\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
\nand\u00a0for glory to\u00a0your people Israel.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nAnd\u00a0his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.<\/em>\u00a0And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, \u201cBehold, this child is appointed\u00a0for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign\u00a0that is opposed\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nAnd there was\u00a0a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,<\/em>\u00a0and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.\u00a0She did not depart from the temple,\u00a0worshiping with\u00a0fasting and prayer night and day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were\u00a0waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. (ESV)<\/em><\/p>\nThirty years ago, one of the popular films was Harold Ramis\u2019s \u201cGroundhog Day.\u201d While the film wasn\u2019t a huge box office success, it was a hit with critics, and it has become perhaps more popular since then\u2014it\u2019s one of those films that sort of grows on you as you discover the deeper dimensions of what seems a rather superficial comedy. It tells the story of Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray. Phil is a TV weatherman, who finds himself, pretty much against his will, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to report on the anticipated traditional appearance of the famous groundhog whose view of his shadow will indicate whether we get an early spring or a longer winter.<\/p>\n
But what happens to Phil is like something out of science fiction. He stumbles through his day, he gets stuck in Punxsutawney because of a blizzard, and when he wakes up the next morning, he discovers that it isn\u2019t the next morning at all. It is Groundhog Day all over again. He faces the same situations, the same people, the same events\u2014the only thing that he is able to change, it seems, is his own reaction and response to what happens. The next morning it is the same thing again, and then again. More than thirty times, he wakes up and finds it is still Groundhog Day.<\/p>\n
Groundhog Day in church<\/strong><\/p>\nPerhaps you felt a little like Phil on this Groundhog Day when we read the gospel lesson. These last few weeks, we\u2019ve heard about Jesus\u2019 baptism, his first miracle at the wedding in Cana, his initial sermon in Nazareth, and now we\u2019re back to the infant Jesus brought to the Temple by his mother and father, in order to fulfill the Jewish law governing newborns.<\/p>\n
The reason for this time loop is that today, in addition to being Groundhog Day, is, in the church\u2019s calendar, the festival of the Presentation of Our Lord. It has been celebrated since at least the fifth century, and at least when it falls on a Sunday, Lutherans often give it a nod. And truth be told, the very secular tradition of \u201cGroundhog Day\u201d has historical roots that relate it to this Christian festival\u2014but it\u2019s way too complicated to try to explain, so I\u2019ll just let you Google it!<\/p>\n
And yet, strange as it may seem, the moral lesson from the movie \u201cGroundhog Day\u201d is also not unrelated to our Scripture lessons this morning. Here we have Mary and Joseph, bringing this child\u2014this child whom we know is God incarnate\u2014bringing this child to the Temple, as prescribed in the law. Here is the aged Simeon, who has been promised he will not die until he has seen the Messiah, and who now recognizes Jesus and prays, \u201cLord, now you let your servant go in peace.\u201d Here is aged Anna, who sees the connection between this child and those looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. And here is Luke\u2019s comment that after this was over, they took Jesus back to Nazareth, where he grew in wisdom and in stature.<\/p>\n
The gift of time<\/strong><\/p>\nThese all have to do with time, you see. The ordinary process of human existence. One day after the other. It may be that the time is long\u2014Simeon had been waiting so many years! It may be that the time is ordinary, like a child, growing day by day, imperceptibly but constantly. It may be that the time is lonely, as with Anna who had been widowed so many years ago. But the days go by, one by one. Unlike Phil, we do not get to do them over.<\/p>\n
Christian faith teaches that time is a great gift, that it is imbedded in the very meaning of God\u2019s creation, this God who created days and nights and called them good. This seems so obvious to us, but it is not true of many of the world\u2019s religions. Eastern religions generally see time as an illusion. Existence for them is cyclical, repeating itself over and over. That\u2019s really the root of the teaching of reincarnation\u2014the idea that we keep coming back, experiencing life again, though in a different way.<\/p>\n
