We opened with a couple songs: “You’ll Come” by Hillsong & “Oh praise Him” by Crowder. Both songs speak beautifully about the anticipation of Jesus’ arrival – great Advent songs! Everyone sat around tables, and on the tables were markers and small white boxes (unfolded) and ribbon.
This is what was covered…
We looked at a couple of characters that often are overlooked. But I think they have a lot to offer us as we look at the Christmas story through their eyes. Simeon & Anna were both actively looking and waiting for the Messiah – for the Savior to arrive. They dedicated their lives to anticipation of his arrival.
I believe we’re called to this same kind of living.
And the trouble comes when we get lazy and just go through the routine – we might show up at church, but we’re not really “there” – we’re just not into it. It’s about ritual instead of experience. When that happens we have a hard time finding God – we could easily miss the Savior’s arrival.
Another thing that distracts us from actively awaiting the Messiah is when we anticipate the wrong stuff. We focus in on what the world has for us instead of what God is trying to reveal to us. We get excited about Presents instead of Presence. One will offer us temporary contentment; the other promises true joy that will overflow into every part of our lives.
And yet often, we go for the presents wrapped in bows instead of the presence of peace. So we’re going to make a gift as our ornament lesson/reminder. We’ll work on it a little as we go. I want us to start with the outside.
Discuss with your table (and write on the outside of your box with markers) your answers to these Q’s.
Q – what leads to laziness in your spiritual life?
Q – when do you tend to fall into routine and out of relationship with God?
Q – how does “the world” steal your attention away from God, especially during Christmas?
Q – why is that sometimes we just don’t expect God to show up?
So this outside of your box – is it pretty typical? Do you think most Americans find themselves wrestling with all this? Do you think this is what God was hoping for?
We talked last week about the complete outlandish nature of his plan, but sometimes I think we just take it all for granted without stopping to marvel at the ridiculous nature of his love. We take for granted the story of our salvation. We forget to keep our eyes open, and that’s BAD because God is STILL showing up!
The story of Simeon and Anna can teach us some lessons that will keep us expecting God – That will remind us we’re looking for presence not presents. Let’s look at it together – Read Luke 2:22-24 (The Message)
So 40 days after the birth, Mary and Joseph go the 6 miles or so up the road from Bethlehem to the Temple in Jerusalem. It’s important to remember that Jesus was Jewish. He grew up just like any other observant Jew, with all the tradition and rituals that went with it. He had been circumcised on the 8th day after his birth and was on that day “named” Jesus, not before.
They go to the temple so that Mary can be declared purified – they were pretty hung up on anything messy happening with the body! And they also have to offer Jesus up as a sacrifice. Since God made it clear way back that he didn’t actually want any babies killed on his altar, they symbolically hand Jesus over to the priest, and fancy priest words are said, then they offer up these birds as a sacrifice instead of the baby. They redeem the child in this way and he is returned to his parents.
To be God’s (to be redeemed) a sacrifice is required. A sacrifice that can bridge the gap between us and him – of course, Jesus would later become that sacrifice for all of humanity.
Then enter our characters for tonight… Read Luke 2:25-33 (The Message)
First, I think I might be a little concerned if some strange old man came running up and grabbed my child. And then for these phenomenal words to be spoken! I’m sure they had to be glad to hear more from God on this miracle baby of theirs though! At this point I might have been worried I dreamed up the whole thing. But this confirms it, for sure! I mean, the shepherds had the angel visit to report, but you never know if you can trust a shepherd!
Now imagine you’re Simeon for a minute. You’ve been waiting your whole life for today. In Israel’s history, it has been a long time since God has been actively talking to his people. Many scholars say a good 400 years passed from the time the last prophet spoke for God (in the old testament) until he showed up to Zachariah (John the Baptists’ Dad) earlier the year before – find that cool story in chapter one of Luke.
And we don’t know that Simeon even knows about that! So as far as Simeon knows, for generations they’ve been waiting to hear from God and have heard nada. BUT – here Simeon is, “living in prayerful expectancy” and he’s on it.
Led by the Spirit, he makes a bee-line to the baby and he starts exclaiming the Good News! Just imagine how excited he must have been when he started getting those butterflies in his stomach and ended up at the temple gates! This was huge – he had been waiting his whole life, and HIS father had been waiting, and HIS grandfather had been waiting, etc. He knew it would happen in his lifetime – knew he wouldn’t die before seeing the Savior. And now his life is complete. God has shown up!
We had them discuss/write on the INSIDE of your box – some of the feelings Simeon must have been experiencing in this moment. What might he have been thinking about getting to play a part in the Salvation story that God is unfolding? Have you ever been this expectant over anything? Ever felt like God was using you in a bigger plan?
Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother… Read Luke 2:33-35
This might have been a little LESS fun to hear! This is kind of a reality check to balance out the first bit of prophesy. Mary might have guessed that being the mother of God incarnate would be tough, but a “sword piercing her soul” is hard to paint in a good light.
I can imagine though that these sobering words were helpful as they looked into the eyes of their 40 day old baby. They reminded them of the job before them – to care for and raise God’s plan of redemption for the whole world. They were serious words for a serious job.
Because Simeon was tuned into the spirit, He went where he needed to go.
He found what he longed to find.
And he spoke truth inspired by God.
Far from just going through his religious routine, Simeon was deep in relationship with God and God was able to use him because of that.
We had them discuss/write on the inside of your box – what can you do to re-connect with God in a relational way that is more than religious routine? Especially during Christmas, write down ways you (and your family) can get back to a sacred understanding of the Good News Simeon has proclaimed. So that it can be more about presence than presents.
Now here’s the bit about Anna – Read Luke 2:36-40
So here’s a REALLY old lady – we can assume at the earliest, she was married in her teens, has a husband for 7 years, widowed for 84 more, she’s well over 100 years old! AND YET – we find out that she never leaves the Temple area, worships night and day – often fasting (not eating) – she is some kind of hard-core spiritual leader – she’s called a prophet-ess, so she’s tight with the Big Man.
She recognizes Jesus on the spot and runs over, “breaking into an anthem of praise” – at this point, would anything surprise Mary & Joseph?! I think Anna is someone who is obviously anticipating God’s presence. And because she is so expectant and ready to experience God – she, too, is in the right place at the right time.
We had them discuss/write on the inside of your box – an “anthem of praise” for what God is doing in your life. It can be a thanksgiving – a praise of who God is – a celebration of Emmanuel, God with us.
Now, we had them fold the box up. They tied a bow around it like you would any other gift. And we got our heads around the big picture:
The outside is the problem: broken world, free will that often chooses poorly, sin.
The inside is the solution: Salvation, grace, a loving God who cares enough to do the ridiculous.
And isn’t this really the ultimate Christmas Present – His presence in our lives. Emmanuel – God With Us. Anna & Simeon totally got the big picture!
When I was doing research for this series I came across a great version of The Big Picture written by a well known preacher, teacher and author named Barbara Brown Taylor.
I read it aloud, as people looked at that gift in their hands and let themselves be brought into the big picture.
By Barbara Brown Taylor…
“Once upon a time – or before time, actually, before there were clocks or calendars or Christmas trees – God was all there was. No one knows anything about that time [really] because no one was there to know it, but somewhere in the middle of that time before time, God decided to make a world. Maybe God was bored or maybe God was lonely or maybe God just liked to make things and thought it was time to try something big. Whatever the reason, God made a world and filled it with the most astonishing things: with humpback whales that sing and white-striped skunks that stink and birds with more colors on them than a box of Crayola crayons. The list is way too long to go into here, but suffice it to say that at the end when God stood back and looked at it all, God was pleased.”
“Only something was missing. God could not think what it was at first, but slowly it dawned on him. Everything he had made was gorgeous and interesting and it all fit together really well, only there was nothing in the world that looked like him, exactly. It was as if [God] had painted this huge masterpiece and then forgotten to sign it, so God got busy making his signature piece, something made in his own image, so that anyone who looked at it would know who the artist was.”
“He had one single thing in mind at first, but as he worked God realized that one thing all by itself was not the kind of statement he wanted to make. He knew what it was like to be alone, and now that he had made a world he knew what it was like to have company, and company was definitely better. So God decided to make two things instead of one, which were alike but different, and both would be reflections of him – a man and a woman who could keep him and each other company. Flesh was what he made them out of – flesh and blood – a wonderful medium, extremely flexible and warm to the touch. Since God, strictly speaking, was not made out of anything at all, but was pure mind, pure spirit, he was very taken with flesh and blood.”
Watching his two creatures stretch and yawn, laugh and run, [God] found to his surprise that he was more than a little envious of them. He had made them, it was true, and he knew how fragile they were, but their very breakability made them more touching to him, somehow. It wasn’t long before God found himself falling in love with them. He liked being with them better than any of the other creatures he had made, and he especially liked walking with them in the garden in the cool of the evening.”
“It almost broke God’s heart when they got together behind his back, did the one thing he had asked them not to do and then hid from him – from him! – while he searched the garden until way past dark, calling their names over and over again.”
“Things were different after that, God still loved the human creatures best of all, but the attraction was no [longer] mutual. Birds were crazy about God, especially ruby-throated hummingbirds. Dolphins and raccoons could not get enough of him, but human beings had other things on their minds. They were busy learning how to make things, grow things, buy things, sell things, and the more they learned to do for themselves, the less they depended on God.”
