The Physicalness of Salvation - The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.

For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel."

Today, we celebrate the "Presentation of Christ in the Temple," also called the "Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary."

The Nunc Dimmitis (so named because of the first two words in the Latin translation) are the words Simeon proclaims when he sees the Christ child (see Luke 2:29-32). God had promised Simeon that he would lay eyes on the promised Messiah before he died. This man stares at baby Jesus and can actually say "mine eyes have seen thy salvation."

I don't know about you, but I don't usually think of Salvation as being something physical. I think many Christians would think of salvation as an event -- the event of a man dying on a cross or the event of atonement.Yet, here in the gospel of Luke, the Bible declares that salvation is physical and walking around -- salvation is found in the physical body of Jesus Christ. If Simeon can look at baby Jesus and utter this provocative phrase, "mine eyes have seen thy salvation," then that means that salvation is located spatially, in tangible things. Salvation is located in the person of Jesus Christ.

By extension, wherever Jesus is -- wherever his body is -- we may join our voices with Simeon and locate salvation there. Where does Jesus claim his body is located? There are 3 places.

In Heaven
The first is the most obvious. Jesus is located in heaven seated at the right hand of the Father ruling and reigning as sovereign God. This means that if we desire salvation we must become a part of Jesus' kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. We must make Jesus our lord and savior. 

In Lord's Supper

Salvation is tangibly located in the sacraments, particularly the eucharistic elements of bread and wine that have been consecrated in the Lord's Supper. When the minister consecrates bread and wine he repeats the words of Jesus, "this is my body, this is my blood; do this in remembrance of me." If Jesus himself locates his physical body in the elements of bread and wine then that means salvation is located here. Not only that, Jesus actually says about the wine "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt. 26:28). Of course Jesus is referring to his shed blood on the cross that is poured out for the forgiveness of sins; yet, he locates this forgiveness not only in the crucifixion event but also in the sacramental drinking at the Lord's Supper. We may not think the cup we take at the Lord's Supper offers forgiveness of sins, but this is what Jesus says. Let me explain. Bread and wine do not offer salvation as if they are some sort of magical objects. Rather, salvation is present in the Lord's Supper because Jesus is present in the bread and wine. The chalice is the cup of the new covenant poured out for the forgiveness of sins because because Jesus is present with the wine.

There are many different ways to understand how Jesus is present in the sacrament. Perhaps it's physically; perhaps it's spiritually. I do not have space here to explore these ideas. What is important is not how Jesus is present but that Jesus is present. As a faithful evangelical Christian, I am bound to believe all of what scripture teaches.

In His Bride the Church

We may also locate Jesus's body in his gathered Church. St. Paul writes in Ephesians 5 that the church is the Bride of Jesus Christ. We are to understand from this that the two have become one flesh. This hearkens back to the theology of Genesis chapter 2 when Adam and Eve came together as husband and wife; the two became one flesh. The same is true for our Lord and his bride the church. He has become one flesh with his church. When we gather together as the church we can look around and see Jesus physically and tangibly present. Of course, we do not see Jesus literally walking around in his glorified body. Rather, we see him in the love we have for each other. We hear him in the kind words we speak to each other. Further, if the church is the body of Christ (and it is), we must say the church is where salvation is located.