But Christianity teaches something very different. Christianity teaches that time is linear, progressive, that it is moving toward an end. Each day is unique; each day is a gift. Each day is an opportunity to praise God, to drink in the wonder of his love; each day an opportunity to serve, to share that love with others. We don\u2019t get to do our days over again.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s one reason why one of the most important and useful spiritual disciplines is to take a few moments at the end of the day and reflect on what has happened to you that day. How have you sinned, and fallen short of what God wants you to be? How has God blessed you? What good have you received, and what good have you given? These are questions that can help us to appreciate and embrace the gift that was today, and also to look forward with eagerness to the gift that will be tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Peace at the last<\/strong><\/p>\nIn my last parish, our council meetings often closed by praying together the traditional service of Compline, also known as Prayer at the Close of the Day. It is a wonderful liturgy. It begins with these words: \u201cThe Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and peace at the last.\u201d At one meeting, after we\u2019d been doing this for a while, someone asked, \u201cWhat does that mean, exactly? \u2018Peace at the last\u2019?\u201d Of course, the answer is that it is talking about our death. Christians have often drawn a kind of parallel between our falling asleep at night, and our final falling asleep in God\u2019s arms. We learn this connection even from childhood: \u201cIf I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.\u201d\u00a0 That is not a morbid fear, but a realization that each night, when we go to sleep, it is a kind of anticipation of the end of life. Just as each day has its joys and sorrows, so does our life. Just as each day moves slowly but irrevocably onward, so does our life. Just as each day offers its own opportunities and challenges which will not be repeated, so does our life. Just as each day comes to its end, so does our life.<\/p>\n
Simeon\u2019s words in our gospel lesson are also a part of this liturgy for the close of the day: \u201cLord, now let your servant go in peace\u2026\u201d You see, that is a beautiful prayer before sleeping, but also a prayer before dying. He is saying that his life has been full, and that he is now ready for rest. His work is done. God\u2019s purpose for him has been fulfilled.<\/p>\n
Each day a gift<\/strong><\/p>\nThe challenge for us, you see, is to cultivate that sense of things every day of our life. It is to accept each day as a gift, to be used and directed as God intends. It is to come to each night with thanksgiving, and with confidence that even as we sleep, we are in God\u2019s tender care, knowing that God neither slumbers nor sleeps.<\/p>\n
Sometimes it may seem to us that Phil\u2019s situation might actually have some advantages. How often we\u2019d love to take back a word we said, or a deed we did\u2014to have a chance to face the day again and make different choices. But we don\u2019t have that chance. We have something better\u2014the grace to lie down in peace, to commit the day, with all its successes and failures, its joys and sorrows, to God; and to know that, like Simeon, we have seen the light of Christ and so we rejoice.<\/p>\n
I remember learning to sing Simeon\u2019s song as a boy, in a very simple chant setting that still is dear to my heart. Let me conclude by singing it for you:<\/p>\n
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,<\/p>\n
according to thy word.<\/p>\n
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,<\/p>\n
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;<\/p>\n
to be a light to lighten the Gentiles,<\/p>\n
and to be the glory of thy people Israel.<\/p>\n
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,<\/p>\n
and to the Holy Ghost:<\/p>\n
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,<\/p>\n
world without end. Amen.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
\u00a9 The Rev. Richard O. Johnson (retired)<\/p>\n
Webster, NY<\/p>\n
roj@nccn.net<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Presentation of Our Lord | 2 February 2025 | A Sermon on Luke 2.22-40 | by Richard O. Johnson | And\u00a0when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem\u00a0to present him to the Lord\u00a0\u00a0(as it is written in\u00a0the Law of the Lord,\u00a0\u201cEvery male who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,157,853,108,110,636,3,109,285],"tags":[],"beitragende":[],"predigtform":[],"predigtreihe":[],"bibelstelle":[],"class_list":["post-20723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lukas","category-beitragende","category-bibel","category-current","category-engl","category-kapitel-02-chapter-02-lukas","category-nt","category-predigten","category-richard-o-johnson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20723"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20724,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20723\/revisions\/20724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20723"},{"taxonomy":"beitragende","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/beitragende?post=20723"},{"taxonomy":"predigtform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtform?post=20723"},{"taxonomy":"predigtreihe","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/predigtreihe?post=20723"},{"taxonomy":"bibelstelle","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theologie.uzh.ch\/apps\/gpi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bibelstelle?post=20723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}