I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! I really enjoyed it. It was a relaxed day. I think what I enjoyed most was there was no going out to buy one more thing you forgot. The stores were closed! It was a nice day with family to celebrate the Savior’s birth.
This week starts a New Year. 2020 is a year we might wish we could forget. We keep trying to flatten the curve and it won’t flatten. It rises up in yet another wave and knocks us down. At worst, there’s been sickness and death. At best, there were quarantines and time you couldn’t sit in a restaurant.
Today we’re going to talk about waiting. Why do we have to wait? Why do we have to wait to eat goodie until we’re done with our meal? Why does it seem to take so long to grow up or to move out? Before we’re married, we wonder, “How long until I get married?” Then it’s “How long until I have a kid?” Now we wonder, “How long until I can take a vacation?” “How long until I can retire?”
In 2020, we find ourselves waiting to see what’s next. When will restrictions end? When will we all get the vaccine? When will life be more normal? How do you keep going in a positive way when you have to just keep waiting?
In our Christmas story, there were two people who were experts on waiting on God, waiting a very long time. You know the story of wise men bringing gifts, shepherds who saw the angels, but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all?
Actually, Rudolph’s not in the Christmas story. Today I’m going to talk about Simeon and Anna.
They come into the Christmas story at least 40 days after Jesus’ birth. This was not Jesus baptism. At that time, the mother of a new baby had to go through 40 days of purification after giving birth! Then the parents had to take the baby to the temple, along with a sin offering and a burnt offering. Mary and Joseph take Jesus and bring a sacrifice of two birds.
Luke 2:25 says: Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. This verse tells us Simeon was waiting for comfort for his nation. The people of Israel were feeling uncomfortable.
Their land was frequently overrun by foreign powers. Now they were ruled over by the Roman Empire. They followed God, and they didn’t want foreign rulers interfering in their country or their religious practice. So they were looking for comfort from God. They wanted him to make their world different.
And the Scripture says the Holy Spirit was on Simeon. He hadt hope not like your average, everyday person had. He had the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit, guiding him.
Luke 2:26-28 says: It had been revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God.
The Holy Spirit told Simeon, there is a baby in the temple right now, who is the Messiah. So, Simeon went to the temple. And Simeon, didn’t ask permission, he just took baby Jesus in his arms and praised God! Simeon knew, this baby doesn’t just belong to his parents. He belongs to all the people. So, he took Jesus in his arms. Wouldn’t that be a lovely part of a nativity? An elderly man, holding Jesus and praising God!
Then Simeon said:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss[d] your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
This is the highlight of Simeon’s life, and he tells God, I can go now, I have your peace. I finally see this baby, who is salvation, light, and your glory.
This is a happy moment, but Simeon says something else. Simeon says to Mary in verses 34-35: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Jesus will be controversial. Some will love him; some will hate him. And some will love him, but later hate him. Mary will have a difficult time, especially when she sees her son hang on a cross. To Simeon, Jesus is definitely good news, the news he waited for all his life. But Simeon says, make no mistake: life won’t be easy for Jesus of for Mary.
Another person who meets baby Jesus in the temple is Anna. Luke 2 says she was very old, 84 years young. When she was young, she married. Her husband died after they were married only 7 years. Then she was a widow for the rest of her life. Verses 37 and 38 say: She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to Jesus, Mary and Joseph at that very moment, Anna gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Like Simeon, Anna knew who baby Jesus was, and how he would redeem us from our sins. She gave thanks to God and spoke to everyone about Jesus.
Simeon and Anna waited many years to see the baby Jesus. How were they able to stay positive as they waited all those years? Anna filled her time with worship, fasting and praying in the temple. Simeon waited, filled with the Spirit, and believing the promise of God to him.
I have learned that waiting is easier for some people than it is for others. Kevin and I took our kids to a children’s waterpark when they were little, and one cried every time he had to stand in line except one. For some people, waiting is harder. When I make my weekly trip to Walmart for groceries, I fill that shopping cart to the brim. I feel bad for people who get in line behind me. But sometimes people get in line behind me, and they have just a few items. There is a self-check-out they could use, but they have tremendous patience: they don’t mind the long wait in order to have a real person check them out.
So, think about where you are: do you hate to wait, does waiting not really bother you, or are you somewhere in the middle?
Simeon and Anna’s secret is, they made the best of their time while waiting. They hung out at the temple. They worshipped, prayed fasted, believed, and listened to God’s spirit.
There’s a passage in the Bible that I think helps here. James 1:2-4 says, 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
You are becoming a better person, the more you are tested, the longer you have to wait. You are better at persevering and sticking with it. There’s a maturity you are developing.
God makes you a better person, when you have to wait for good things. There are people who get everything they want, as soon as they want it. They are generally not pleasant people to be around. You don’t want to be them. They want it all, and they want it now!
Simeon and Anna were not like that: they were the real deal; they were spiritually deep people. They waited, letting God be in charge of setting the time when they would meet the baby Jesus. They filled up on God to help them wait. And they are part of the Christmas story today, because they persevered and believed. God makes you a better person, when you have to wait for good things.
My homework for you is to read the story of Simeon and Anna again. Luke 2:22-40. They got to see the baby Jesus, because they were hanging out at the temple, filling up on God and positivity, while they waited. Maybe Simeon and Anna were friends. I think so. They had each other to wait with, and they could praise God together, for the promise of the Messiah. They are in the Christmas story because they were able to wait so long. God makes you a better person, when you have to wait for good things.
We all experience waiting. We have to wait for bad things to end, and for good things to come. We don’t rejoice about our problems. But we can delight in God. He is with us in the pain of waiting. God is perfecting our faith. James 1:2 says, “Consider it pure joy when you face trials.” Consider it pure joy when you have to wait. God is making you better at persevering and spiritually deep. He is helping you find joy in all circumstances, as you wait for the good things he has in store for you. Amen.
Dec. 27, 2020
Maureen Duffy-Guy's blog 