We
have thought on your steadfast love . . .
God
is great
God
is holy
our
fortress
our
sustainer
the
one we trust against all odds
the
one we cannot do without
the
only hope for any good
Or
have we thought about that?
What’s
this day known as? Superbowl Sunday. Why? What’s our priority? Who
is truly great?
What
about God’s holiness? He tells us to be holy as he is holy. But we
don’t really care, as long as we are better than someone else, you
know who you are thinking about, I know who I think about.
God
is our fortress. But we flee to ourselves, to our wealth, to our
wits, our relatives, our friends.
God
is our sustainer, so we try to do it ourselves. (parable of steward?)
God
is the one we trust, so we turn to ourselves.
We
can’t do without God, so we neglect gathering around His Word and
Sacrament.
God
is the only hope for any good in our world. Do we tell our world
about the Lord? Do our lives show that we are living for him?
We
have thought on your steadfast love, O Lord.
Grant
us repentance
Make
us, like Simeon, wait for you in your temple.
Make
us ready for your presence.
Make
us eager to see you.
We
don’t know much about this man Simeon. This is the only place in
the New Testament where he’s mentioned. Is he young? Old? With a
name like that we assume he is not a convert to Judaism. We often
picture him as old, but there’s no indicator of that. He’s
faithful. He’s righteous. He’s waiting for consolation. He knows
he’s in trouble without the Lord, just like I tried to point out to
all of us today. And the Lord has promised him, somehow, that he will
be present for Simeon.
Simeon’s
response? We have thought on your steadfast love, O Lord.
My
eyes have seen the savior.
My
arms have held him.
I
am no longer the same, because my God has come to me.
I
know the one I have trusted.
He
has redeemed Israel.
He
has rescued the whole world.
How
is Simeon going to respond?
How
are we going to respond?
great,
holy, fortress, sustainer, only hope
Receive
the true body and blood of our Savior given and shed for you.
Turn
your hopes to Jesus.
Tell
the world about Jesus, the savior of the world.
Pray
for opportunities to talk with others about Jesus.
Study
the Word, together and individually.
Look
forward eagerly to every opportunity to receive God’s grace in the
Divine Service.
Welcome
all who the Lord will bring our way.
We
have thought on your steadfast love, O Lord.
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