Savior Child, Child Savior

Luke 2: 25-38

If you want a book to read for scripture study during this year, pick up a copy of We Make the Road by Walking by Brian McLaren. My sermons for all of this year are based on the 52 weeks of material he has in this book. (This week's material is from Chapter 18 Sharing Gifts, mostly the second half)

This week's scripture is from Luke 2, where Joseph and Mary bring the newborn Jesus to the temple for circumcision and blessing where Simeon and Anna encounter the child. Simeon has prophesied that he will see the Messiah before his death and then he glimpses him in the form of this newborn babe.   Simeon grabs the child from the arms of his mother and holds him up declaring him to be a light to all, including the Gentiles. An interesting statement to make about a baby who is being brought to the temple for circumcision, a clear ritual of Jewish identity.

This event, told to us by the gospel writer of Luke, is meant to show us the way Christ can hold us all together... can be a beacon of love for us all... not a way of creating an us against them world, but a way of creating and saving the world for ONE community, serving God together.

I think this passage is about the unifying gifts we all share. Nothing unifies a group of people like a baby. Babies get our attention. They are beautiful, mesmerizing to look at, soft to touch, just little beacons of love. Even when they are crying, they are still such wonderful creatures, I think. Babies aren't labeled yet, the way we label ourselves later.  They aren't 'damaged goods' quite yet.

Perhaps we can look at the children around us and the wisdom they have to offer us as unifying means of grace for us. The way children play together, not needing to even speak each others' languages, is a sure sign of the unifying nature of God we see in the childlike faith of children.


Perhaps if we could view the 'other' in our lives as children view the world around them, we might be able to cross the barriers that hold us back from one another.  How do we refuse to accept one another based on a wide variety of labels? How might we erase the labels and get back a child-like faith that helps us love and accept all people? How can we allow the children around us to 'save' us so that we might be a stronger, better church tomorrow?

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