“Worth the Wait”

Luke 2:22-40

St. Paul United Methodist Church

December 29, 2002

Rev. John Fleming

Just this week, since we worshiped last, I heard the story of a Christmas pageant that happened in a small church. The pageant was nearly over. The children had sung all of their songs. The wise men had brought their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The little shepherds, with their white robes and gold wings attached, had milled around nervously as they flew towards the manger to see baby Jesus. The angels, in their tennis shoes, had shouted out their message of hope and joy. And the star had been lit. Mary and Joseph who did not like each other in real life had knelt as reverently as possible for as long as possible, trying their best not to touch each other as they looked in on Jesus, a plastic doll in the manger. All had decided that it was best not to use a real baby this year. The whole church joined in singing Silent Night. Then there was a round of applause. The cast members, the wise men, the shepherds, the angels, the kids dressed up in sheep and camel costumes all took a bow and then quickly left the stage. Actually they pushed their way off of the stage. You see, they were eager to make it to the fellowship hall where they knew punch and cookies and a visit from Santa Claus would be waiting for them. Mary and Joseph had their directions. They were supposed to be the last ones to leave. After everyone else was gone, Joseph turned to leave and soon Mary started to follow him. That is when it happened. When Joseph and Mary were leaving, someone, a little child perhaps, shouted out at the top of his lungs, “Hey, you forget the baby Jesus! Don’t forget Jesus!” Sure enough, Mary glanced back at the crib and the doll that was supposed to be Jesus Christ, was still there, lying silently in the manger. In her embarrassment, Mary stomped back to the manger scene, grabbed baby Jesus by the foot, and ran off of the stage on her way, presumably, to the fellowship hall and more important things. This morning, I want to yell out the same thing to you. I want to say, “Hey, don’t forget baby Jesus!”

Forgetting Jesus would be easy, wouldn’t it? After all, his birthday has come and gone. Christmas seems to be over. I do not know if you have noticed it or not, but the packages have been unwrapped, the Christmas carols are not playing on the radio, and the Christmas commercials have been replaced with after Christmas sale advertisements. Christmas trees that were once beautifully decorated are either on the street ready to be picked up by the city or packed away in a box for another year. My tree is boxed up.

But before we leave baby Jesus all together, I would like for us to look at the first of two stories in Luke’s gospel of Jesus’ childhood. The first happens when Jesus was just a month old. The second happens when Jesus is twelve. Our text is this first story. If you are nostalgic about babies, today is your day. This is the only day that baby Jesus will be this small.

Jesus was only thirty days old when Mary and Joseph took him to the Temple. There are not a lot of details about the family life of Jesus and his earthly parents. We catch a glimpse of that life in our lesson for this morning. If it is okay, I would like to point out some things about them to you. First of all, Mary and Joseph were religious, devout, and committed. You might say that they were a good Jewish family. Luke wants us to know that Mary and Joseph took the rules and obligations of their faith very seriously. You might say that they were simple believers; ones who did not question things. They just believed. They find meaning in the traditions of their church. They follow all that their church says that they are to follow. I do not know if you noticed this, but in this short passage of eighteen verses, Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph did everything according to the law, four different times. And so they are religious and simple. There is another detail here that you should notice. Luke tells us that when it was time to sacrifice, they brought a pair of turtle doves or a pair of pigeons. That detail tells us that they did not have much. You see, the standard sacrifice in the Temple was a lamb. That is what you sacrificed if you could afford it. But if you could not, then you sacrificed pigeons or turtle doves. So here are Jesus’ parents, Mary and Joseph, poor, simple, devout people who bring their new baby to the church for a religious observance.

Among those at the Temple are Simeon and Anna. Luke wants us to know that these two were always there. They had been there for years. Simeon is an old man who is looking for the Messiah. When the Messiah came, it was prophesied in Malachi, he would come suddenly to the Temple. Luke tells us that it had been revealed to Simeon that he would not taste death until he saw the Lord’s Messiah. So if you are waiting to see the Messiah. If that is your job, then everyday you get up and go to the Temple. You wait there, as Simeon did, year after year, checking everyone who comes up the steps of the Temple to see if this one is the one. Luke tells us that Simeon is old and righteous. Those are his credentials and they are important, because Luke is going to use Simeon as a kind of expert witness.

Here is how it must have happened. Simeon was standing there on the top steps of the Temple waiting for the Messiah to come there, not really sure what he would look like. He had been there for years, checking everyone. He even checked the babies. Up the steps come Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus in their arms. Simeon is there and holds out his arms. Maybe he asks, “Can I see your baby?” Mary must be reluctant. Surely she’s full of anxiety about handing over her newborn to a total stranger. She hopes that he will support his head as he holds the child. She also hopes that he won’t drop the child. Simeon holds the baby in his arms, pulls down the corner of his blanket looks into the baby’s face, talks to the baby and smiles at him. Jesus probably stared back at this old face, frowned, and then smiles, like most babies do. Then Simeon broke out in song, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation.” If anyone should know who the Messiah is, it is Simeon. The Messiah has come. That is what Simeon sings. Incredible as it is. It is hard to believe, I know, but he is here. This is it! Simeon, you see, can die now because the reason that he has been holding on for so long has now come. And his song is a song of thanksgiving and praise.

