Division and Revelation

Division and Revelation

The First Sunday after Christmas – 12/28/2025

Luke 2:22-40

Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer

That portion of God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our Gospel reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Luke in the second chapter with special emphasis on verses thirty-four and thirty-five which read as follows:

“And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’”[1]

Thus far the Scriptures.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christmas is often imagined as gentle, quiet, and unchallenging. When we think of Christmas we think of things like soft light, familiar hymns, and peaceful scenes. And indeed, there is real comfort and joy in the birth of Christ. Yet the Church, in her wisdom, places before us today a text that refuses to let Christmas remain sentimental.

Simeon takes the Child Jesus into his arms and blesses God, but then he speaks words that cut sharply against a merely cozy Christmas: “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed … so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

A light for revelation and a sword for the heart. The same Child who brings consolation to Israel also brings division. The same Christ who saves also judges. The same Gospel that comforts the broken also exposes the proud. Christmas does not merely soothe; it reveals.

Waiting Ends, Revelation Begins

Luke tells us that Simeon was waiting. He was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. Anna was waiting too; she lived decades of fasting, praying, and hoping in the temple. Their waiting is not frantic or demanding, but faithful. They trust that God will keep His promise, even if they themselves do not live to see it.

And then, suddenly, the waiting ends. This did not happen with thunder, not with armies, but with a poor couple carrying a forty-day-old baby into the temple. Mary and Joseph come not with wealth or status, but with the offering of the poor: two turtledoves.

This is how God fulfills His promises. Isaiah had spoken centuries earlier of a shoot from the stump of Jesse. Not a mighty oak, not a flourishing kingdom, but a stump. David’s royal line looked dead. Israel’s glory appeared finished. And yet, from that stump, life comes. That is to say, this stump of Israel produced the Messiah. And the Spirit of the Lord rests upon Him: wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord. The glory of God is hidden in humility.

Simeon recognizes what others miss. He sees not just a child, but the Christ. He sees not just Israel’s comfort, but “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.” This Child is for all nations. Christmas is not a private comfort; it is the revealing of the cosmic truth of God in the flesh to save us.

A Light That Exposes

But then Simeon turns, and the tone changes. “This child is appointed for the fall and rising of many.” Christ does not leave people unchanged. He does not simply inspire. He does not merely affirm. He reveals. And what He reveals is the truth about God and the truth about us.

This is the uncomfortable edge of Christmas, indeed, of the Christian faith. The presence of Christ exposes false righteousness. It exposes self-made religion. It exposes the hearts that want a Messiah on their own terms. Some will rise by faith. Others will fall in unbelief. Not because Christ fails, but because hearts resist Him.

Isaiah says that this promised King will not judge by appearances, nor decide disputes by what His eyes see. He judges with righteousness. He sees through every pretense. That is Law and stark law at that.

We would prefer a Jesus who confirms our assumptions, validates our choices, and leaves our hearts unexamined. We would like a Christmas without repentance, a Savior without a cross, a light that flatters rather than exposes. We want a comfortable religion, not one that demands our earnest devotion and total submission.

But Christ comes as a sign that is opposed. He confronts sin, not to shame us, but to save us. Yet saving requires revealing. Healing requires diagnosis. Resurrection requires death.

This is why Simeon speaks of a sword piercing Mary’s own soul. Even she, blessed among women, will suffer as she watches her Son rejected, condemned, and crucified.

From Slaves to Sons

And yet this Child does not come merely to expose. He comes to redeem. St. Paul tells us in Galatians that when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law. This Child submits to everything that binds us. He is circumcised. He is presented in the temple. He places Himself under the Law not because He must, but because we need Him to. He stands where we stand so that we may stand where He stands.

The sword that reveals our hearts will eventually fall upon Him. And the purpose of all this is not merely forgiveness, but adoption. “You are no longer a slave, but a son.” Christmas is not only about pardon; it is about belonging. Not only rescue, but inheritance. The Spirit of the Son is sent into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father.” The same Christ who divides belief from unbelief unites sinners to God. The same light that exposes sin also illumines grace. The same Child who causes the fall of the proud raises the lowly into sonship.

Christmas After Christmas

This is why the Church places this text after December 25. Because the question now is not whether Christ has been born, this is clearly the case both in history and Scripture. The question now is what His coming means for you.

Will the Christ be merely a memory? A tradition? A seasonal comfort? Or is He be your Lord? Simeon was ready to die because he had seen the Lord’s salvation. This was no idea of philosopher nor a program of the supposedly righteous. No, Simeon was ready because he met a Person, his own salvation, Jesus Christ.

It is the same for us. Christmas does not shield us from the cross. It leads us to it. But the cross does not negate Christmas, it fulfills it.  The Child in Simeon’s arms is the Man on the cross. And the Man on the cross is the Savior who makes slaves into sons. A light for revelation. A sword for the heart.  And a Savior for sinners.

In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] Luke 2:34-35 English Standard Version. All further quotations from the holy Scriptures are from the ESV.