"God's New Year's Resolution": Sermon and Worship for Dec 31st

Worship was Cancelled this morning, so here is a brief order of service.

Luke 2:22-40

The gospel is announced.

The holy gospel according to Luke.

Glory to you, O Lord.

Luke’s narrative continues with stories that emphasize Jesus’ connection to Judaism. His family is devout in its observance of the law, and Jesus himself is recognized as one who will bring glory to Israel.

²²When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, [Joseph and Mary] brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), ²⁴and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
  ²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. ²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, ²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
 ²⁹“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
  according to your word;
 ³⁰for my eyes have seen your salvation,
  ³¹which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
 ³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles
  and for glory to your people Israel.”
  ³³And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed ³⁵so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
  ³⁶There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
  ³⁹When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

The gospel concludes:

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

            Happy New Year’s Eve! How many of you are planning on putting together some resolutions?

            Why is it that we do resolutions? We get to the end of the year, and we start to think over what we’ve all done in the last 12 months, and well, most resolutions are for reasons that we want to change or better ourselves. We sort of want a do over or a start over.

            Why do we like restarts? It’s similar to why kids like the end of semesters, partly no school, but also, all the errors and mistakes from the last semester are gone, well sort of, they’re still on records, but the next class isn’t impacted by the previous, you may have messed up last month, but with the new start, you can avoid the errors and attempt to change your ways. We like the idea that the things we’ve done wrong can no longer impact and hurt us. That all the things you’ve messed up on can be forgotten and forgiven, you start with a clean slate.

            In our Gospel it is now around 40 days after Jesus birth in Luke. Mary and Joseph are good practicing Jews and so they bring Jesus to the Temple for his circumcision and Mary’s purification following birth, both things that are called for in the Torah. There two separate, but interconnected, interchanges occur. The first, a man named Simeon, is a old man who has been told by the Spirit that he will not die until he sees the Lord’s Messiah, the one to save the people. And when he sees Jesus he proclaims that this is the Messiah, and that Jesus shall be the cause of the falling and rising of many. It’s important to note the order here, often it would be said, the rising and falling of many, but it’s falling and rising. I, in fact, think that this refers not to different groups of people, one falling and one rising, but that both things are said to occur to people. That people will fall and then be raised by God. That they will die and be reborn. It invokes for me the language of Baptism. That in our baptism, connected to Christ’s death and resurrection, we die in those waters, and then are reborn. We fall, and then we rise.

            The second person is Anna, a widow for probably around 60-65 years, and a prophet. In fact, she’s the first evangelist. An evangelist is the one who brings the gospel of Jesus Christ to people, who declares the good news of Jesus in their lives. And so, before Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, before Paul and his writings, before any of the 12 Disciples, we find Anna. And what she and also Simeon see is the new thing that God is doing through Jesus. They look upon this small baby, 5 weeks old, and see the salvation of the whole world. They see that in Jesus, God is doing a restart, a redo. And this time it’s not like Noah, it doesn’t involve destruction, but involves salvation. This restart is not done with punishment, but done with grace and love.

            That’s what’s important in Christ, it is the start of something new. This is God’s New Year’s resolution, not for God’s change, but for ours. God’s resolution is for our forgiveness and salvation, and it’s because of God’s love for us.

            Every moment with Christ is the start of something new. Every moment our baptism is enacted and we die and rise again. We fall and then we rise. We die and are reborn. Our sin is removed so we can go out again.

            In Christ we find forgiveness and grace, we find mercy and acceptance. All those things we long for in making resolutions, we find in Christ. Christ gives us the restart we long for, the forgiveness we seek.

            If you make resolutions this week, start with the knowledge that God has brought life to you already, that you, through your baptism, have already fallen and risen in Christ. That in you God has done a new thing.

            And so, through that new thing, we seek to see God at work doing new things through us in this world. Anna and Simeon see this small baby and see the great things God will do, God looks upon each and everyone of us and sees the great things we can do. God sees not the mistakes you’ve made, but sees within you all that you are capable of. God’s resolution for you this week is for you to see the same, to see not your failures, but to see how you are a beloved Child of God, claimed and accepted, reborn and restored, fallen and raised. God always gives to us a restart, and calls upon us to give that same grace and mercy to ourselves and all those around us.

