"Amen to the 20th Century" - Luke 2:22-40 - December 26, 1999

On Christmas Eve we each held a candle and sang "Silent Night." That is our tradition. For most everyone it is the ultimate, annual, spiritual ritual. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without that experience. It is what we call a "rite of passage." A rite of passage is when we make a transition from one life stage to another. It is a time when we take on a new identity.

Marriage, baptism, confirmation, are all rites of passage. There are others too; graduations, obtaining a driver’s license, retirement, promotions, or reaching your 21st birthday. Al these events change our identity as we make a transition to a new plateau in our life’s journey.

In this chapter we have the blessing of the baby Jesus by Simeon. It too was a rite of passage for a first born son, as both he and his parents received the rite of purification from the local priest. Simeon refers to Jesus as "a light for revelation to the gentiles and for the glory of thy people Israel." For Jesus it is more than a blessing it is a prophetic proclamation.

It is like saying, Amen. In Hebrew, Amen is rooted in the verb to take care, to be firm, true, reliable, to trust in or to believe in. In the worship in the synagogue after the leader says, "Blessed be the Lord," the congregation answers with the word, "Amen." In the New Testament we find Paul using the word, "Amen" to say "yes" to the promises of God. See (II Cor. 1:20) Jesus often used the phrase, "Amen, I say to you."

We normally think of using the word, "Amen" at the end of a prayer or at the end of a benediction or sermon. It is always the last word we say at funerals. When we say "Amen" we are saying, "so be it" or "the end." Although "Amen" is often thought of as the last word it is really only the transition point for something new to occur.

For me, an "Amen" is like a mile marker. It is a reference point, an indication of how far you have traveled. Whenever you see a mile marker along the road you know where you have been. What lies ahead is unknown. You know there is another marker one mile further down the road but you have not yet experienced that distance.

It is therefore two dimensional. It makes a statement about the past and at the same time points you to the future. At the same time it is your current reality, where you happen to be in a given moment of time.

Today we have gathered to say "Amen" to the 20th Century. We know from whence we have come. Some of you lived through the Great Depression and 2 World Wars. Others survived Vietnam. Many have witnessed the age of Industrialism giving way to the age of Electronics. And those of you who are younger have seen the ever-expanding world of computers.

When we say "Amen" to the past we are embracing all that we have experienced, both the good and the bad. On the one hand there was Pearl Harbor, the atom bomb, Hitler, the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Watergate, the Bay of Pigs, the Holocaust, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and floods. Some are more personal like divorce, death of a child, polio, heart attacks, cancer or nervous breakdowns.

On the other hand there are also the good. Some of you remember when the automobile or airplane was invented. Many watched a man land on the moon and the end of the Soviet Union. The Berlin wall came tumbling down. Television and now the internet have completely changed the way in which we live.

We all have our "good ole days" and to those days, depending on your age and times you lived in, they are different. Whether it was the Roaring 20’s, suburban life of the 50’s, the crazy 60’s, or the prosperity of the 90’s to them we all say, "Amen."

We cannot change the past. We can only learn from it and move forward. Some things we cherish, other things we regret. Nevertheless, they are all mile markers for which we have already passed.

We all have our mile markers we’d like to forget. For me, to be drafted into the military the same time I graduated from college was absolutely devastating. That made me bitter for awhile and I had to make some hard choices. Fortunately I had several alternatives and I had to live with the choices I made.

Looking back I wish I would have studied harder in school. I should have taken more time off instead of working so much. Had I known how much fun sailing is I would have started much earlier in life. At the same time I have been blessed. I have had a career in business and been an officer in the Navy. I have raised children and found a wonderful life companion. All that being said I still realize there is more to come. How much more I have no way of knowing. But, for all the markers I have passed I say, "Amen."

My life now is the Church. For me, it is profoundly challenging but very fulfilling. My major role as a pastor is to help people through the transitions of life. On numerous occasions I have been the one to say, "Amen" at a critical point in the life of another human being. I can appreciate the opportunity that Simeon experienced.

Today, we are at mile marker 12-26-99. The last worship service of the millennium. We are gathered together as fragile human beings who have made the pilgrimage to this place we call the Church. Look around you, and note those persons who have helped to shape your lives. Say, "Amen" to those who have held your hand, gave you encouragement or taught you a lesson.

We are a community of people who have all traveled different journeys. But, at this moment we are all together in one place, giving our praises to God and offering each other our support. At the end of this worship service we will all leave this place and move forward. Uncertainty and unknown adventures lie ahead. What will it be like? Where will we go? God only knows.

Like Jesus, who was blessed by Simeon, we too need a blessing to continue on our way. May we live with the assurance that God will be with us. May our "Amen" today be not only a benediction to the past but a commission to the future as we strive to live with faith, hope and love.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio