Restoration and Renewal

'Twas the week after Christmas, and all through my room, nothing would fit me, not even fruit of the loom. The cookies I'd nibble, the eggnog I'd taste, all the holiday parties had gone to my waist. When I got on the scales, there arose such a number! When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber). I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared; The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared. The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese and the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please." As I dressed myself in my old cardinal’s shirt and prepared once again to battle
the dirt. I said to myself, as I only can, "You can't spend a winter dressed like a fan!" So away with the last of the sour cream dip, get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip. Every last bit of food that I like must be banished, until all the additional ounces have vanished. I won't have a cookie, not even a lick. I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick. I won't have hot biscuits, or cornbread, or pie. I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry. I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore, but isn't that what January is for? Unable to giggle, no longer a riot, Happy New Years to all and to all a good diet.

Have you ever felt like that after the holiday’s are done?! Boy, I know I do! I hate the holidays for that very reason. I feel like a blimp afterward! This year I have done better than most, but I still feel the need to cut out everything I love.

This is the time of year where we look to make a New Year’s Resolution to better ourselves for the next coming year. Statistics say only 40-45% of people make at least one or more New Year’s Resolution. Of those 40-45%, 75% make it past the first week, 71% past 2 weeks, 64% past one month and 46% past 6 months. The most popular resolutions are to lose weight, exercise or quit smoking. So, let’s take the population of the U.S.A. which is approximately 312 million people in 2008. We’ll take 43% of that to be 134,160,000 people. That is how many people make a resolution. 75% of that is 100,620,000; that’s how many make it past the first week. 61,713,600 make it past the 6 month mark. Compared to the initial 312 million estimate, that is only 19.78%. Only 19.78% of the population of the United States make a resolution and keep it longer than 50% of the year. So, cheer up, 1 in 5 people in this room will make and keep a New Year’s Resolution! I hate to say it, but those stats are not too great.

So why do people not follow through with New Year’s Resolutions? What is it that we have a mental block against? Well, today we are going to read out of Luke 2:15-40. If you were here for Christmas Eve service, I want to apologize because the first 5 verses we read that night. They pertain to the story for today, so I have included them in it.

For those that were not here, I explained why we go through the Advent season. That season is a time of renewal for us as Christians. I hope to carry that theme into today. If you would, read along with me, Luke 2:15-40.

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
22 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

I know exactly what you are thinking. What in the world does this Scripture have to do with New Year’s Resolutions? Well, to start, I want to look at a word; resolution. We I am not going to define it, because we all know what it means, to make a resolve to do something…a synonym for it is what I would rather do. Words that fit are declaration, oath, motion, ruling, or promise. Whoa!!! Hang on a second! Promise? It seems so obvious doesn’t it?! Now that we think about it, a resolution is a promise to do something…we humans aren’t too good at the promise thing are we? I mean some are better than others, yes, but still, promises are a hard thing to manage. No wonder only 20% of Americans make and keep resolutions past 6 months! It’s a promise thing!

Ok, so I’ve went over the word I was aiming to, but now it’s time to bash those promises even more, right!! Well, no not really. I think we all know that promises are tough enough as it is. There are three sets of people that I want to look at from the Scriptures. The Shepherds, Simeon, and Anna, the prophetess. But first, I want to give you an idea of why Christmas falls on December 25th instead of the 22nd.

You can find it pretty easily with just a little investigation that Christmas was brought into place where it was by the Catholic Pope Julius in the year 349 A.D. made the holiday Christmas on December 25th because it coincided with the pagan festival of the birth of the sun-god Phyrgia. They pretty much celebrated the winter solstice and it was Christianities attempt to make the holiday Christian. But what I bet most didn’t know, is that 8 days later is another holiday, New Year’s Day…which is another Christian holiday. Oh, the secular world will convince us that it is a reason to get smashed drunk and party hearty. But the whole reason they settled on December 25th is so we could celebrate the circumcision of Christ. I wonder how many actually know that?! I’ll be interested to hear if you knew that or not. My bet is that most of the people in the world do not know that. Most Lutherans would know and Eastern Orthodox people would probably know because they are traditionally the ones who celebrate it.

So why celebrate the circumcision of Christ? Well, first, it is the day that Jesus was presented in the temple, circumcised and named. Some believe that it was the first time Jesus’ blood was shed, beginning the redemptive process. I tend to look at it as though this was a sure sign of his humanity and that he indeed obeyed the Biblical Law set forth. Although it was his parents choosing for him at this point, God knew that they would follow this decree set forth in the Law of Moses.

Let’s look now at the three sets of people. First of all, the shepherds. When the shepherds heard from the angels the news of the Messiah, what did they do? Surely they didn’t question what they just saw, they knew! They immediately acted on what they were told. Not only that, but they continued to tell everyone about it.

Secondly, we are going to look at Simeon. Simeon was a righteous man and devout to the Lord. He had the Holy Spirit upon him which told him he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. When he held Jesus, immediately, he knew. He was ready to die because he had indeed seen and believed in Jesus Christ, with the help of the Holy Spirit. God had kept his promise.

Lastly, we look at Anna. She was married to her husband for 7 years, he died, and she lived as a widow from that day on, praising God, fasting and praying. This woman had a devotion like none other. She kept her promise to her husband and God, long after her husband had died. She was only able to do this by spending every moment focusing on God.

So what do these three people have in common? Renewal. All three sets of people had key successes that we need in order to be effective.

First of all, the shepherds, not only acted upon what they heard, but were renewed by the angel and then by Christ himself and they continued to spread the word about him.

Simeon had the Holy Spirit upon him and when he saw Jesus he believed that God had kept his promise. Simeon was sustained by the Holy Spirit and renewed by Christ when he held him.

Anna had been widowed for decades, and yet she was able to keep a promise to God and her husband and she was able to do that by praising God, fasting and praying, and then, upon seeing the Christ child, told everyone who was eager about the redemption that he would bring.

There is a story about a minister who waited in line to have his car filled with gas just before a long holiday weekend. The attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars ahead of him. Finally, the attendant motioned him toward a vacant pump. "Reverend," said the young man, "I'm so sorry about the delay. It seems as if everyone waits until the last minute to get ready for a long trip." The minister chuckled,”I know what you mean. It's the same in my business."

Isn’t that about right though, everyone complains that they do not have enough time for anything, and yet, they have time to do everything else. My friends, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna, made time to renew themselves in Christ.

This New Year, don’t make a promise, because promises are easily broken. Remember, 20% of all Americans will make and keep a resolution this year longer than 6 months. Instead of making a resolution, make a renewal this year. Embrace Christ this year like you never have before. Renew yourself in God, embrace Christ and let the Holy Spirit sustain you through this year. No matter what, God will fulfill his promises to you. You are his…rejoice in the renewal of another chance to get it right. May God Bless this new year for you.