"THE NUNC DIMITTIS"
Midweek Advent Worship III
December 14, 2016
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
"Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word; for my eyes have seen Your Salvation."
Luke 2:29, 30 (ESV)
Our midweek Advent series concludes this evening as we reflect on Simeon's hymn of praise, known to us as the Nunc Dimittis. Most of us are familiar with this song from its use as a post-Communion canticle in the liturgy of the Lord's Supper. It is also offered, together with the Magnificat of Mary, as an evening canticle at Compline--Prayer at the close of the day. Some of us may have perhaps heard it sung or spoken at funerals as well. It's a good song with which to mark the conclusion of anything in the Lord's name: a celebration of the Lord's Supper, a service of prayer at the end of the day, or the earthly life of a Christian. In this song of praise we join Simeon in giving thanks to the Lord for fulfilling His promises to us and for giving us the opportunity to experience His greatest gift of all: the gift of salvation, which provides us with everything that we need to face whatever may lie ahead for us, be it a life of service and witness, a night of restful sleep, or even the sleep of death.
To fully appreciate Simeon's words in this hymn, we need to take a look at the context in which they were sung. Mary and Joseph were at the temple with the Infant Jesus to present Him to the Lord in obedience to the Old Testament Law that states: "Consecrate to Me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is Mine" (Exodus 13:2). Every firsborn male had to be presented to the Lord on the fortieth day after his birth and had to be redeemed (or "bought back") with a sacrifice. The fact that the sacrifice that Mary and Joseph offered was "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:24) reveals their poverty, because this was the offering prescribed "if [they could] not afford a lamb" (Leviticus 12:8). Simeon was there in the temple because he "was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25). "The consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25) could mean nothing other than the appearance of the Messiah--the One promised by God who would come into the world to bring about reconciliation between perfect God and sinful man through the forgiveness of man's sin. As we meditate on the Nunc Dimittis this evening, let's try to recapture the thoughts and emotions of Simeon as we think about the Lord's salvation in terms of the promise and the reality.
As for the promise, in Luke's Gospel we are told in very specific terms what that promise was for Simeon: "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ" (Luke 2:26). We aren't told precisely how this revelation came to this elderly man of God, but that doesn't really matter. What does matter is that Simeon believed the Lord and trusted that He would be faithful to His promise. The prospect of his death, therefore, didn't unsettle Simeon in the least, because he knew that before he closed his eyes in death he would have already seen with his own eyes the Source of salvation for him and for every other sinner: the Anointed One of God who came into the world "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10)--to restore the loving fellowship that existed between God and His creatures before sin entered the picture and alienated man from his Creator.
You and I have received a promise too. It is in fact a promise very similar to the one that Simeon received. We have the Lord's promise that salvation and death will come hand-in-hand to us also. We who have been baptized in the name of the Triune God have received the Holy Spirit as the Seal of that promise. The evidence that we have that Spirit is our faith in Christ and our confession of His name--a faith nourished and a confession strengthened by the Gospel of Christ, which comes to us in real words that we can hear and believe and take comfort in and in real food that we can eat and drink and be strengthened by. We need not look for all kinds of miraculous signs and wonders to be assured of God's presence with us. In fact, if we do, we are doubting the Lord's promise, holding Him to something that He has not promised. But what He has promised is sure: that He will meet us and strengthen us in and through His means of grace.
The day when Mary and Joseph appeared in the temple with the Infant Jesus turned out to be for Simeon the day when God's promise to him became reality. The salvation that he had longed to see throughout his lifetime--the salvation that God had promised him would come before he died--now rested in his very arms. This salvation was no longer an abstract concept for Simeon. It was now something that he could actually see and hear and touch, having been embodied in a tiny helpless Baby. He didn't have to see everything that lie ahead for him; He knew that this little Baby lying in his arms would one day be the once-for-all, all-atoning sacrifice for human sin. That's why he said to the Child's mother: "This Child is appointed for the the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a Sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also) , so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:34, 35).
The Lord's promise has become reality for us too. The salvation that we long for and anticipate has come to us also. How could this be, you might wonder, since the Child who Simeon cradled in his arms was born, lived, died, rose, and ascended centuries ago? The Savior who was born so long ago in Bethlehem and whose final coming in glory we await is present among us right here and now. That is His promise: "Where two or three are gathered in My name," He says, "there am I among them" (Matthew 18:20). Whenever we read or hear or study the Word of God, the incarnate Christ is present with us and speaks to us in and through that Word. Whenever we eat the body and drink the blood of the incarnate Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar, He is present with us bodily and feeds us with His true body and blood, broken and shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins. The Word of Christ that we hear and read and the body and blood of Christ that we eat and drink are every bit as real to us today as that Baby was to Simeon so long ago.
Simeon waited patiently for the coming his Savior and, once he saw Him, he was ready to "depart in peace" in accordance with the Lord's promise. We ought to be able to say the same thing because, ultimately, what is it that we need to be ready for a truly peaceful death? No, it's not a trip to Disney World or to the Super Bowl or whatever other fantasy might happen to be on our proverbial "bucket list." It is knowing and possessing as our very own the salvation that comes through Jesus Christ--the One promised by God in ancient times and revealed to us at the first Christmas as Son of God and the Savior of the world when He "became flesh and dwelt among us . . . full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). As we live in this violent and uncertain world and especially as we draw near to the mystery of death, His Spirit gives us perfect peace and confidence in Him who has made and continues to make us ready for anything.
Amen.
May the One who once came as an Infant in Bethlehem prepare you for His coming again in glory by His Means of Grace, through which He comes to you even now. May He equip you to be His witnesses so that you, like the Baptist in the wilderness, may prepare the way of the Lord. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.