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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">A New Beginning</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">My
colleague John Rottman has said that since this passage always occurs
in the Church Year and in various Lectionary cycles so close to the end
of the year, he has often seen some similarity between the old man
Simeon beholding the infant Jesus and the typical cartoon sketch we
often see around New Year's Day in which the Old Year is portrayed as a
haggard, worn-out looking old man with a long white beard even as the
New Year is portrayed as a fresh-faced newborn baby in a diaper. That
cartoonish way to picture the close of a year reminds us that any given
block of 365 days contains more than its share of ups and downs, trials
and tribulations, good things and bad things such that if a year's worth
of global events really were able to be incarnated inside one single
person, that person would look pretty well beat up and done in come
December 31-a far cry from the full-of-promise baby New Year he had been
twelve months before.<br>
<br>
Although this is just a picturesque way of
envisioning Simeon's encounter with the baby Jesus at the Temple-and
one that springs from a temporal coincidence of when the church tends to
look at this text that has little to do with the text
proper-nonetheless there is a sense in which Luke is telling us that one
long period of the history of God's people is now coming to a close and
a new era-a new beginning-has shown up in the form of that infant
Jesus.<br>
<br>
Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations<br>
___________________________</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">Not Exactly What Was Expected<br>
<br>
In
the 14th century the Italian artist named Lorenzetti painted the scene
Luke tells us about in our passage for today. Simeon and Anna are
gathered at the altar. Mary and Joseph look on in amazed silence. The
prophetess Anna has her eyes fixed on the child. Simeon, with a solemn
look on his face, stares down at the baby in his arms. Yet the baby
Jesus at the center of the picture surprises everyone. They all seem to
gaze awestruck at him as Lorenzetti has him sucking his thumb!<br>
<br>
The
family may marvel, the aged Simeon and Anna may prophesy, but this
little child-this thumb-sucking baby Jesus-is not exactly what was
expected.<br>
<br>
Bill Hayes, Is It Good News Or Bad News?<br>
__________________________<br>
<br>
</span></div>
<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Courage to Face the New Year</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">There is an odd little carol which is sometimes sung on this first Sunday after Christmas. It begins: <br>
<br>
There's snow on the mountain and ice on the pond, <br>
The Wise Men are home now in the back of beyond. <br>
The Shepherd's have left us; the heavens are dumb; <br>
There's no one to tell us why Jesus has come. <br>
<br>
It ends: <br>
<br>
But God's in His heaven, and Jesus has come <br>
To show every sinner he's welcome back home, <br>
To be this world's Saviour from hunger and fear, <br>
And give us new courage to face the New Year. <br>
<br>
We have courage to face this New Year because of Jesus. He is Immanuel-God with us and for us. <br>
<br>
James D. Kegel, The Rest of the Story<br>
__________________________</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">It Is Jesus!</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The
great philanthropist Stanley S. Kresge was often in the company of
college presidents or other fund-raisers asking for endowment or
financial aid. During the course of discussion, Mr. Kresge would always
ask one question, "Do you think the world is better today than it was
2,000 years ago?" I'd like to ask you that question today. Is the world
any better after 2,000 years since Christ came?</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I
say to you on this closing Sabbath of the second millennium, that it is
Jesus Christ and his teachings that lie behind all the efforts at
social reform. It was he who put an end to slavery. It was Jesus who
abolished the gladiatorial shows of ancient Rome. It was Jesus who
elevated the status of women. It was Jesus who sanctified childhood. It
was Jesus, who by his emphasis upon the worth of human personality
conferred on us our liberty. It is Jesus who has given us a new way of
life, a new standard of conduct, a new power for living. Christ can save
our world when Jesus is born again in the hearts of men and women.</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">William K. Quick, Seeing and Believing (Luke 2:22-40), on The Protestant Hour</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">A Sight for Certain Eyes</span></div>
<div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'">The
boy Jesus was a powerful and expected sight for certain eyes born of
devout and unwavering faith. It has been said that Harriet Tubman was
known to wait in train stations without the aid of train schedules or
knowing when the train was coming. When asked why she would do that, she
simply said because she knew the train was coming. In an age where
people want to know, in an age of GPS, in an age of PDA's and all
