Those Who Wait
December 27, 2008
Luke 2:22-40
22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."
25 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. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. 27 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, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 29 "Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." 33 And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 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 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed-and a sword will pierce your own soul too." 36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. Luke 2:22-40
Christmas has come and gone. In many houses, the decorations have already been taken down. The stores have marked down the Christmas decorations to next to nothing in order to avoid storing them until next year. But here in the Church, Christmas is not even half way over. This is according to the church year only the 4th day of the 12 days of Christmas. For the church, Advent is the time for preparing for the 12 day celebration of Christmas which leads up to Epiphany, the day in which we celebrate the coming of the Magi and the giving of the gospel to the Gentiles.
So today, we'll sing Christmas carols. We'll light all the candles on our Advent wreath and we'll reflect on how we should respond to the birth of the Christ Child as we reflect on his first trip to Jerusalem.
We often forget that the gospels tell the story of Jesus' birth in two different ways. The events we generally describe as happening in one night actually were spread over time. And Luke tells part of the story and Matthew the other part. So it is that today we hear a part of the story that is often neglected. After the eight days after Jesus' birth and long before the Magi show up, Joseph takes Mary and Jesus and they make the trek from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to present their child to God. And there in the midst of the temple is where they met Simeon.
Now Mary and Joseph knew their boy was special and they thought he was the most beautiful child in the world, but there was nothing to indicate to anyone else his special origin. Unlike all the paintings we have seen, he didn't have a glowing halo over his head. He didn't shimmer in the light like the main character of the Twilight series. As the Isaiah said so long ago there was nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Yet somehow Simeon knew.
You see, while everyone was looking for the Messiah. No one was expecting Jesus! Some expected the Messiah to be a great military leader. Others expected a great priest. And others expected a new king to sit on the throne of Israel. And in first century Israel, no one was expecting the Messiah to bring salvation to Gentile. Despite all the words of scripture that Christians would later point to as foretelling the coming of Jesus, this baby was not what Jews of that day and age were looking for.
Nonetheless, Simeon saw Mary and Joseph in the midst of the crowd, he approached them, took the baby in his arms, lifted him toward the sky and praised God. Then there in the middle of the Temple, he declared that Jesus was the one-salvation and revelation not only to the people of Israel but to Gentiles as well. Good news!!!
Before the priest had even a glimpse of the baby, this ordinary Spirit-filled man blessed the baby. Then Simeon told them the bad news. This child -this precious gift given by God to all would not be accepted by all. Some would reject him and that rejection would be like a sword in Mary's heart.
During the past four weeks of Advent, we've been preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ. Each week, we lit a candle on the Advent wreath and reflected on some disciplines that would help us find room in our lives for Jesus. We talked of the importance of waiting, the need to prepare, the responsibility to witness to what we know, and the discipline of letting it be according to God's will. Simeon is an example of what it means to live out all of those disciplines.
For years-long years, he had waited. I wonder how many mornings he woke up and prayed to God, "Dear Lord, let this be the day. Let this be the day I see your salvation." And how many nights did he go to bed at night praying, "Dear Lord, today wasn't the day, but please let it be tomorrow."? And how many times did he get a glimpse of some couple walking into the temple or passing him on the street and he glanced over at their child and prayed, "God is this the one?"? Yet he never quit looking and he never gave up hope. So he waited as he went about the ordinary tasks of his life.
We actually know little about Simeon. The Bible tell us he was a righteous man waiting expectantly and full of the Holy Spirit, but other than that he appears to be an ordinary worshipper. He wasn't a prophet, like Anna, or a priest, or a Rabbi. He didn't have a degree, a title or wear a stole. He was just an ordinary person trying to live a life worthy of God and to look forward to what God had in store not only for him but for the world. So Simeon waited.
And while he waited, he prepared. I love how the Scripture says that the Holy Spirit rested on him. Now I'm sure you've met people like that before: people who are so full of God's Spirit that you can feel it. When you meet them you know there is something different about them. There is a peace, a joy, a sure knowledge that just seems to roll off them. Often they are not the most educated or the most powerful. They don't often have fancy jobs or big titles. But they spend so much time in prayer and reading Scripture that the Holy Spirit seems to find more room in their lives than in the lives of the rest of us. As a result, they are always prepared to see God in whatever form God shows up on any particular day. They can see God in the most difficult sinner. They can see God at work in the most dismal of circumstances. They can hear God's voice in the cacophony of media that surround us. They, like Simeon, are always prepared.
Simeon also witnessed to what he knew. Have you ever not shared a word God put on your heart with someone because you were afraid of how they would respond? Just imagine how much courage it took for Simeon to walk into the temple that day because he had a nudge from God, walk up to this couple he had never met, take this baby he had never seen or heard of from them, and in the presence of God and everyone in the temple lift him up and praise God for him then turn to his mother and give her such wonderful and such painful news about her child? But because Simeon had waited and because he was prepared, he was able to witness out of an assurance that comes not from a book-not even the Bible-but from a heart full of the Holy Spirit. So he could witness to the truth he knew-even when that truth was not happy news.
And Simeon was also willing to let it be. Simeon's beautiful words, Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word . . ." In the face of a baby, he saw promise of salvation, but not the fulfillment of the promise. Yet, at that moment, he was prepared to leave the fulfillment of the promise to God. Simeon let go trusting that God would do through that baby what God had promised. And, therefore, Simeon was able to die in peace.
