come of it. But if you pray to the Lord, the Lord answers. Only, the Lord doesn't give out loot, but these blessings: salvation and righteousness.

When we call on the Lord, he answers, by bringing us into the body of Christ, so that we can be lights to reveal him to the nations. How? By serving. We do not work miracles; only God does. But we serve our neighbour, joyfully and indefatigably, and so all people see the glory of the Lord through us. We should serve our neighbour in a way that they do not give thanks to us, but to the Lord. When people see us serving others, they should see that the Lord is with us and that it is the Lord who helps. If all of us Christians were living the faith of Christ and showing the righteousness and glory of the Lord, whenever someone is in trouble, his first thought would be "I hope a Christian comes along to help me." If we were living according to the faith of Christ, no one, believer or unbeliever, would hesitate to turn to a Christian for help.

In that sense, our Muslim brothers are better Christians than we are. They do not have faith [SQG] "in" Jesus, but they have the faith of Jesus, often more than us Christians. A good Muslim has a duty of hospitality, and will fulfill it. You can call on him when in need, and he will let you into his house, feed you, and protect you. Does he believe that Christ died for his sins? No. But he serves his neighbour for the glory of the Lord, and in doing so he is closer to Christ than many of us who just move our lips and put money in the plate.

Am I saying that we are saved by works rather than faith? By no means. We are saved by faith, through the grace Christ won for us, freely given regardless of our merit or lack thereof. But because we are saved and Christ lives on in us, the Spirit moves us to serve others, freely and regardless of their merit, just as Jesus did when he lived among us. That is righteous, and we rejoice in it, knowing that we are serving the Lord. Thus the Lord causes righteousness and praise to spring up from us before all the nations, until we shine out like the dawn, a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of our God.

Praise be to God, the King, the Most Holy, the Bestower of Peace.