Peace between the Christmases

“Lord, as you have promised,

You now dismiss your servant in peace…”

Luke 2:29

There is quite a contrast in the story of Simeon in Luke 2.  On the one hand there is the joy of Simeon. At last the dream of his life is fulfilled.  “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  Now it has happened.  As Mary and Joseph carry the baby into the temple, Simeon breaks into song. He praises God for the fulfillment of His promises. “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”  Then suddenly everything changes.  This same Simeon turns dour and serious.  He speaks a very hard message to Mary and Joseph about their child.   “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”  How is it that a moment of great joy and gladness can at the same time be pierced through with sadness and grief?

Yet so very often that’s the way it is for many people during the Christmas season.  On the outside you wear a grin.  Your life is clothed in the festive decorations and wrappings of the season.  You speak the expected “Merry Christmas” as if on cue.  Often all of that is real. You aren’t faking. Yet just as real is what is going on inside.  Inside there is loss, and emptiness, discouragement and depression.  How can this be?  There are any number of reasons. It can be the death of a loved one.  I know a woman whose sister died around Christmas.  For many years she could not step inside a church on Christmas Eve..  At a time when all sorts of loved ones are gathering together – the emptiness left by the death of a spouse or a parent is even more pronounced.  Any loss in life become more pronounced in our lives when we are told that at this time of year that we expected to be full of life not empty of it.  In fact, when you are having troubles in your marriage, when you are worried about your kids, when you struggle to pay all your bills, when you are waiting word from the doctor – simply singing songs, putting on a smile and saying “Merry Christmas” doesn’t make the problems disappear.  In fact it often only makes you feel your struggles more deeply.  We come at this season with all sorts of unreasonable expectations.  We want Christmas to be a time of “peace” when we can leave our troubles behind us, at least for a while.  The problem is that can’t happen.  We live between the Christmases, between our Lord’s birth in Bethlehem and His coming again in glory.  Between the Christmases we will have troubles.  After all, though we are saints we are also still sinners… though we are forgiven, we are not yet perfect… though we are saved we are not yet in heaven.  

Thank God that He didn’t send his Son into the world so we could put on a mask and pretend life’s struggles aren’t real.  God sent his Son into the world to confront life’s sorrows head on.  That’s why Simeon praises God and yet also speaks hard words to Mary and Joseph.   This is the real Christmas.  That little baby Jesus, held in the arms of Mary is given to the world because God has seen all our trials and sorrows.  He has seen the loss sin and death bring to our lives. He has seen it all and in love He gave His one and only Son.  Yes Christmas is a time of loss for God too.  God joined us in our loss!  Jesus gave up all for you and me.  He came to take up our infirmities and carry our sorrows… to be pierced through for our transgressions on the cross.   He came to be cursed by our sin.  He came so that by His Easter resurrection He might have victory over all the things that defeat us.  He rose so that He might pour into our lives fullness of life – forgiveness of sins, healing of all our deepest wounds, a God who will listen to the deepest cries of our heart.  He was born to give us real peace – not one that denies our problems, but one that is able to face those problems head on in the confidence that whatever they are – Christ has already carried the burden.  He has already won the victory! 

For me Christmas has never been the same since 1975.  That morning my dad woke me up early to tell me that my sister Roberta had died.  She had died while we were in church the night before.  My sister had spent most of her life severely brain damaged and deaf from an illness as a little child.  Yet in her life God used her to teach my family much about his love and the joy of living.  Now God used her again in death.  It was my first experience of death.  I remember the strange feeling of loss and gain, of great sorrow and great joy, of deep peace in the midst of heart wrenching grief – all at the same time.  I had lost my sister and that hurt.  Yet I knew she was in heaven. I remember thinking about it that year- This is what Christmas is all about.  This is why Jesus was born in that manger in Bethlehem.  This is why He went to the cross and the empty tomb.  Christmas is no escape.  The peace Christmas offers is not false. In that child born in Bethlehem God offers peace between the Christmases… peace in the midst of loss and sorrow, grief and struggle. He gave His Son so that then Simeon’s song would become your song and mine – “Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”  Amen.