On Friday, Laura and I went to see the "Curious Tale of Benjamin Button," and one of the lines that stuck with me was part of a lesson that Benjamin had to learn several times: "When it comes to the end, you have to let go." Simeon knew that lesson well. To say "Let it Be" as Mary said when the angel came to visit and as Simeon says when he announces that he has been dismissed in peace or as John the Baptist says when he announces that Jesus must increase and he must decrease is to acknowledge that we have a role-an important role-to play in God's work in the world but we are only a part of the plan. So we faithfully do our part and then when our part is over we have to let go and let God take care of the rest-even when we don't get to see the results of our work!
Unlike George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life" we don't get to see what the world would be like without us. Nor do we get to step into a time machine and see the end result of all our efforts. Instead all we can do is be faithful, to wait for our part, to prepare for it, to witness to what we know, to do what we are called to do, and then let go of control and let it be according to God's will-not ours.
So Simeon is a model for what it means to be a people who wait on the Lord. Simeon waited and prepared so that when the time came he could witness and let it be.
The prophet, Anna, also knew the meaning of waiting, preparing, witnessing and letting it be according to God's word. She and Simeon were alike in many ways. Both had spent a life time waiting and preparing for that day. But in other ways, they were so different. He evidently led a normal life-a life outside the temple, probably with a job and a family to support. Anna, on the other hand, had spent most of her life as a widow living in the temple and was recognized as a prophet. Both were waiting, preparing and witnessing, but both were doing it in their own unique way-the way God had called them to wait, prepare, and witness. As for letting it be, I somehow doubt this is the life Anna would have chosen originally. If like most women of her day, she had married at 13 or 14 that meant she was widowed at around 20. On her wedding day, I suspect she planned on a life serving God in her home surrounded by family not in the temple surrounded by strangers. She probably planned to serve God by telling his stories to a new generation-her children-instead she found herself telling about God to pilgrims and to priests. She could have been bitter. She could have withdrawn. She could have given up hope. Instead she waited, prepared, witnessed and said, "Let it be" and God worked with that!
Then there is Mary. I hate to skip over Joseph as if he too didn't have to wait, to prepare, to witness, and to "Let it Be"-after all how much more submissive to God's will and plan can you be than to marry a pregnant woman on the basis of a dream. But this is the Gospel of Luke and Joseph is strangely silent here. For Luke, who was writing to outsiders-to Gentiles-and who had a heart for the outcasts, Mary is the focus of the birth story. You want to hear about Joseph you have to turn to the Gospel of Matthew. But for today, we'll focus on Luke's gospel and focus on the actions of Mary.
Beyond the obvious waiting and preparing for the birth of Jesus, Mary spent her life waiting and preparing for what would happen next. One of the phrases Luke uses at several key moments in her story is that she pondered things in her heart. Mary was a thoughtful woman. I confess I don't believe she always understood what she was getting herself into, but she was always willing to step out in faith, to listen to what was said, to observe what was happening around her and to reflect on them. If it is true as the great philosopher once said that "the unreflected life is not worth living," then Mary lived a very worthwhile life. If she lived today, I bet Mary would keep a journal, if not a blog, where she would reflect on the events of her life and how she saw God in them.
Mary also witnessed. She didn't witness so much through words-despite her beautiful words to her cousin Elizabeth when she first announced her pregnancy-as she witnessed by her faithfulness, by her attentiveness, and her reflection. And perhaps her greatest witness of all as she stood at the foot of the cross as her son died-and unlike his fickle disciples she didn't abandon him in his moment of great need.
And so it is Mary who teaches us what it means to "let it be."
In a moment, you will be invited to a time of reflection as Jim and Babs sing, "Mary, Did you know?" And the truth is that I don't think she did know. When the angel appeared to her and told her that she was to give birth to a child and she said, "Let it Be," I don't believe she had any idea what she was getting herself into. What mother's heart could have borne the pain of knowing what was to happen? Even Simeon's words of prophecy are very vague. And I suspect she thought his words had come true several times before Calvary. It must have felt like a sword in her breast when she and Joseph had to grab Jesus and flee Herod to Egypt! It must have felt like a sword in her breast the day Jesus ignored her and her other sons at the door and pointed to his disciples and said, "These are my mother and brothers!" And yet despite each struggle, each disappointment, and each fear, she chose to trust God.
That's what faith is all about. Faith isn't about knowing what is going to happen next. Rather faith is taking the next step not being sure what happens next but trusting the one who is leading you. Faith is saying "Let it be with me according to your word" and not knowing exactly what they means.
We who have gathered here today are also called to wait, to prepare, to witness and to let it be. Like Anna, Simeon, and Mary, how we are called to do so will differ. Yet there are some ways in which it will be the same. All three were listening for a word from God. All three were aware of the world and the people around them. All three worshipped-not just at home but in the temple with the rest of the people of God. All three prayed and prayed constantly. And all three trusted God with the next step in their faith journey. And so should we.
As Jim and Babs sing, I would like you to reflect not only on what Mary may or may not have known about what God had called her to do in giving birth and raising Jesus, but in what God is calling you to do as you witness to Christ. Then after the song, I will invite all of us to turn to page 607 in the hymnal and to join in Wesley's covenant prayer. This is a prayer that is traditionally prayed at the New Year's Eve Covenant service as Christians reconfirm their commitment to Christ and as they say to God yet again: "My eyes have seen your salvation . . . Let it be with me according to your will!"
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