God often uses the ordinary to accomplish something extraordinary.
Christmas is over. Though the church season of Christmas is just beginning, culturally the big day has come and gone. People had some extra time off of work or school. They slept in a little. They ate special food. They gave and received gifts.
And now, it is over. Back to work. Back to school. Back to the office. Christmas is over. Good feelings gone. Christmas is great, Christmas is exciting, and then Christmas is over. Back to the real world. Back to “normal” life. Back to the everyday and ordinary. It happens every Christmas. We go from amazing minutes we wish would last forever, back to the daily routine that... just... will... not... end.
We get back into the routine. We see the same things over and over. We say the same things over and over. We hear the same things over and over. And it all becomes ordinary. We go from great expectations and excitement, to the ordinary and mundane.
Simeon knows how you feel. The story of Simeon is a story about great expectations and excitement, which ends with the ordinary and the mundane. Even Simeon’s “song” has become sort of ordinary. In one hymnal, the Lutheran Service Book, Simeon’s song is part of Divine Service, setting one, Divine Service, setting two, Divine Service, setting three, Divine Service, setting four, Divine Service, setting five, Compline, and the prayer service at the close of the day. Simeon’s song is everywhere. It is common.
Christmas is an exciting time of year, but then life goes back to normal, and everything goes back to being ordinary again. Back to school. Back to work. Back to the routine.
And that is kind of like the story of Simeon. Simeon had an extraordinary experience. “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” God says, “Simeon, no matter how long it takes, you are not going to die until you have seen My Salvation with your own eyes. I promise.”
“Are you serious God? I will not die until I see the Christ? When? When will that be?”
“Simeon, I promise, you will not die before you have seen the Christ. I promise you will see My Salvation of the world. I promise.”
If you think it is hard waiting for a few forgettable Christmas presents, imagine being Simeon!
Simeon did not have an Advent calendar to help him count down the days and weeks. He had no idea when it would happen. All he had was a promise, a promise he would see God’s Savior of the world sometime before he died.
The account of Simeon is a story about great expectations and excitement. But then life went back to normal, and everything was ordinary again. Back to school. Back to work. Back to normal life. We are not told how long Simeon had to wait, but he waited. Imagine every day feeling like Christmas Eve, day after day, week after week, maybe year after year! Every single day feels like Christmas Eve. Simeon waited... until God finally came through on His promise.
God made a huge promise. And that promise provoked great expectations and excitement. And when it is time for God to come through... when it is time for God to keep His Word and fulfill His promise... when it is time for God to do something spectacular... when Simeon cannot hardly wait for his great God to act in a great way... God fulfills His Word... with an ordinary girl and her kid in diapers.
God fulfills His Word... with an ordinary girl and her kid in diapers.
The account of Simeon is a story about great expectations and excitement, that ends with the ordinary and the mundane. Simeon is looking for God to save the world. Simeon has been given an amazing promise, and he has amazing expectations. And then this ordinary girl and her kid show up; ordinary, mundane, anticlimactic.
If I were Simeon, I would have been disappointed. “God, you have to be kidding me. This? This is your big surprise? This is your big plan? Do you have a plan B? Something a little less ordinary?”
But God often uses the ordinary to accomplish something extraordinary. Far from being bored and let down with this ordinary girl and her ordinary baby, far from being let down, Simeon bursts into a song, and it is a song that has been sung by Christians for centuries ever since. God often uses the ordinary to accomplish something extraordinary.
Simeon sees an ordinary girl and her kid in diapers, and we have been singing his song ever since! You might know it as Simeon’s Song. You might know it as the Nunc Dimittis: Simeon’s excited reaction to an ordinary experience.
Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant
Depart in peace according to Thy Word,
For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation
Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people,
A light to lighten the Gentiles
And the glory of Thy people Israel.
God often uses the ordinary to accomplish something extraordinary. Simeon sees an ordinary girl and her kid, but in this God is fulfilling His promise. God is doing something amazing. The ordinary was truly extraordinary, and we have been singing Simeon’s song ever since.
