In Jesus Holy Name December 26, 2021
Christmas I Redeemer
Text Luke 2:5a, 26
“Hope For the Future”
Some years ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article by Dr. Paul Ruskin on the “Stages of Aging.” In the article, Dr. Ruskin described a case study he had presented to his students when teaching a class in medical school.
He described the case study patient under his care like this:
“The patient neither speaks nor comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for hours on end. She is disoriented about person, place, and time. She does, however, respond to her name… I have worked with her for the past six months, but she still shows complete disregard for her physical appearance and makes no effort to assist her own care. She must be fed, bathed, and clothed by others.
“Because she has no teeth, her food must be pureed. Her shirt is usually soiled from almost incessant drooling. She does not walk. Her sleep pattern is erratic.
Often she wakes in the middle of the night and her screaming awakens others. Most of the time she is friendly and happy, but several times a day she gets quite agitated without apparent cause. Then she wails until someone comes to comfort her.”
After presenting the class with this challenging case, Dr. Ruskin then asked his students if any of them would like to volunteer to take care of this person. No one volunteered.
Then Dr. Ruskin said, “I’m surprised that none of you offered to help, because actually she is my favorite patient. I get immense pleasure from taking care of her and I am learning so much from her. She has taught me a depth of gratitude I never knew before. She has taught me the spirit of unwavering trust. And she has taught me the power of unconditional love.” Then Dr. Ruskin said, “Let me show you her picture.” He pulled out the picture and passed it around. It was the photo of his baby daughter.
I like that story for several reasons… In our text today we find Mary and Joseph carrying their infant child from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. When they arrive at the temple they find, as with the case today…. People want to hold the new baby… babies just beg to be held… so I’m sure when Simeon greeted them his arms were out…. Asking to hold their new child. They obliged.
What a joy it is to hold a newborn baby. I was working on our family history album and found a photo of my wife, holding in her arms our first grandchild. There are many more photos of us holding our grandchildren in our arms. Everyone of them has the adoring grandparents smiling, looking into the face of the new infant. In that moment you realize that a new generation has arrived. It is hard to describe the emotions of holding your first grandchild.
One’s thoughts are often private. But you realize that there is a future they will live and experience. And you will not. I can see the old man Simeon, with his wrinkled face and hands taking this baby in his arms and looking into the very eyes of the long-promised Messiah. His prophecy told of the future hope he had, a hope God would bring salvation and redemption to reality through the child in his arms.
Simeon and Anna both lived to an old age but they never lost hope in God. They waited patiently for the Messiah, devoted themselves to the worship of God. The Temple became their home away from home. Their hope in God was rewarded when Mary and Joseph entered the temple. They had come as good Jewish parents to offer the required sacrifice that dedicated their son to the Lord.
For Mary and Joseph the appearance of Simeon and Anna brought an unusual and unexpected message about the future of their child.
There is something comforting about the many characters in the Christian story of which we know very little. However “insignificant” their lives were to society, they have been captured in the pages of history as people worth remembering, people who had a role in the story of the God man on earth, people remembered by God. We know very little about the man named Simeon, but we know he was in the temple when he realized that God had remembered him. Reaching for the baby in the arms of a young girl, Simeon was moved to praise the Lord.
Here are some questions I have.
1. What was God’s promise to Simeon? That one is easily answered. God promised him that he would not die until he saw the Messiah.
2. How old was Simeon when God made the first promise? Was he 30 or 70?
a. How many years between the first promise and the arrival of the Messiah? 10 years, 20 years, 50 years?
3. Did Simeon know the Messiah was going to be a baby or an adult?
a. Was Simeon a regular to the temple for prayer? At 9 am & 3 pm ?
b. Did he have a family? Maybe he went to work every day and played with his children and grand children. He just lived his life.
4. How old was Simeon when God told him to go to the temple to see the Messiah? We only know that he is now an old man.
a. Would he find an adult or child? He wasn’t told.
b. Was he told why he should go to the temple? Not really. He was “moved by the Holy Spirit to go.”
c. How was he told which family were the parents of the promised Messiah? There were hundreds in the temple that day.
i. Did God provide rose petals, or halo’s over the parents?
ii. How would he know?
“Simeon had cultivated a life of conversation with God. He had carved out time from his busy schedule to read and study the scriptures, to worship at the temple. That is how he heard the Lord’s voice.” This is how we can also hear the Lord’s voice? We must remember that God has not stopped speaking to His people. If you want to hear God’s voice in 2022 then cultivate a life of conversation with God. Read and study the scriptures. Worship Him.
Sometimes God will use the words of the Bible and sometimes not. The primary motive for listening for the voice of God is to “bring Him glory”, or to accomplish some act of goodness, or love that He wants accomplished.
Leonard Sweet in his book “Jesus Speaks” writes:
“The voice of the Lord is like a voice, but it’s not really a voice. It’s more of an impulse, instinct, or guided intuition.” Sometimes the Lord speaks through “the still small voice of our thoughts, emotions, or desires. Not always attended by “fireworks, explosions, thunder, lightning, or other dramatic events….” (I Kings 18:11-12)
Learning to listen to the voice of God, His Holy Spirit, is much like learning to ride a bike or play the piano….At first you must have help to learn. You are unsure…. If you heard His voice…you ask: Was it God? Or my own thoughts?
Before you put your fingers on the piano keys, you look and make sure you are centered over the middle C. When you are learning to type, you looked down to make sure you see the letters G and H and not some other combination between you index fingers. As you hop on your bike you glance down to make sure your feet find the pedals and your training wheels are holding you in place.
Sooner are later you stop looking. Your fingers feel where F and J are. Your mind and muscles remember. You play a tune not thinking about each note. You feel the wind on your face and forget to see if someone is holding on to the back of your bike.
Learning to live in faith. Learning to trust Jesus. Learning to hear the voice of Jesus is like that too. “Simeon had cultivated a life of conversation with God.” We must do the same. He had carved out time from his busy schedule to read and study the scriptures, to worship at the temple. That is how he heard the Lord’s voice. This is how we can also hear the Lord’s voice?
May Our Lord give you a blessed New Year.
