December 31, 2023   

Today's Reading: Luke 2:22-40

Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 60:1-22; Luke 1:39-56

My eyes have seen your salvation (Luke 2:30)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Out of the crowds in the Temple courts that day, Simeon comes forward and scoops up Baby Jesus in his arms. Simeon recognizes the mysterious truth that this Child is not just “holy to the Lord” – this Child IS the Lord!

That precious truth changes everything for Simeon. You see, this man had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before He had seen life. He would behold the Savior before He departed in peace, into Paradise to dwell with the Lord. As Mary and Joseph walk through the Temple courts, God reveals to Simeon that this is the One! This Baby is the Savior – the Redeemer – the Holy One of Israel!

That is when Simeon breaks into song, praising God and declaring that he can now die a happy man, since he has seen the Savior and witnessed God keeping His great promise. He is saying, “You can take me now, God. I’ve seen it all! I knew You would keep Your promise, and now it is complete! I’m ready, Lord – come and get me, for I am made holy to the Lord!”

You are holy to the Lord. St. Simeon recognizes that this is a wonderful, comforting Gospel! Try as he might, the devil cannot snatch you out of the Father’s hand. Our dear, loving God is preserving you with the  holy life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

You belong to the Lord. At Baptism, the Savior cleansed you, body and soul, and made you holy,  claiming you as His own. God presented you to Himself, and gathered you into His family and kingdom. 

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” You were filled with sin as a baby inside your mother. You belonged to sin and death. But God changed all that. He brought you into His presence with His Word, as it was proclaimed to your expecting mother. Then, more fully and clearly, He publicly displayed that you belong to the Lord as He baptized you.

You belong to the Lord. No matter what hardships you face, no matter what sufferings you endure, no matter how tough life seems, you have the sweet comfort that you are not left alone; Christ the Savior is born, and you are His! He does not abandon you to the darkness of this world, but is the “Light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of [God’s] people, Israel.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O God, our Maker and Redeemer, You wonderfully created us and in the incarnation of Your Son yet more wondrously restored our human nature. Grant that we may ever be alive in Him who made Himself to be like us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 

-Pastor Richard Heinz is pastor at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lowell, IN.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.