Advent Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Reverend Wayne Palmer "Seeing It With My Own Eyes" Sunday, 28 December 2014

Advent Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Reverend Wayne Palmer "Seeing It With My Own Eyes" Sunday, 28 December 2014

Read Luke 2:25-32 In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:
God, you can now release your servant;
    release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;
    it’s now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
    and of glory for your people Israel.
"My eyes have seen Your salvation."[Luke 2:30]
Today is the fourth day of Christmas and my wise men are making solid progress on their way to the manger scene. But today we are looking at Simeon, who held little Jesus in his arms at the same time the wise men were traveling toward the land of Israel.
Mary must have been amazed at the things God revealed to her about Jesus through friends and total strangers. First, her cousin Elizabeth told her she was pregnant with God's Son before Mary had the chance to say a word about it (Luke 1:39-45). Then, Joseph told her about the angel in his dream who said he should not be afraid to take her as his wife because the child was God's Son (Matthew 1:18-25). And, of course, there were the shepherdswho rushed in that first Christmas night to tell of the angel's message.
And here through another total stranger God reveals to Mary the scope of her Son's work. Simeon said, "My eyes have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to Your people Israel" (Luke 2:30-32). Mary knew Jesus would reign over the throne of His father David and save Israel. But now she learned Jesus would save not only Israel, He would be the Savior for all nations.
Jesus came as a light for those who live in the darkness of sin, unbelief, and ignorance. He came for those who do not know that God the Creator is perfect, and He demands perfection of His creatures. He came for those who do not know God is merciful. He came for those-Jew and Gentile alike-because He is love. In fact, He loved this fallen world so much that He gave His one and only Son to take all mankind's sins upon Himself and win eternal salvation for all of us by His suffering, death, and resurrection.
For those of us who do know God's Word, Jesus brings glory to God through the great salvation He has won. And in our lives He brings glory by clothing us in His own righteousness and leading us to do good works that glorify God.
Like Simeon, our eyes have seen God's salvation. That is why Simeon's song has been sung for centuries in the Church after receiving Holy Communion. When we receive the bread and wine we are holding Christ's very body and blood, which was nailed to the cross and poured out for our forgiveness. We have seen it with our own eyes and felt it with our hands and on our tongues. No less than Simeon we can say, "My eyes have seen Your salvation." Having been saved, we glorify God and depart in peace to share Christ's salvation throughout the world.
THE PRAYER: Lord God, I praise You for revealing Your salvation to me-Your Son Jesus Christ. As He has brought light to my darkened mind, let me share His name to all those You bring into my life, that they may see His light and praise You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
The Lutheran Hour
660 Mason Ridge Center Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63141

1-800-876-9880
_____________________________