Life Ministries

“Do You See What I See?”
Luke 2:25-33

    The focus of this Christmas series of messages comes from the verse just previous to our scripture today. It reads: “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told”…I have used the words to a familiar Christmas song called “Do You Hear What I hear?” as a theme. Last time I spoke about the difference between listening and hearing. Quite often we come to worship and we sit and listen to what is being said and sung and preached, but we don’t really “hear” what is being said. For instance, in this story of the shepherds, it says they “glorified and praised God – for all the things they were told were true.” They found the manger; yes there was a new born baby there; but I have to wonder if they really “heard” the part about “unto you is born a Savior?” When they looked into the manger, what did they really see? When you and I look into the manger, what do we see?

    I have seen some pretty mixed up nativity scenes in various places. One scene had a large star over the manger and the wise men were there - standing next to the little drummer boy! Sometimes what we see at Christmas is a strange mixture of pagan ideas, superstition, myths, and fanciful legends for Christmas Carols. I was surprised that behind this manger scene there wasn’t a partridge in a pear tree!
    A little girl came home from Sunday school and burst into the house triumphantly waving her paper! “Mommy”, she said, “My Sunday school teacher told me that I drew the most unusual Christmas picture she had ever seen!” Her mother studied the picture for a moment, and concluded that the teacher was right. “This is a wonderful picture” said her mother, “but I don’t quite understand what this airplane full of people has to do with Christmas”… With a hint of disappointment, the little girl said; “Well this is a picture - after the Christmas story - of the “flight to Egypt” that the teacher was talking about. “Well, who is this mean old man in the front?” asked the mother. “”That’s Pontius, the pilot!” said the little girl. Oh, said the mom, “I see you have Mary, and Joseph, and the baby, but, who is this little fat man sitting behind Mary?”…Can’t you tell?” asked the girl, “That’s round John Virgin!” 
    The Chronicles of Narnia have become a very popular children’s book and movie. Written by C.S. Lewis, it is a story that parallels the story of Jesus. Although I have not read the whole thing, I am intrigued by what I have read.  Winter can be very tough. It’s not just cold--it’s bleak, dark, and barren. That’s why it’s such a perfect image for Lewis to use in this first Narnia book. It’s not just a physical reality…it’s a metaphor for the dark and sinister force that holds Narnia firmly in its grip.
    Narnia was once a lush and beautiful land, but evil has reared its ugly head in the character of the White Witch. Her reign of terror keeps the land in eternal winter. Always winter…but never Christmas. Until four children appear, the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve, or more informally; Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy.
    They stumble into this land by accident, but find themselves there by design. Because even in the midst of the terrible, long winter, there remains the faint whisper of an ages-old prophecy. One that involves the four children, but centers on someone else. Someone named Aslan.
    The children learn about this mysterious figure from, of all things, a pair of beavers, who tell them of an ancient rhyme: “Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, at the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more. When he bears his teeth, winter meets its death, and when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
    Even in the darkest of times in Narnia, there is hope. Hope that one day the White Witch would be gone, and her endless winter with her. Because Aslan is coming, or as they say in the book; “Aslan is on the move!” “Oh, that I would live to see the day,” says Mrs. Beaver. Words that have no doubt echoed in similar situations throughout the ages.
    When C.S. Lewis writes about it being “Always winter, but never Christmas,” he’s not just describing the reign of the White Witch, He’s describing our human experience. Until the birth of Jesus Christ, sin kept humanity tightly in its grip, and brought the pain of separation from God. That was God’s intent in sending Jesus Christ, not to end political or cultural tyranny, but as Paul writes, to set us free from the power of sin and death. These aren’t popular words at Christmastime, but they’re the very reason for that birth in a stable.
    In Narnia, Aslan’s coming signals the end of winter, but only after he willingly offers his life as a sacrifice on behalf of another. You might have heard how some movie critics are referring to the new Narnia film as “The Passion of the Lion.”  It’s a legitimate comparison, because the death of Aslan is a direct parallel to death of Jesus.
    Well, let’s get to our scripture for today. Today’s part of the story tells us about a man named Simeon… whom, it seems, had waited his whole lifetime for Christ to be born. Scripture says that it was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Savior. Take a hard, long, look at that statement… How many people die every year…every day…every minute in our world who never “see” the Savior? Even though Simeon was an old man, he never lost hope. Every moment of every day he was expecting the coming of the Lord. What expectations do we have this morning? Do we wake up every day thinking this might be the day; this might be the time when Jesus comes again? 
    Simeon had his priorities right. He had to personally receive the Christ child into his arms, into his heart and into his life. The Bible says there is no other way! I have heard some men say “Well, my wife is the religious one, not me”…I’m sorry to say that your wife is going to heaven alone!  After picking up the child in his arms, Simeon said “now let your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation.” After death there is no repentance, there are no sermons, there will be no altar calls, the opportunity to see God’s salvation in the Christ child is here and now! Do you see what I see?
    So here’s Simeon, holding the Christ child, blessing the baby Jesus, who would in turn bless the whole world. Now, I want to draw attention to one phrase about Simeon. The NIV says he was “waiting”. The English word doesn’t really do the phrase justice. The NLT says Simeon “eagerly expected” the Messiah. The Living Bible says he was “constantly expecting” the Messiah. The Phillips Bible says Simeon was “living in eager expectation of the salvation of Israel.” And the Jerusalem Bible says Simeon “looked forward” to Jesus’ comforting His people.
    It’s the same word for us in Luke 12:35-37. Jesus tells us to be like servants who are waiting. The servants were ready and waiting. They were looking forward to being with the master. And Jesus says that we should be the same. Part of walking in the Spirit is “waiting forwardly” for God to move around us. Keeping our eyes open and ears sensitive to what God might have in store for us. After all, we believe that Jesus is coming back! And, 2 Peter 3:10 asks the question “then what kind of people should we be?” Verses 11-12 give us the answer- “we ought to live holy and godly lives as we “look forward” to the day of God, and speed it’s coming.” That’s the same word in the Greek meaning “waiting forwardly”. We need to be patient and vigilant. We need to keep waiting, but not forgetting what we are waiting for.
    Part of the story of Narnia that I read earlier applies to Jesus, too. “Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
    Aslan gives himself over to the White Witch, who thinks that by killing him she guarantees her winter reign will have no end…But for Aslan, death is not the end. And when he comes back from the dead, Lewis pens this wonderful explanation: “Though the witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, Death itself would start working backward. Now think about it for a moment; where in our world today do we most often see “death working backward?” Spring…When the harsh cold, and barren grip of winter gives way to new life. In a way, it helps add some meaning to these two wonderful times of year we celebrate -Christmas and Easter.
    At Christmas: Jesus comes to a world that is cold and bleak, just as he comes to us in our darkest, most difficult times and points to God’s eternal promises of love, forgiveness, and comfort.  And then Easter: Jesus gives his life for us, and in doing so breaks the power of sin’s winter and brings new life, just as he offers new life to each of us who would put our faith and trust in Him.
    When Simeon looked at the Christ child, he saw the Savior he had been waiting for! The one he was expecting to come!  When you look into the manger, do you see what I see?