To celebrate my 40th birthday, Julie and I did what we always do to mark such occasions: enjoying a nice meal at a cozy supper club. With our little Mary (at the time our only child) left behind in the good care of a trusted babysitter, “me and the missus” were jazzed to be footloose and fancy free – if only for a few hours.
Our dining destination was my favorite German restaurant, about an hour’s drive from our then-home in southern Wisconsin. When our date-night began, the late-summer sun was still high in the sky, but it had dipped below the horizon when we finished our wiener schnitzel, sauerbraten, and strudel and we headed back down the highway for home. The 60-minute drivetime ensured full-on nighttime by the time we’d be pulling into the driveway.
As it turned out, the setting sun wasn’t the only thing whose energy was fading away that Saturday night. Excited as I was to be going out with my honey, as nourishing to body, soul, and spirit as was our meal together, I began to lose my party mojo as our hometown lights drew closer. It was getting late; I’d endured an exhausting week, and I was ready for bed.
But, while my get up and go had gotten up and went, for my lovely wife the evening was still young. Seemingly fresh as a daisy, Julie was no worse for the wear and raring to go, nowhere near ready to call it a night. We were a veritable study in vitality contrasts.
By the time we crossed the city limits, the gauge needle of Julie’s energy and excitement had hit the red zone – while weary ol’ me, freshly aged into my 40s, was running on fumes. But then, somewhere along those final miles of city streets, my second wind began to blow in. I began perking up when the light bulb of mental connection finally came on. A-ha! Something’s up, and Julie knows it. Big plans are afoot, and Julie’s in on the secret. That’s why she can hardly contain her late-night enthusiasm.
Indeed, what lay ahead for me in our living room was a surprise birthday party that Julie had arranged with a dozen or so friends and colleagues. No wonder she still overflowed with party-hardy energy when I was too pooped to proceed. When you full-well know that great, beautiful, and wonderful things are most-definitely going to happen, your heart bubbles and sparkles like the finest of merrymaking champagnes. Because you’re in on the secret.
That same eager sense of cork-popping glee over good things that assuredly lie ahead shimmers between the lines of this morning’s first Scripture lesson. In the infant Jesus held close in his mother’s arms, tired eyes that have seen a lot at long last lock focus on the very presence of heaven’s promise. The aging Simeon, whose hope is built on nothing less than the full assurances of God, gazes down upon divine grace fulfilled in swaddled human flesh: the Savior who is Christ Jesus the Lord.
Simeon knows that something’s up, that plans are afoot. He’s in on the secret; the party isn’t over; the celebration is just beginning. And Simeon bursts with joy! Let a weary world rejoice as you listen to the Word that God has spoken in the Gospel of Luke –
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:21-35)
Simeon’s heart bursts at the seams with unbounding gladness.
Because he knows that something’s up. Because he knows that grand plans are afoot!
Simeon’s in on the secret, because he trusts in God’s promises of a Savior. And Simeon’s now making room in his heart for Jesus – the long-awaited Messiah. A-ha! Simeon connects the dots! Jesus is the guest of honor at God’s surprise party, and Simeon’s rejoicing cannot and will not be contained!
Simeon experiences epiphany: thanks be to God, a sudden moment of jaw-dropping revelation or gob-smacking insight such that his world will never be the same! And the full blessing of Simeon’s sudden discovery is not only answer to the question of where he’ll go if he died tomorrow but also image of what Simeon will experience when he walks past St. Peter through the pearly gates.
Like those who walked that way before him – like all those who’ll walk that way behind him, Simeon will become a work of art. Angels will gasp at God’s handiwork complete. At last you will have a heart like Jesus. You will love with perfect love, worship with radiant face, hear every word that God speaks. Your heart will be pure like crystal; your words like sparkling jewels; your thoughts like precious treasure. Just like Jesus, you’ll carry a heart that’s guiltless, fearless, thrilled, and joyous. Songs of loudest praise never ceasing, you’ll be just like Jesus.
“I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people,” Simeon bellows to God with full throat. “The sleepy child you’re holding, Mary, is a light to reveal God to the nations. He is the glory of God’s people!” And in short order, others too – when first gazing upon the Christ Child – will echo Simeon’s eager response to such life-affirming good news.
When a bright, shining star signals that something is up, that big heavenly plans are afoot, astrologers from faraway lands follow the sky beams and encounter the salvation of God in the boy Jesus. After offering their gifts, they then turn for home. But a-ha! A second wind! The Wise Men follow a different way! Listen to the Voice who is close at hand in the Gospel of Matthew –
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”
When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”
When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. (Matthew 2:1-12)
The Wise Men follow “another road,” head for home following “another way.”
In biblical times, to be a disciple of Jesus is also known as being a follower of “The Way” – capital T, capital W, as in following The Way of Jesus. It is the path along which your heart starts beating in perfect rhythm with the Lord’s. A heart so pure, a character so flawless, that your keen spiritual hearing never misses even a divine whisper. Jesus’s mercy so abundantly primes your heart that you never forego the opportunity to forgive another. A lie never passes your lips; shiny baubles never distract your vision. You endure when others resign.
With each and every step along The Way of Jesus, your heart more and more becomes like his. That Spirit-driven cardio workout is daily exercise until, one day, you are dismissed from this broken and fearful world in peace, and The Way of Jesus culminates in the paradise of eternity, where angels will gasp in amazement at the full completion of God’s handiwork upon your heart.
As I suggested when I began this series, Jesus loves you just as you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. So as the 12 days of Christmas near their end and as the Feast of Epiphany dawns in the eastern sky, our prayer for the new year remains steadfast: Let every heart prepare him room!
Glory to God in the highest! And on earth peace, goodwill toward all!
For my eyes have seen your salvation!
Amen, and amen!
Pastor Grant M. VanderVelden shared this message on Epiphany Sunday, January 4, 2026, at First Presbyterian Church in Waukon, Iowa, USA. Commentary and reflection by Max Lucado informs the message, which is part of Pastor Grant’s series for Advent and Christmas, “Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room.” Earlier messages in the series are available at FirstPresWaukon.com/sermons/.