Parents should be proud of their children, after all their success is a reflection of our nurture and instruction. When our children do something remarkable, we should be proud of what we have accomplished. Admittedly, the older our children get the remarkable things they do are less and less a reflection of our nurture and instruction. That a child goes number two in the potty for the first time - that is all us, that they graduate from medical school - not so much. The older our children get the more their accomplishments are their own. But even then, we can be proud that they have become better versions of us, that they have managed to be successful despite our lack of nurture and instruction.
I think we can all agree that parents should be proud of their children. But can we not also agree that some parents are too proud of their children? Some parents believe their children are the smartest students to ever learn the alphabet, the most gifted musician to ever pick up an instrument, the most beautiful reflection to ever grace a mirror. Years ago, one of my children played on a baseball team with a mom who thought her child was the next Babe Ruth. Honestly, the kid was good, but I never wanted to cheer for him because his mom was so obnoxious. Every time he hit the ball, every time he caught the ball, every time he threw the ball, every time he ran the bases in the right direction she would turn to the rest of the parents and say, “He’s so good!”. It got so bad that eventually another father and I adopted the phrase and started sarcastically applying it to our own children. Still a decade later when either one of our children does anything remotely positive, he and I will text each other, “He’s so good!”.
Parents should be proud of their children, but some parents are too proud of their children… especially when you compare those children to Mary’s child. What is weird is, of all the parents who should be obnoxiously proud of their children, Mary has reason to be the most obnoxious. Her child is literally the greatest child that has ever been and will ever be born. Not because He learned to use the potty faster than the other babies in Bethlehem, not because He could run faster or jump higher than the other children in Nazareth, not because He was born with superior bone structure, piercing blue eyes, and a thick head of hair. In fact, the prophet Isaiah goes out of his way to describe Mary’s child as physically unimpressive. The prophet tells us “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.”[1] Mary’s child did not possess any extraordinary gifts that were beyond the gifts of any other child, but in Luke 2:25-38 we are reminded that Mary had more reason than any other mother to be obnoxiously proud of her son Jesus.
In accordance with the Law of Moses, 40 days after He had been born, Joseph and Mary took the baby Jesus to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. That means Mary has been a momma for over a month now. Now I know we all have this idyllic image in our minds of what it must have been like to be the mother of Jesus. We sing hymns about the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay and pietistically pretend that when he awakes the little Lord Jesus no crying He makes. But we have absolutely no reason to believe that is true. Again, physically speaking, Mary’s child is no different than any other child. That means the little Lord Jesus got hungry and needed to be breastfed 8-12 times a day. Which meant Mary had to be available day and night to make sure the little Lord Jesus got enough to eat. Naturally, eating that much and that often leads to dirty diapers. The average one month old baby has 3-4 bowel movements and wets themselves at least six times a day. Which means Mary was changing the little Lord Jesus’ diaper almost as often as she was feeding Him. What I am saying is, by the time Mary brings her child to Jerusalem to be presented to the Lord it is likely she is sleep deprived and irritable; it is likely that some of the excitement of the manger had worn off.
I make this observation because I wonder if perhaps the same has happened to you. You haven’t been woken from a sound sleep to feed Him for the 12th time in a day. You haven’t had to change a seemingly endless amount of His stinky diapers. But I can’t help but wonder if perhaps some of the excitement of the manger has worn off for you. Have you packed away more than just your Christmas decorations? Have you returned more than just your unwanted Christmas gifts? Have you tuned more than just your radio back to a secular station? It has been just over a week since we celebrated Christmas but still, I think it is important for each one of us to ask ourselves if perhaps some of the excitement of the manger has already started to wear off.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the excitement of the manger had worn off for the mother of a one-month-old child and If you find that some of the excitement of the manger is also starting to wear off for you, then you are going to want to hear what Simeon and Anna have to say about Mary’s child.
Simeon proudly proclaims that Mary’s child is the establisher of peace. As he held the baby Jesus in his arms Simeon said, “29 Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.” Simeon proudly proclaims that Mary’s child was able to do something that no other child in human history had ever been able to do. Mary’s child was able to establish peace, not simply between waring nations or peoples, but a peace between sinners like you and me and our holy God. By nature, the sinner is hostile to God. We do not submit to God’s law, nor can we do so.[2] By righteousness, God must punish the sinner for his or her disobedience. Because of sin there was no peace between us and God. But Mary’s child managed to establish peace between us and God by offering His perfect obedience on our behalf. This alone would be reason enough to make a proud parent obnoxiously say, “He’s so good!”, but first Simeon has more to say about Mary’s child.
Still holding the baby Jesus in his arms Simeon proudly proclaims that Mary’s child is the bringer of salvation. Simeon says, 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.” Simeon proudly proclaims that Mary’s child has more to offer that any child in human history has ever been able to offer. Mary’s child offers salvation, and not just for a select few but for all. Mary’s child offers a seat at the heavenly banquet table to both the children of prophecy and the children of promise. The Israelites are the children of prophecy. They were selected to be the people from whom the Savior of the world would come. From them was born our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.[3] We, non-Israelites, are the people of promise. We are the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve and the spiritual descendants of Father Abraham who have been promised that whoever among us believes and is baptized will be saved. Mary’s child is a light for revelation to the Gentile and He is the glory of Israel; He is the savior of the people of prophecy and the people of promise; He is the savior of all people. This is enough to make even a typically parent say, “He’s so good!”, but now Anna has something to say about Mary’s child.
“38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she [Anna] gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” Anna proudly proclaims that Mary’s child accomplished something no other child in human history was able to accomplish. Mary’s child redeemed the world. This is how Mary’s child was able to offer salvation to and establish peace with sinners like you and me. Mary’s child redeemed us, not simply from an earthly debt but from an eternal damnation. Sin had thrown us into a debtor’s prison. The sin we inherited from our parents shackled our hands and our feet. The sin we committed on a daily basis locked the door to our cell. But Mary’s child redeemed us from our debt of sin, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with His holy precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.[4] Mary’s child suffered and died on the cross to pay for your sins and mine so that your debt of sin and my debt of sin would be paid in full, so that you and I could be redeemed. At this point even the most critical of parents would be compelled to say, “He’s so good!”.
Mary was proud of her child. She does not appear to be the kind of parent to boast and brag about her Son’s accomplishments, likely because she knew other than teaching him how to use the potty and buckle His sandals there was not a great deal she could take credit for. I can’t think of a single passage where Mary turns to a group of people and tells them how good her son is. Perhaps it was because there were people like Simeon and Anna who did it for her. I don’t think anyone would accuse Mary of being too proud of her son, but just because she didn’t boast and brag about His accomplishments doesn’t mean she wasn’t proud of Him. In her own quiet and reserved way Mary was proud of her child. We are told that she “33… marveled at what [Simeon and Anna] said about him.”
Even in her sleep deprived and irritable state Mary marveled over her child. What about you? I know the Sundays following Christmas are not nearly as exciting as Christmas Eve. I know Easter is still 105 days away and we have to get through ugliness of Lent before we can celebrate the beauty of the empty tomb. It would be easy for us to treat these days between Christmas and Easter like a Wednesday or the half time of a football game or the intermission of a play. But, regardless of what time of year it is, Mary’s child, more than any other child, is worth bragging about. Mary’s child is the establisher of peace. Mary’s child is the bringer of salvation. Mary’s child is the redeemer of the world. He is just as worthy of your excitement today as He was on Christmas Eve. So, let’s celebrate Him today and tomorrow and all the days from now till Easter. Let’s be like Simeon and Anna and sing the praises of the establisher of peace, bringer of salvation, and redeemer of the world. And because she was too humble to be “that parent”, let’s be obnoxious on Mary’s behalf and say, “he’s so good!” Amen
[1] Isaiah 53:2
[2] Romans 8:7
[3] Isaiah 9:6
[4] 1 peter 1:18-19 & Luther’s Explanation to the Second Article of the Apostles Creed