Promise Delivered (Rev. Nicki Taylor)
Waiting – it’s such a common thing, this time of year, isn’t it?
We wait and we wait and we wait for Thanksgiving – the holiday season to finally begin, the festivities to kick-off in full swing.
Then, college students and little ones wait and wait and wait and wait for school to finally be out so they can relax – maybe sleep in, maybe play.
Then, we wait and wait and wait for Christmas. The sacredness of a candlelight service. The joy of opening presents. The comfort and preciousness of spending time with friends, family, loved ones.
And now – today – we will wait and wait and wait and wait for it to be midnight, the New Year.
And particularly since 2020, it has felt like we hang so much on that waiting and waiting and waiting for a new year. In the wee, fresh hours of 2021, we knew in our souls anything had to be better than the year prior. As we rolled into 2022, we hoped the pandemic would finally be “really behind us.” 2023 – this is when it really turns around, right?
And 2024 – we are watching, we are waiting, we are looking, with hope. Despite a year with war and violence and rumors of war, we are clinging to the hope that the new year, the new start, will come and it will be better. Despite whatever may be going on with us personally – grief, uncertainty, relationship turmoil, job issues, health struggles, what have you – we hope that the new year will bring improvement. We watch, we wait, and we hope.
December 31st in the Methodist tradition holds what we call a “watch night service.” This idea of watching and waiting and praying with hopeful anticipation for the new year. Connecting with God in an intentional and meaningful way as we reflect on the year prior and look with optimism on the year ahead. It’s a day, and a service, of watching and waiting. That resonates with where our souls are at on this day of the year.
And our scripture passage today features two individuals who watched, who waited, who paved the way for us – Simeon and Anna. Hear the word of God, from Luke, chapter 2, starting in verse 22:
“When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they [Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ parents], 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.”
So here is the scene: Mary and Joseph are doing their religious duty – they are Jewish, after all – and dedicating their baby to the Lord at the temple after his birth. We can glide right over this and think that there is nothing significant here but another routine part of a typical life – but there’s more. Not every baby and birth is dedicated in this ancient Jewish tradition – as Luke points out, only firstborn sons – which means Jesus because of his situation and birth order gets to fulfill what the angel Gabriel said, that he would be called holy.
And another key detail that you might miss here – Mary and Joseph were given the option of sacrificing two turtledoves or pigeons for baby Jesus. But that was not the normal sacrifice – that was the alternative sacrifice for those who were impoverished. The normal sacrifice was a lamb – but those are expensive! This reminds us of the humble family Jesus was born into – that God’s promise was fulfilled to us, and Jesus chose to align himself with the marginalized – the impoverished – the poor.
But moving on – “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.”
2:33 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.”
We have this amazing saint introduced – Simeon. Did you know, Simeon’s name literally means listen? And we can see that is a very accurate description of him. He literally spent his life listening – watching – waiting – for the coming of the Christ child. To see this prophecy fulfilled, and affirm for Mary and Joseph and the readers the gravity of the coming of the Christ child. He kept listening and waiting and listening and waiting with hopeful anticipation.
And then – out of nowhere – when this poor and young and very average-looking family came into the temple for a very routine religious ritual – he had eyes to see it for what it was. Because he was listening, because he was open, the holy spirit allowed him to see and celebrate this moment for exactly what it was.
It was both a personal fulfillment for him – to finally have heard what he was listening all his life for, the cries of the Christ child – and a prophetic fulfillment for the world. And so, that is how he explains it to Mary as well – speaking of how Jesus’ life, death and resurrection with both impact her personally and change the world as a whole.
That dual dimension – let’s not skip over that friends. Let’s let that sink in. That it is both personal to us, and good news for the world as a whole. Both and.
The gospel is good news for you personally. God coming to us in Jesus is good news to you personally. It can and it should bring you personal peace, and joy, and love, and hope, and faith that makes a positive difference in your life.
But the gospel is also good news for our world. Jesus also brings peace, and joy, and love and hope and faith to our world, too. To the oppressed who are in need. To the strangers who are in need of welcome. Yes – even to the people who we may not really like.
It’s for you – but also for everyone. Both and.
And this is where Anna comes in. Lovely Anna the prophetess – one of the many women we see throughout the Bible who preach the gospel of Christ. You can see and understand why I am a big, big fan of hers.
“2:36 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.”
Anna was also on the scene. Anna also had eyes to see, understand and believe. It is likely hyperbole that Anna never left the temple – but we get the idea, she was dedicated and faithful and frequented that place. At the loss of her dear husband, she has turned to dedicate her life to the Lord.
But while Simeon reminds us that the promise can be personal to us – the gospel is good news for us – Anna reminds us that the promise is good news to be shared with the world.
It’s not just for us to sit on. It’s not just for us to say, “wow, that’s great for me!” It’s to share. It’s to spread. It’s to live in to. It’s to use, to change the world.
So – the question that remains is – how? How do we use this good news to change the world? We’re watching and waiting for the good news – we are hoping and praying for God to continue to make this world better and more just, like the kingdom of God – so how do we live into it? How do we say yes? How do we get on board?
Simeon and Anna are models for us – faithful people who allowed the spirit of God to work in and through them. They made themselves available by being at the temple. They saw the opportunity, conveyed the message, hopefully brought encouragement and hope to Mary and Joseph as young parents.
Jesus models it for us, in his life and death and resurrection. We simply have to say “yes.” We simply have to make that commitment to get on board. We have to make that covenant to live into this life that Christ has called us to.
There are many people in need of the good news that God loves them. There are many people in need of hope, of healing, of justice, of mercy. People in poverty. People who are oppressed. People who have been hurt by the church before. People who are suffering from illnesses – whether physical or mental. People who are lonely. People who are in grief.
And we – the church – can and should be the answer. We should bring the good news, God’s hope, God’s light and life, to them. Not just during the advent and Christmas season – but year-round. A life-long call of “saying yes” to being God’s hands and feet in the world.
Ordinary people in this church do extraordinary things – by being available, by saying yes as they can.
I think of Joe Dionosi and the many Tuesday Tigers – more than I can name – and all the lives they have changed. Building ramps for peoples homes, building the cresh for Family Christmas live, and many more projects that make such a difference.
Skip and the many volunteers that feed over 1,000 kids each week through kidsPACK – and they always need more. But that commitment to be God’s hands and feet by not letting kids go hungry in our community.
Our visitation volunteers, who bring the hope and presence of Christ to those unable to join with us in person anymore. Those who might be lonely and in need of a connection with another.
Angie, Warren, Forrest, and the faithful folks who have helped build our church partnership with Hurst Chapel AME – breaking down diving walls and racial barriers to help our church be more understanding, more just, and more like the kingdom of God.
And as always – I could go on, and on, and on…but what I do want to encourage you do to is to find your way to say “yes.” Find your way to see and respond to how the spirit is working in you like Simeon and Anna. Maybe it is to volunteer with our children’s ministries, our Neighborhood ministries – perhaps you want to pack with kidsPACK, or you have the technical ability to become a Tuesday Tiger.
Maybe your next step is simply to learn more about joining this congregation, or baptism.
But whatever is your next step, I encourage you to take it. The waiting is almost over – and the new year is upon us. May it be a year full of new opportunities for us to love God, love our neighbor, serve our community well together, friends.
And as is tradition with a “watch night” service – I invite us to close together this sermon with a reciting of the Wesley Covenant prayer. It is a prayer written by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, intended to help us recommit and renew our covenant with God. It is an appropriate way for us to remember we belong to God, and commit together to “say yes” to the ways God is leading each of us in the year ahead.
Friends, let us join together:
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.