May God bless you this day and always, may Christ be with you in this new year that you may know that you are loved and forgiven. Amen.

Prayers of Intercession

Drawn near to God as children and heirs of Christ’s promise, we pray for all people of God, for our nation and our world, and for those in need.

A brief silence.

For the faith communities of this city and for faith communities throughout the world. Help us to see ourselves in our neighbors, especially those who differ from us, and draw us together in common service to those who are hungry, poor, and oppressed. Lord, Listen to your Children praying

For the well-being of the earth as we begin another year entrusted with its care. Give us lively imaginations to see ways to conserve its limited resources, harness its renewable energies, and conform ourselves to its natural goodness. Lord, Listen to your Children praying

For peace among nations, for peace in our homes, and for peace in our hearts. Urge us to cry out at injustice and inequality among your people until vindication comes and righteousness prevails. For those who wait in the shadow of death, for those who are ill, for those who struggle to see the future, and for all who lack even their basic needs. Transform our love toward them with the vision of eyes that have seen the salvation of God. Lord, Listen to your Children praying

For those who cannot see, for those who cannot hear, for those who have varied use of their limbs, and for those able to exercise all the senses. Help us to appreciate the fullness of God’s gift of life in our varied abilities, and to celebrate the diversity that reveals a more complete image of the one who makes us all family. Lord, Listen to your Children praying

For all those on our hearts, the family of Carrol Strand, the family of Mark Madsen, Martin Jorgenson, Aubrey Welch, Dawn Gross, George Kneebone, Milissa Jensen, Jan Ferrari, Ashlee Jensen, Alexander Jensen, Robbie Dryden, Lynn Kanne, Mel Griffith, Dick Dressen, Cole Loetz, Lincoln Wheelock, John Williams, Mary Rieken, Dennis Rieken, Shawn Rosenbaum. Lord, Listen to your Children praying

We give thanks for those who have gone before us in this year and now rest in you (especially). Led by Mary and Joseph, Anna and Simeon, let us live in your praise until the day we depart in your peace. Lord, Listen to your Children praying

Into your outstretched arms, O God, we commend ourselves and all for whom we pray, trusting in Jesus Christ, the light and life of the world.

Amen.

NEW YEAR’S PRAYER

God of wisdom and truth, at the beginning of this new year we look back and we look forward.

In the year that has passed we experienced joy and we experienced sorrow;
we felt blessed and we felt challenged.
Some things went by much too fast, and some things lingered for far too long.

Here in this place
we are reminded that you are present through it all.
We are reminded that we are never alone.
We are reminded that nothing can separate us from your love.

So at the beginning of this new year, we pause now in silence to reflect on the year that has passed.

We remember the things from this past year that we are most thankful for.
We recall the moments we were the happiest.
We consider the times we felt most alive.

We recognize the times we gave and received the most love.

(silence)

We are grateful, God, that you were present in those times.

We also remember the things from this past year that we are least thankful for.
We recall the moments we were the least happy.
We consider the times we felt life draining from us.
We recognize the times we gave and received the least love.

(silence)

We are grateful, God, that you were present in those times too.

Gracious God, at the beginning of this new year,
we also look forward to the year to come.
We are confident that you will be with us still,
when we are thankful and when we are not;
when we are happy and when we are sad;
when we feel alive and when we feel drained;
when we give and receive love and when we do not.

God, the world we live in is messy and challenging,
it is the world of King Herod,
a world of pain,  a world of doubt,
a world of fear,  a world of jealousy,
a world of violence,  a world of domination,
a world of injustice,  a world of human failings.

Yet, God, you are with us always.
So give us grace and give us courage
to live faithfully in this imperfect world.
Remind us always of the promise of your kingdom,
emerging around us and through us.

Dismissal

Glory to God in the highest!

Peace to God’s people on earth!

Go in peace. Share the gift of Jesus.

Thanks be to God.

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