“Almighty God, You came through. You kept Your promise. I have seen Salvation with my own eyes. Now I can leave, now I can live in peace. This baby was the promise I have been waiting for. But not just me, He is for everybody. This promise is for all people. This baby boy is the light of life for the Gentiles. This giggling child is the glory of Your people Israel. The people You chose, the people to whom You gave Your promise, Your Word. Your Word has been fulfilled, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.”
Of course, Simeon could have reacted differently. Imagine how the story of Simeon could have happened. What if Simeon was different? What if Simeon was more like, well, more like us? What if it happened to me? God the Holy Spirit speaks directly and immediately to me and makes me an outrageous promise. I can hardly believe it. It is too good to be true. I run home and tell my wife. I call my mom and dad. I stay up all night thinking about it. I get up early the next day and stake out a good seat at the Temple... and wait.
What if Simeon was more like me? I get the best seat in the Temple court, and I look for God. I wait. Nothing happens. The next day I am a little less excited, but I get my seat at the Temple, and I look for God. I wait. Nothing. Next week I sleep in a few minutes, then I get my seat at the Temple, and it becomes this boring, mundane, routine. After a while, I do not even know why I bother. I just go the Temple, and sit in my pew, because that is what I do.
Some weeks, I do not even bother going. I am not going to miss anything. It is always the same anyway. I will go next week. I just go to the Temple and sit in my pew, because that is what I do most Sunday mornings. I used to look for God, but the newness of the promise has long since faded.
It is not difficult to imagine, is it? What if Simeon acted differently? What would that look like? It might look a lot like me. God makes an exciting and extraordinary promise, and then He delivers it in a simple and ordinary way. God often uses something ordinary to accomplish something extraordinary. That is just the way God works.
God often uses something ordinary to accomplish something extraordinary. That is just the way God works.
So, what are you going to do about it? God makes you an outrageous promise, but He delivers it in mundane ways. What are you going to do about it? We have a choice:
We can get into the routine. We see the same things over and over. We say the same things over and over. We hear the same things over and over. And it all becomes... ordinary. We go from great expectations and excitement, to the ordinary and mundane, and it can get us down
Or we can sing Simeon’s Song. Far from being bored and let down with this ordinary girl and her ordinary baby, far from being let down, Simeon bursts into a song. Simeon bursts into a song that has been sung by Christians for centuries ever since. We can sing Simeon’s Song.
Remember when I said Simeon’s Song is in pretty much all the services in the hymnal? Do you know where it shows up in most services? We ordinarily sing this familiar song after we hear familiar words that we have heard again and again and again: Take, eat. Take, drink. Take, eat. This is the true body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, given unto death for your sins. Take, drink. This is the true blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for the forgiveness of your sins. Take eat, take drink. Eat the bread. Drink the wine. It can be common. It can be ordinary.
But God uses the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary. So, we can be bored with it... or we can sing Simeon’s Song. You see, God’s Word promises life and peace and the forgiveness of sins through the common bread and the ordinary wine. And as we commune, that promise is fulfilled.
Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant
Depart in peace according to Thy Word,
For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation
Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people,
A light to lighten the Gentiles
And the glory of Thy people Israel.
Christmas is over. Back to work. Back to school. Back to the office. Back to the everyday and ordinary. But God is at work in the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary.
So, invite and challenge your people to make “church” part of their ordinary routine. Come to church every Sunday. Come to Bible study every Sunday. Come to Confirmation every Wednesday. Come to Youth Group every Thursday. Make it routine. Make it ordinary. Come to see salvation. Come to see the Savior. Come to see Jesus, week in and week out, again and again and again. Come to church.
And when you leave, depart in the peace and joy of the Lord. Your sins are forgiven, you are free, through faith in that baby Simeon sang about so long ago. Depart in peace. God’s Word has been fulfilled. Amen.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Luke 2:22-40.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Luke 2:22-40.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Luke 2:22-40.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
Lectionary Podcast-Dr. Peter Scaer of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through Luke 2:22-40.
