This week we have been looking at
another song that was a part of the original Christmas playlist that was
written by a man named Simeon. We looked on as Luke explained that eight days after Jesus birth, and before Jesus was
circumcised, Mary and Joseph officially named their child Jesus. Mary and
Joseph were responding to the birth of Jesus by following and fulfilling God’s
commandments when it came to Jesus.
Mary and
Joseph were responding to the birth of Jesus by following and fulfilling God’s
commandments to dedicate their firstborn son to be Holy to the Lord. In other
words, Mary and Joseph were following God’s command to dedicate Jesus to be
wholly devoted to the Lord. Mary and Joseph worshiped God by giving their son
who was the Son of God back to God.
However, as
Mary and Joseph worshipped the Lord for their firstborn son who just happened
to be the arrival of the Messiah, they were not the only ones who were aware of
the announcement of the arrival of the Messiah. We saw Luke introduce us to a
man named Simeon, who is described as a man who was righteous and devout. In
other words, Simeon was a reverent, God fearing man, who strove to do what was
right in God’s sight.
Simeon was
looking forward and counting the days until God would fulfill His promise to
humanity to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah. And Simeon was looking
forward because the Holy Spirit had let Simeon know that he would see the
Messiah enter into humanity before he died. So Simeon’s head was on a swivel.
Simeon was looking forward to the day when he would be face to face with the
one who God would send to provide humanity an opportunity to be rescued from
the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God.
Every day,
Simeon made the journey to the Temple to look for the one who God would send to
provide humanity an opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and
rebellion that separated them from God. Every day, Simeon made the journey to
the Temple, waiting and hoping this would be the day that God would fulfill the
promise that he had made to him.
After days of making that journey to the
Temple, Simeon would have an encounter that resulted in him composing and
singing a song that would become a part of the original Christmas playlist. So
let's look at that encounter and song together, beginning in Luke 2:27-32:
And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the
parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,
then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, "Now Lord, You
are releasing Your bond-servant to depart 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 OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your
people Israel."
Luke tells
us that on the day that Mary and Joseph were in the Temple following and
fulfilling God’s commandments, the Holy Spirit led Simeon to Mary and Joseph
and opened his eyes to see that God had fulfilled His promise. And Luke tells
us that Simeon responded to God fulfilling His promise that he would live to
see the arrival of the Messiah by embracing Jesus and singing a song of worship
that would become a part of the original Christmas playlist.
And as part
of his song of worship, Simeon quoted a section of a letter in the Old
Testament of our Bibles called the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 49:6, the prophet
Isaiah predicted and proclaimed that God would send a rescuer and deliverer who
would bring salvation to all of fallen humanity. Isaiah proclaimed that this
rescuer, the Messiah would make fully known God’s message of rescue and would
provide rescue to individuals from all of the nations of the world. And this
rescuer, this Messiah would receive honor and would enhance the reputation of
God among the Jewish people.
And now
Simeon was holding God in a bod in his arms. Simeon responded to this reality
by stating “you are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According
to Your word”. You see, Simeon
recognized that his task had been completed; his role in God’s story was now
complete. Simeon recognized that he could leave this earth because God had
fulfilled His promise to send a rescuer that would bring peace on earth. God
had announced the arrival of the Messiah to bring a state of well being with
God that comes as a result of one’s rescue from selfishness and rebellion
through the life, death, and resurrection, of the baby in his arms.
And it is in
this song that was composed and sung by a man who faithfully waited for God to
fulfill His promise that would become a part of the original Christmas
playlist, that we discover a timeless truth about the
very first Christmas and its place the grand story of God's activity in
history. And that timeless truth is this:
As we talked about earlier in
this series, waiting is a major part of life. And the timeless reality, as
songwriter Tom Petty once sang, is that "The waiting is the hardest
part". And when it comes to waiting, we can often find ourselves living in
the tension of the question "When should I wait and when should I
act?"
And nowhere is this tension more
difficult then when it comes to waiting on God. You see, while God is a promise
maker and a promise keeper, God's timetable often does not necessarily line up
with our timetable. And so we find ourselves in a place where we are waiting.
And as we are waiting, we can wrestle with the tension of "when should I
wait and when should I act?"
But could it be that we are
asking the wrong question when it comes to waiting? You see, when it comes to
waiting, the real question is not "What are we waiting for?" The real
question is "Who are we becoming while we wait?"
Just as it was for Simeon,
waiting is not about passive non-action. Instead, waiting is about active
obedience. Simeon responded to his circumstances of waiting by faithfully and
obediently continuing to show up at the Temple. Simeon responded to his
circumstances of waiting by continuing to develop a deepening relationship with
God that was open and sensitive to the direction of the Spirit of God.
And as Simeon faithfully and
obediently trusted and followed God in the midst of waiting, God was at work in
Simeon to develop the character and wisdom that was deeply rooted in God. What
changed for Simeon at the end of his time of waiting was that he was given the
opportunity to hold Jesus, God in a bod. And at that moment, as Simeon held God
in a bod, God became personal to Simeon in a powerfully profound way.
And in the same way, we are to respond
to our circumstances of waiting by actively and faithfully following the
message and teachings of Jesus. We are to respond to our circumstances of
waiting by continuing to develop a deepening relationship with God that is open
and sensitive to the direction of the Spirit of God.
As we faithfully and obediently
trust and follow Jesus in the midst of waiting, we are to be driven by the
question "What is the next right and wise thing, according to the message
and teaching of Jesus, that I need to do?" And then instead of passively
taking no action, we are to actively live out the answer to that question.
And as we faithfully and
obediently trust and follow God in the midst of waiting, God will be at work to
develop the character and wisdom that is deeply rooted in God. And, as it was
for Simeon, God will become personal in a powerfully profound way as a result
of our active and faithful pursuit of Him in our times of waiting.
So with that in mind, here is a
question to consider: What are you waiting for? And how are you waiting? Are
you waiting passively for God? Or are you responding to your circumstances of
waiting by continuing to actively develop a deepening relationship with God
that is open and sensitive to the direction of the Spirit of God? Who are you
becoming while you waiting?
Because, the timeless reality is
that the original Christmas playlist contains songs that celebrate God’s
faithfulness by faithfully pursuing Him while waiting for Him...
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