"Do You See What I See?"

A sermon preached by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) based on Luke 2:22-33.

One of my favorite aspects of Christmas is the Christmas carols. In fact, long before the Advent and Christmas season begins, I will start listening to Christmas carols; in the car, in the office and even at home. Carols such as “O Holy Night,” “Silent Night,” “Away in a Manger” are all favorites of mine. But perhaps, one that we don’t tend to think of much or give too much attention to is the carol; “Do You See What I See?” Probably one of the reasons we don’t think about this carol too much is because it is a fairly new carol. Considering that many of the carols we sing were written in the early 1800’s and some come to us from as early as the 13th century. But the carol; “Do You See What I See?” was written in 1962, only forty-six years ago.
The story of the carol begins with the night wind, and the night wind sees what Christmas is all about. And so the night wind tells the little lamb, and then the little lamb sees what Christmas is all about. And so the little lamb tells the shepherd body and the shepherd boy sees what Christmas is all about, and he goes to the mighty king and he says to the mighty king; “Do you know what I know?” And so, after listening to the shepherd boy, the mighty king says to everyone, everywhere; “Listen to what I say?” and the king announces to his kingdom: “The child, the child, sleeping in the night. He will bring you goodness and light.”
The carol forces us to ask; “Do you see what I see?” It forces us to ask ourselves what does Christmas mean to me. What do I see?
And it is with this mood that we approach the story of Simeon in our Gospel Lesson this morning. Oftentimes, in the church, we have a tendency to jump right over this story. We move from the nativity, right to Jesus’ baptism, without ever pausing to consider, what scholars refer to as the lost years of Jesus’ life. Keep in mind, Simeon had been promised by God that he would see the Messiah, the promised one of God, before he died.
According to Hebrew tradition, eight days after Jesus was born, he was circumcised, and then about 33 days after Jesus’ circumcision, or 40 days after His birth, His parents took Him to Jerusalem to be dedicated to the Lord. According to Leviticus chapter 12, every male child was to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem for dedication to the Lord at the completion of a mother’s purification. Not only would they have brought Jesus with them, but also a sacrifice and in this case it was either a lamb or, in the case of Mary and Joseph who were poor, they could offer two turtle doves or two pigeons. The offering was an atonement for Mary’s purification. This sacrifice also was symbolic of their devotion and the covenant that they were making with God in dedicating themselves and their child to God.
This would have been a very sacred moment for the family, filled with awe and reverence. As it is for any parent who brings their baby to the church to dedicate him or her to God.
The temple was a magnificent structure, one hundred and fifty feet high. It had been built by Herod the Great and it was fairly new, only about thirty years old and it was certainly the most elaborate and magnificent structure in all of Israel. And so Mary and Joseph came to this temple to dedicate their first-born son to God.
And, Simeon, upon seeing this baby, affirms; “Lord, now let your servant can depart in peace. Now let your servant die, for my eyes have seen. I have seen your salvation that you have prepared for all people, for those who are Jews and for those who are not Jews. Lord God, I can depart in peace for my eyes have finally seen.” Do you see what I see, said the night wind to the little lamb?”
When Simeon look at this baby Jesus, he didn’t just see a dark haired, brown eyes and brown skin little baby. He didn’t see just a man and a woman with a baby child. He saw! He saw that this child was going to be the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
Certainly, Simeon forces us to ask ourselves; “What do we see?” “Do we see what Simeon saw?”
There are two words in the Greek language for the word “to see”. The first word is the word, blepo. Which is the word for that which is literally seen by the eye. But there is a second word in the Greek language for the word, “to see,” and it is the word, horao, which means “to see deeply,” It is more than sight, it is insight.
Perhaps some of you have seen the comedy: Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby. If you saw the movie, one of the most unforgettable scenes is when Ricky Bobby, his family, and his best friend are all gathered around the table about to eat. Ricky Bobby offers to say grace and he begins his prayer with the words; “Dear tiny infant Jesus…”, before he can continue his prayer, he is interrupted by his wife who says; “Um, honey, you do know that Jesus grew up, right? You don’t have to call him ‘baby’. To which, Ricky Bobby replies; “Well, I’m more comfortable with the Christmas Jesus, and I'm saying grace. When you say grace, you can say it to grown up Jesus, or teenage Jesus, or bearded Jesus, or whatever you want.” And so, Ricky Bobby starts his prayer again and says; “Dear tiny, 8 pound, 6 ounce baby Jesus…”
We have traveled to Bethlehem’s manger to welcome, once again, the birth of Christ into our world, but more importantly, into our hearts and lives. But when we look into the manger what do we see? Do we see only a baby? Or do we see more than a baby? Do we see what Simeon saw? Do we see the Word made flesh who dwells among us? Do we see Emmanuel - God with us? Do we see the Savior and Redeemer of our lives? What do you see?
Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the proud parents who brought their firstborn home from the hospital and placed him in a beautiful wooden cradle. Over the months and years as he grew, the cradle that had once swallowed him could no longer contain him. He began to look like a giant in a baby’s bed. His parents, though, kept the cradle as a symbol of their son’s birth; but the boy could not stay in the cradle forever. He outgrew it!
And the same is true of Christmas. Certainly, we cannot have Christmas without the cradle; but the fact remains, Jesus did not stay in the manger - he outgrew the cradle and eventually became a man who would become the Savior of the world! Do you see what Simeon saw?

“Said the king to the people everywhere,
‘Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace, people, everywhere,
Listen to what I say!
The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light,
And he will bring us goodness and light.’”