information load, this may sound strange, but what does it mean to wait
without a schedule but to be certain that the train is coming? Could it
be that Tubman knew that the station was the place to be when waiting
for coming trains? Might it have been that Tubman recognized that the
tracks had already been laid outside the station for traveling beyond
where her stationed eyes could see?<br>
<br>
Likewise, Simeon and Anna
were stationed in the very place, the temple, where certain eyes were
able to see and recognize the boy Jesus for who he was and is--the
Messiah! We know that not all would or could not see Jesus as the
Messiah. Experience had clouded their expectation, but this text calls
us to expect to experience and to express what the Lord has shown us in
the midst of all else. The world would not recognize him as the Messiah,
certainly not a man on a donkey from an off-the-beaten-path like
Nazareth. What a word!!! What a sight to see consolation and redemption
in a baby that was yet gurgling. How it must have been for Joseph and
Mary to see and hear what they heard! The text says that they were
amazed!<br>
<br>
Ozzie Smith, A Sight for Certain Eyes<br>
____________________</span></div>
<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The Nature of Salvation</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">There
is something surprising, unexpected about the appearance of salvation,
something which contradicts pious opinions and intellectual demands. The
mystery of salvation is the mystery of a child. A child is real, and
not yet real, it is in history and not yet historical. It's nature is
visible and invisible, it is here and not yet here. And just this is the
character of salvation. Salvation has the nature of a child. </span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Paul Tillich</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Forgive Us Our Christmases</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Is
it just me or does it seem to you as well that with each Christmas the
activity surrounding the holidays just gets more and more hectic? It is
not difficult to lose one's perspective at Christmas.</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I
recall the story about an 8-year-old girl who had a most disappointing
Christmas. She didn't get the gifts she hoped to receive. She got into
arguments with her older brother. Her mother walked into their play area
to find her fighting with him and she was blamed. She took her anger
out on the cat and found herself in bed that night earlier than usual.
When she prayed the Lord's prayer as was her custom she said, "and
forgive us our Christmases as we forgive those who Christmas against
us."</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mike Motsko, Characters of Christmas: Simeon and Anna</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">______________________________</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mary's Suffering</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">There
are two well-known pictures, each with the same title, "The Shadow of
the Cross." One by Holeman Hunt depicts the interior of a carpenter's
shop, with Joseph and the Boy Jesus at work. Mary is also present. The
Boy Jesus pauses in his work, and as he stretches himself the shadow of
the cross is formed on the wall. The other picture is a popular
engraving which depicts the Infant Jesus running with outstretched arms
to his mother, the shadow of the cross being cast on the ground by his
form as he runs. Both pictures are fanciful in form, but their
underlying message is true. If we read the Gospels just as they stand,
it is clear that the death of Jesus Christ was really in view almost
from the outset of his earthly appearance. At first sight there seems
little in them about his death, but as we look deeper we see more. It
was part of the divine purpose and plan for him from the first, and very
early we have a hint of the cross in the words of the aged Simeon to
the mother of our Lord: "A sword shall pierce through thine own heart
also."</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">James W. Cox, The Minister's Manual 1985, New York: Harper, 1984, p. 70.</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The Light That Brings Discomfort</span></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In
1992 a lighthouse was built in Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican
Republic. This is one of the poorest areas in the world. The lighthouse
was constructed to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the arrival of
Christopher Columbus. 150,000 people were evicted from their homes in a
shantytown to make room for it. The intensity of its light means that
electricity is rationed throughout much of the city. The light that
brings security for some brings discomfort for others...</span></div>
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<div style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px"><span style="COLOR: black">The conclusion to this illustration and many additional illustrations and sermons for the entire year can be accessed at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sermons.com/">www.Sermons.com</a>.</span></div>
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