I wish that the story ended there, but it doesn’t. After his song of praise, then Simeon prophesies. He turns to Mary and says, “This child is set for the rise and fall of many.” Which really means that this child is going to be controversial. People are going to choose sides because of this child. Choosing to follow Jesus may mean that others may not associate with you. Then Simeon turns back to Mary and says, “A sword will pierce your soul also.” As if the first prophesy was not bad enough, then there is this. There are a lot of commentators who say that what Simeon is prophesying here is the death of Jesus and the experience Mary will have of burying her own child. There is no explanation. That is it.

I do not mind telling you that I had not noticed this before. Right after the prophesy of Simeon, in the very next verse, Anna is introduced. Luke writes, “And there was a prophetess named Anna. She, too, was always at the Temple. Luke tells us that she is a prophetess, which means that she, too, has authority. She, too, is an expert witness, and that is why she is here.

Luke tells us that she was of great age, like Simeon. In her case, we can guess her age, because Luke gives us enough details about her life. He says that she was married for seven years and then was a widow for eighty-four years. That, by itself, is ninety-one years. If you assume that she was fifteen when she married, then the math tells us that she was at least one hundred and six years old. Luke tells us that Anna agreed with Simeon. The baby is who they had been looking for and what’s more, she told that to anyone who would listen to her. She stood there on the Temple steps telling everyone who came by, “This is the Messiah.” Simeon has gone on to glory, presumably, while Anna screams out the message. Anna is there to confirm Simeon’s testimony. I think that she is there for another reason, too. Luke is the gospel writer who pays attention to women. In his gospel and in Acts, Luke mentions widows eight different times. You will remember this, widows, in those days, depended on others for their financial needs. It was Luke who mentioned the widow’s gift at the time of the offering. It was Luke who talked about the widow who went to the judge time and time again. And now here is Anna, a widow. Luke is specific in describing that part of her life. He tells us that she has been a widow for eighty-four years. Which really means that she knows what suffering is.

Simeon has just said, “You’ll have a sword put through your soul” And here comes Anna. She can tell you about it, Mary. It was said of the Messiah in Isaiah’s prophesy, “He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Mary will know that, too, and here comes Anna, a widow of eighty-four years. When Simeon says, “This is the Messiah” it means something. He is an authority. He has been at the Temple for years. He knows the texts; he knows who to look for.

When Anna says, “This is the Messiah” it means the same thing. She, too, is an expert, but of a different kind. Her degree is from the University of Life.

Now, what are we supposed to do with these words this morning. How, really, can they speak to our lives on this first Sunday after December 25^th? I do not mind telling you that I was a little puzzled when I read the prescribed lesson for today. I thought, “What does this have to do with anything?” I asked myself, “Why would Luke follow his great story of the birth of Jesus with the angels and the shepherds with this story?” I think that I know the reason. I believe that Luke wanted to make sure that everything was perfectly clear. He wanted his readers to know that the Messiah had come. Luke had to establish it with authority because it was not perfectly clear. The day after Jesus was born, the sun rose like it had every other day. The Romans still ruled the land. Taxes still had to be paid. The rich still got richer and the poor still struggled. The sick did not get well. The problems that were a part of their lives before Christmas were there to greet them the following morning. Someone had to ask it. “Are you sure that this was it? Is this what we were really looking for?” That is why Luke has these two appear, to reassure us that in spite of everything, the Messiah was here.

It is a good question to think about on the Sunday after Christmas, don’t you think? I do not know if you are still basking in the afterglow of Christmas and it’s spirit. I am not sure if you have gone back to work. I have and so I will warn you, the glow will fade and the world will turn back to it’s pre-Christmas condition. Some of you will know sorrow this year. I do not want to say this, but I must, the world will be the same.

I heard about a woman whose life was pretty difficult. She was having a heart to heart discussion about it with someone she knew. She said this, “You work hard at your job. You try to keep everything at home together. You do your duties the best that you can because you believe in responsibilities and obligations and good order. Then suddenly you realize that there are small cracks that are appearing everywhere, that control is slipping away, and that the whole thing is fragile.”

Small cracks are appearing everywhere, not huge problems. I think that it is easier to handle the big stuff. It is the little things that pile up one on the other that tend to get us. The small cracks are the things that we have to live with. Think about those things that seem to pile up. Maybe it is the memory of one who is no longer here. Perhaps it is the children that we are raising and who live in our homes. Maybe it is the job that has become, well, a job. We want to try another type of work, but we cannot now. There is too much invested in this job. Maybe the world that we grew up in and found meaning in has small cracks in it. Maybe what this text says to us on this first Sunday after Christmas is that the Messiah has come to us, but to a world and to our lives with lots of small cracks in them. This is it. This is really it. There will be no more Messiahs. No one else is coming to save you. So, if the world is going to get better and if you are going to be better then you will have to trust that the One who has the power to change things is already here, waiting for you.

We sang It Came Upon a Midnight Clear as our hymn of preparation. Bryan and I did not plan this, but it could not have been planned better for this service and this lesson from Luke. One of the verses reads and sings, “And ye, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow, look now! for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing. O rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing. He is here. Jesus is here, waiting for you. Let us pray.