Sermons 2025

Video

Serving an Uneven World
The Presentation of Our Lord, February 2
Luke 2:22–40

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation today is the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke the second chapter verses twenty-two through forty.

Boys and girls, I pray that you are doing well today. Today we celebrate a somewhat strange feast day. We celebrate the day when the Virgin Mary was purified of her uncleanness and when the baby Jesus was presented in the temple according to the commands of the Law. A sacrifice was made for him. Did you know that the same thing happened to you? Yep, mom and dad brought you to the font, the waters of Holy Baptism. Jesus was sacrificed in your place that you belong to Jesus. Because of His presentation in the Temple, you are one of His beloved children. How does that happen? Ponder that question as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you. 

A World of Contrasts in the Bible

It’s a regular workday. The temple of Jerusalem is crowded, as usual, with people who come to offer sacrifices, to pray, to socialize—why not?—to present to the Lord their firstborn children according to the custom of the Law. According to Jewish law a woman became ceremonially unclean on the birth of a child. On the eighth day the child was circumcised (cf. 1:59; Gen 17:12), after which the mother was unclean an additional thirty-three days—sixty-six if the child was female (Lev 12:1–5). At the conclusion of this period, the mother offered a sacrifice, either a lamb or, if she was poor, two doves or two young pigeons (Lev 12:6–8). In addition, the first son was to be presented to the Lord and then, so to speak, bought back with an offering (Num 18:15; cf. 1 Sam 1:24–28, where Hannah actually gives up Samuel to the Lord).  That is why Mary and Joseph are in the temple today, to offer up the sacrifice and present Jesus to the Lord. In this environment, in this small scenario, we have many contrasts, many opposing situations.
There is a powerful God who is a 40-day-old baby wearing diapers. There is a prophet, Simeon, saying that Jesus came for two different worlds—for the people of Israel and for the Gentiles. He says that some people will be lifted up, and others will be put down.

There is another contrast here. Devoted as they were, Mary and Joseph probably had prayed for their Son—prayed that God would grant him an easy, happy, and successful life—just as any father and mother would. They had dreams and expectations for their Son. What a contrast to Simeon’s announcement to Mary: “a sword will pierce your own soul.” Simeon was preparing Mary to see her little baby grow up to die on a cross.
What a contrast for Mary and Joseph between their dreams and reality.

Our World of Contrasts

Is it not the same in our own world? We are faced by contrasts every day, everywhere. We live in an uneven world where some people have everything—even more than they need—and some people don’t have enough to eat. We live in a world where plenty and hunger live side by side. We live in a world where people hoard for themselves and some give everything away. We live in a world where life is worthless and precious at the same time. We live in an uneven world with uneven distribution of wealth and uneven opportunities—a world of contrasts.

In Simeon’s prophecy (v 32), we also see two opposite worlds—the world of the people of God, the Jews, and the world of the Gentiles. The have and the have nots. We are still talking about possessions and opportunities. We are talking about physical, emotional, and spiritual possessions—and an unfair distribution of blessings.

Where are we—the people of God—in this uneven world? We are on the best side. If we compare ourselves with the Gentiles, unbelievers, we see that we have everything and they have nothing.
We have the glory, they have disgrace.
We have hope, they have despair.
We have faith, they have disbelief.
We have joy, they have sorrow.
We are in light, they are in darkness.
We shine, they are in shadow.
We have God, they have Satan.
We have heaven, they have hell.
We are rich, they are poor.
We have the kingdom, they remain in slavery. 
We are blest, they are cursed.
We are winners, they are losers.

And all of this is not of us, but because of that 40-day old infant, Jesus. He fulfills all of the Law, keeping it perfectly. So perfectly that He died on the cross for our sins and rising from the dead to give us new life so we have the best side of these two worlds. That is how we can be presented in Baptism, offering our bodies as living sacrifices, similar to how Jesus was presented in the temple.

But what are we doing to “even” this uneven world?

The Church Is Called to Serve in an Uneven World
As a church, we the people of God are called to serve. We are called to tell all the world of Jesus and to challenge and prepare others to serve in the unfair world. This calls for the following:
Creativity and boldness
Open minds to broaden our vision
Refocusing goals and revising strategies
Humbleness, because everything comes from the Lord

How much are we enjoying the opportunity God gave us to be on the best side? 

So often we do not realize how much we receive from God. Sometimes we take blessings for granted. Sometimes we feel so overwhelmed that we become blind to the gifts from God and are unable to enjoy them.
What opportunities are we giving to unbelievers and to those living in unfair situations? Often, as Christians, we spend too much time looking at ourselves and not enough time looking at those on “the other side” of our uneven world. We might say that we, as the people of God, have as much glory as unbelievers have light. After all, where does the glory come from? It comes from Jesus. Where does the light intended for the Gentiles come from? It comes from Jesus, Jesus who came to serve both sides of this uneven world.

The baby Jesus was the center of the attention in our text. The eyes of Mary, Joseph, and Simeon were on him. When Simeon looked at Jesus, he acknowledged the existence of two worlds and saw in Jesus the Savior who came to both of them. Jesus came for all, to give everyone the same opportunity for salvation. When he is the center of our attention, we have everything we need to “even” this unfair world.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep, your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.