Historic First Lutheran Church of Pasadena

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

“O Lord, what can I give You for all You have done for me?”

Those words began our time of confession on Christmas Morning, as they have on Christmas morning for several years now. They are good words for us to ponder even this morning: “O Lord, what can I give You for all You have done for me?”

Those words remind me of something that happened between a kindly old gentleman and the young boy who lived next door along with his mother. After speaking with his wife and with the boy’s mother, the kindly old gentleman approached the young boy one day just before summer vacation, explaining that, as he grew older, he found he was able to do less and less for himself and thought that the boy might be willing to help him. He asked the boy what he would charge to do about an hour or so of work every day throughout the summer. He told the boy he wanted him to pull weeds, to cut the grass, to take out his garbage and whatever other little chores might pop up. After thinking about it for a few minutes, the boy decided that his summer of labor would be worth to him a baseball glove and his own television set on which he could watch baseball. The man agreed that was fair.

The summer began great! Every morning at 9:00 a.m. the boy would be at his neighbor’s house, asking what needed to be done that day. He’d work for an hour or more and then announce he’d be back the next day. After a few weeks, the neighbor would have to go looking for the boy, reminding him that he had chores to do. The boy would grudgingly come, work for sometimes as short as 15 minutes, then announce that he had something else to do. In the end, his summer work left much to be desired.

At the end of the summer, the boy came looking for his baseball glove and television set. The kindly old gentleman took the boy out to the backyard with a glass of cold lemonade. They sat down together and the man explained how dissatisfied he had become with the boy’s work, how some days the boy had not even bothered to come. He explained that the boy really didn’t deserve the baseball glove or television set, that he hadn’t really earned them. The boy was getting ready to protest, with tears in his eyes, when the man’s wife wheeled a wagon into the backyard. There in the wagon was the baseball glove. There was the television set. There was also a note. The note told the boy that not only was the baseball glove and the television set his. So also was the brand new red wagon and a trip, along with his mother and the man and his wife, to see the local professional baseball team play a game. And, since the man knew the manager of the team, they would also be meeting all the players after the game. The boy was elated, to say the least!

That’s quite the story, isn’t it? But, when you stop to think about it, that’s really your story and my story. That’s really the Christmas story.

“O Lord, what can I give You for all You have done for me?”

We meet two characters in our Gospel today, Simeon and Anna. They were both temple workers – not “professional” temple workers in the strict sense of the word, as the “professionals” were called priests – but Luke gives us the impression they were at the temple every single day, doing whatever they saw needed to be done. Even back then, churches operated the way churches operate today – needing lots of volunteers to supplement the work of the “professionals.”

Why were Simeon and Anna there? No one really knows. Their duties are not expounded in Scripture, but the fact remains that they were there, maybe simply because they appreciated the promise that their Lord God had made to them, the promise that one day He would provide the Messiah, long-expected, long-anticipated.

When Simeon and Anna punched their temple time sheet that morning, they had no clue what was ahead for them that day. There was no way they could have expected it. That day began like every other day. Maybe they had enjoyed their morning coffee and doughnut together with the other workers. Then that young couple walked in with the baby in their arms. They were probably one of several couples walking in that morning, as they walked in every morning, for the mandated sacrifice of purification, according to the Law. Something, though, was different about this couple and this Baby. Simeon saw it first, then Anna later. Joy of all joys, this Baby was THE MESSIAH. Not only had the Lord kept His promise, but for Simeon and Anna He went above and beyond, allowing both of them, in their advanced age, to personally see and touch and respond to God’s faithfulness to His promise, which they never even wildly imagined they’d be able to do. It had been enough for them to serve the Lord in anticipation of His promise, never expecting something even greater to come their way.

Simeon, perhaps, summarized their exceeding joy best: “Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace.” What does that mean? It basically means, “I’m ready to die now because I know without any doubt that the Messiah has come with His forgiveness and with His salvation. There is nothing more required of me.”

“O Lord, what can I give You for all You have done for me?”

That’s the question for us this morning. We live on the other side of the promised Messiah. By faith, we know it as an established fact that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem in Judea. Angels heralded His birth. That Bethlehem Star led people from near and from far to worship at His cradle. He was given the Name “Jesus” for He would save His people from their sins. He was given the Name “Immanuel” for He was truly God-with-His-people. He was awarded the title “Christ” for He was the Anointed One, the long-expected One, the long-anticipated One, the One Who would restore the broken relationship between God and His people, broken because of the unfaithfulness of God’s people, not broken because of the unfaithfulness of God, Who, like the kindly old gentleman, did not only keep His end of the covenant, but provided more than could ever be expected.

That Messiah was not only born for us, but He would love for us. That Messiah would not only live for us, but He would die for us. That Messiah would not only die for us, but He would rise for us, fulfilling every requirement of the Law for us, not because we deserved it, not because we could demand it, but simply and solely because of His bountiful mercy and grace.

Simeon and Anna were willing to give their lives in anticipation of God’s promise, expecting one thing. But when God kept that promise, He super-exceeded the expectation.

You and I are blessed with knowing God’s fulfillment of His promise. You and I are blessed with knowing that Jesus took our place before God’s righteous judgment. You and I are blessed with knowing that, thanks to Jesus, the Law and all its requirements have been fulfilled for us. You and I are blessed with knowing that we now stand before God fully free and fully forgiven. “Lord, let now Your servant depart in Your peace.” All that remains is the question,

“O Lord, what can I give You for all You have done for me?”

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Pastor Christopher Schaar
Historic First Lutheran Church of Pasadena