Series: Waiting #3 “Waiting Not Wasted”

Luke 2:21-38

1. our Advent theme this year is waiting. Waiting is a universal human experience. What do we know about waiting…when it comes to the kitchen? Here is a picture of Josephine Sesay’s kitchen in Sierra Leone (pw. pt slides):
® outside the house in the backyard
® the floor is hard-packed dirt
® the food preparation area is a simple lean-to
® no electricity, natural gas, running water
® she cooks over an open fire
® meals take 2-3 hours to prepare from start to finish

2. compare to the kitchens in our homes. The easily available food we can purchase at from7am–11pm 7 days a week at local grocery stores. The pre-packaged food we can buy at Costco, bring home, pop in the microwave & eat within minutes. Progress & technology have shrunk the amount of time it takes to prepare meals in our culture.

3. I have a theory – as the pace of life & technology quickens, I believe our spiritual attention span diminishes. The ‘speed’ of our culture affects how we perceive the ‘speed’ of God’s work in our lives. We have come to expect:
® microwave-like spiritual transformation
® text messaging-like answers to prayer
® pre-packaged-like change to ripple through the years-in-the-making dysfunctional areas of our lives

4. and when God doesn’t act lighting quick, we ask:
® where is God?
® does prayer really matter?
® is faith all that important?
® when is God going to sign up for DSL?
5. but all throughout the Bible we find people waiting. Today we’re going to look at 2 people who waited their whole lives for something – Anna & Simeon.

Simeon (2:25-35)
1. in regards to human relationships Simeon was righteous. He was a man of integrity. In regards to God he was devout. He was a God follower & lover. Simeon fulfilled the Great Commandment to love God & love one’s neighbor.

2. Next Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel, the birth of the Messiah (25). Here’s our word ‘waiting.’ Simeon waited his whole life for this, probably 60-70 years!

3. the conditions he waited in were less than perfect:
® Jewish loss of political independence to Rome
® cruel reign of King Herod
® legalistic Scribes & Pharisees who reduced devotion to God to keeping an index of rules
® the 400 year silence of God following the prophet Malachi

4. Simeon did not give up hope. He lived in prayerful expectancy.

5. going on, Simeon is described by the activity of the Holy Spirit in his life. 1st the Holy Spirit was upon him. He lived in constant communion with the Spirit.

6. 2nd the Spirit revealed something to Simeon – that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ = Messiah. The Spirit had told him he was going to see the Messiah before he died. He was given a vision of the future.

7. 3rd the Spirit directed Simeon – moved by the Spirit he went into the temple courts. Klaus Bochmuehl, Simeon receives immediate directives from the Holy Spirit, so specific that he is at the right place at the right moment to see the baby Jesus and recognize him as God’s Messiah.

8. Simeon was a Spirit-driven man. The Spirit was upon him. Revealed to him. Moved him. God pours out his Spirit upon those who are righteous & devout, those who love him & love others.

9. Simeon takes the baby Messiah Jesus in his arms & prays (The Message):
God, you can now release your servant
Release me in peace as you promised
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation
It’s now out in the open for everyone to see
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations
And of glory for your people Israel

10. a note of reality is struck – not everyone is going to accept this little baby as the Messiah. Suffering lies ahead. To Mary a sword will pierce your own soul too (35). A prophetic word about Jesus’ crucifixion & Mary’s suffering.

Anna (2:36-38)
1. the 1st thing we learn about Anna is that she as a prophetess (36). Others – Miriam (Ex 15:20); Deborah (Judges 4:4); Huldah (2 Kings 22:14); daughters of Philipp (Acts 21:9). The word of the Lord had not been heard for 400 years. Into this void steps Anna.

2. Anna was married for 7 years, then widowed, then married herself to God & the temple. She worshiped, fasted & prayed till she was 84 years old. She gave her life totally & without reservation to God. Her concern for others, the Kingdom of God, the situation of the world – she gave to God in prayer. For years on end!

3. upon seeing Simeon take Jesus in his arms & hearing what he said about him, she recognized that this baby was the object of her longing. She spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem (38). Same as Simeon’s consolation of Israel, yet another way to speak of the Messiah! She became one of the 1st witnesses of Christ.

Simeon & Anna life lessons
1. I want to conclude with 3 lessons about waiting from Simeon & Anna & 1 comment about age.

2. 1st in waiting we have to have something to look forward to. Both had a vision of the future – a longing for the appearance of the Messiah. They had hope. Waiting is possible if you have something significant to hope for.

3. I just picked up a book about a priest who was sent to Dachau (concentration camp) by the Nazis during WWII. The prisoners who gave up hope died. Those who struggled fiercely to hold onto hope survived.

4. 2nd in waiting we are helped by practicing spiritual disciplines. Simeon was devout. His life was God-focused. He cultivated the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life.

5. Anna worshiped, fasted & prayed. As we would say today, they practiced spiritual disciplines or habits. They did things they kept them connected to God in their waiting.

6. 3rd in waiting we have to make sure that God is more important than the object of our waiting. Year after year after year they waited. Political & social upheaval did not deter them. Religious ritual & rigidity didn’t trip them up. Growing older didn’t take the wind out of their sails. Why? Because they kept their supreme focus on God.

7. Richard Foster writes that waiting is right at the heart of Christian spirituality. Think of Moses waiting in the desert for silent year after year. Think of Elijah, sequestered in his cave, keeping a lonely vigil over earthquake, wind, and fire. Think of Mary waiting patiently for the fulfillment of the word of the Angel Gabriel. Think of Saul – Saul who became Paul – being instructed by the Spirit in the deserts of Arabia for three solitary years.

8. we learn things in waiting that can’t be learned in any other way. Waiting is God’s attempt to deepen us spiritually. To increase our faith & trust. To wean us from instant gratification & selfish wants. Waiting acts to purify motives & increase humility.

9. and finally a comment about age.

10. Simeon & Anna remind us to highly value & respect older people in a culture that increasingly worships youthfulness. Our culture is enamored with youth. We spend billions of dollars each year to try to fool people about our age – clothes, make-up, work outs, Botox, nose jobs.

11. in the marketplace the young are promoted while the old are pushed aside.

12. even in the church. When searches are made for a new pastor the majority of churches look for a young pastor – someone in their 30s-40s. Youth & energy are valued over wisdom & experience.

13. some of you remember Dave Scrimgeour. He was our part-time pastor of senior adults for 10 years. He left in 1999. We talked on the phone a few weeks ago.

14. Dave is 91 & attends Paradise Alliance Church with Dorothy, his new wife of 4 years. He teaches a Bible class on Sunday morning. He leads a cell group in their home during the week. And this year he’s been asked to preach 4 times to this church of 500-600 people. He sent me a CD of his last sermon. I listened in amazement – the structure, his thought processes, illustrations, passion, theological depth. God is still using this 91 year old Spirit-driven Scrimgeour.

15. as we wait let’s keep our hope alive, practice our spiritual disciplines & keep our primary focus on God. And let’s learn to value & honor the older Christ-followers among us.

Music I listened to while sermonizing – Over the Rhine; Cold Play; Sarah McLachlan; Sufjan Stevens; Frank Sinatra

Books I read & studied while sermonizing – The Intimate Merton by Thomas Merton; The Road by Cormac McCarthy; Listening to the God who Speaks by Klaus Bockmuehl; Luke by Darrell Bock; The Gospel of Luke by William Hendriksen; The Living Church by John Stott