Pastor's Corner: Learning the end of the story

Although only four short weeks ago, Christmas and the the holiday are a distant memory. Now comes the rest of winter. What’s in store for you as 2015 unfolds? Success and happiness? Unexpected loss, family strife, a call from the doctor that begins with “I have some bad news for you ... ”?

In terms of the future, you don’t know much. Despite your plans, you really have no idea what’s going to happen to you tomorrow; as a matter of fact, the rest of today is still up for grabs. What does the future hold? What will happen to you from here? Really, what can you be certain of? Not much. And everything.

In Luke 2, a man named Simeon watched as a young couple brought their 40-day-old baby to the temple for the ritual of purification. By the work of the Holy Spirit, Simeon knew this was the Savior. He approached the couple, gathered the little One in his arms and prayed:

“Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace According to Your Word, For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared before the face of all people, A Light to enlighten the Gentiles And the glory of Your people Israel” Luke 2:29-32.

In our congregation, we sing those words after receiving the Lord’s Supper. They don’t mean: “OK, you can go back and sit down now that you’ve communed. We’re done here. Depart, go, in peace.” What they mean is that we can now die in peace, having seen and heard and tasted the Lord’s salvation. What we hear and see and do in church is as much about our death as it is about our life. God is teaching us how to die, dying to sin and self. And then living in Jesus by His death for us on the cross. It’s the only way to live.

The Child of Bethlehem was born with blood on His hands. The work of redemption is bloody work. It isn’t with gold or silver that we are redeemed from sin and death. We are redeemed by Christ’s holy precious blood, and His innocent suffering and death; we are redeemed by “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

And because Simeon had now seen and embraced his salvation in the person of Jesus, he could now depart/die in peace.

And you? Will you be facing a challenging year financially, personally, spiritually? Will you deal with a health crisis or troubling family situation? I don’t know. You don’t know. But when Jesus is your Savior, actually, like Simeon — you know everything. You, too, can depart in peace.

In Jesus, you know the end of the story. And the end of the story is life everlasting. You don’t know what chapters life still holds for you; but you commend today and tomorrow to God, trusting Him. You don’t know much about what the future holds, but actually, you know everything. You know that you belong to the One who loved you so much that He was born for you to suffer, die, and rise again for you and your salvation. You know that He is with you, to raise you from your sufferings and death to life everlasting. And so you do know what the future holds.

The end of the story is life everlasting. “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace According to Your Word.”

Pastor Mark Schultz

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Havre