“Night after night God threw pebbles at their windows, inviting them to go for a walk with him, but they said they were sorry, they were busy. It was not long before most human beings forgot all about [GOD]. They called themselves “self-made” men and women, as if that were a plus and not a minus. They honestly believed they had created themselves, and they liked the result so much that they divided themselves into groups of people who looked, thought, and talked alike. Those who still believed in God drew pictures of him that looked just like them, and that made it easier for them to turn away from the people who were different.”
“You would not believe the trouble this got them into: everything from armed warfare to cities split right down the middle, with one kind of people living on that side of the line and another kind on the other. [It was just too much!] God would have put a stop to it all right there, except for one thing. When God had made human beings, he had made them free. [Freedom] was built into them just like their hearts and brains were, and even God could not take it back without killing them. [And God didn’t want to kill them, so he] left them be free, [even though] it almost killed him to see what they were doing to each other.”
[God did everything he could to get their attention.] “He shouted to them from the sidelines, using every means he could think of, including floods, famines, manna, and messengers. He [even tried more personal approaches. He] got inside people’s dreams, and if that did not work he woke them up in the middle of the night with his whispering. No matter what he tried, however, he came up against the barriers of flesh and blood. They were made of it and God was not, which made translation difficult. God would say, “Please stop before you destroy yourselves!” but all they could hear was thunder. God would say, “I love you as much now as the day made you,” but all they could hear was a loon calling across the water.”
“[There was one] exception to this sad state of affairs: [babies]. While their parents were all but deaf to God’s messages, babies didn’t have any trouble hearing God at all. They were all the time laughing at God’s jokes or crying with God when he cried, which went right over their parents’ heads. ‘Colic,’ the grown-ups would say, or ‘Isn’t she cute? She’s laughing at the dust mites in the sunlight.’ Only she wasn’t, of course. She was laughing because God had just told her it was cleaning day in heaven, and that what she saw were fallen stars the angels were shaking from their feather dusters.”
“[Not only did babies hear and understand God, they had other advantages.] Babies did not go to war. Babies never made hate speeches or littered or refused to play with each other because they belonged to different political parties. Babies were crazy about God and they hung on his every word. [Perhaps best of all, they] depended on other people for everything necessary to their lives so a phrase like“self-made babies” would have made them laugh until their [little] bellies hurt. While no one asked babies’ opinions about anything that mattered (which was too bad because it would have been a smart thing to do), almost everyone seemed to love them, and that gave God an idea. [If God was a baby, they would all love him! Why not create himself as one of these delightful creatures?”
“He tried the idea out on his cabinet of archangels. At first they were all very quiet. [They looked down at their feet and they exchanged sidelong glances with each other, but none of them looked back at God, and for a long time none of them responded.] Finally the senior archangel stepped forward to speak for all of them. [She] told God how much they would worry about him, if he did that. [Why, God] would be putting himself at the mercy of his creatures, the archangel said, [and they were extremely unpredictable and unreliable and they could be down right mean.] People could do anything they wanted to him, and if he seriously meant to become one of them there would be no escape for him if things turned sour. ‘Couldn’t he at least create himself as a magical baby with special powers?’ [the archangel asked] It would not take much – just the power to become invisible, maybe, or the power to hurl bolts of lightning if the need arose. ‘The baby idea was a stroke of genius’ the archangel said, ‘it really was, but it lacked adequate safety features.’”
“God listened to the archangel [because God always listens, and then] thanked the archangels for their concern but said no, he thought he would just be a regular baby. How else could he gain the trust of his creatures? How else could he persuade them that he knew their lives inside out, unless he lived one [just] like theirs? There was a risk – he knew that. Okay, there was a high risk, but that was part of what he wanted his creatures to know: that he was willing to risk everything to get close to them, in hopes that [they might know that he loved them and] that they would love him again.”
“It was a daring plan, and once the angels saw that God was dead set on it, they broke into applause. Despite the danger to God, they could see it was a brilliant plan and they clapped and praised God with [the kind of applause] that goes on and on when you have [seen] something you know you will never see again. While they were still clapping, God turned around and left the cabinet chamber, shedding his robes as he went. The angels watched as his midnight blue mantle fell to the floor, so that all the stars on it collapsed in a heap. Then a strange thing happened. Where the robes had fallen, the floor melted and opened up to reveal a scrubby brown pasture speckled with sheep and – right in the middle of them – a bunch of shepherds. sitting around a campfire drinking wine out of a skin. It was hard to say who was more startled, the shepherds or the angels, but as the shepherds looked up at them, the angels pushed their senior archangel to the edge of the hole. Looking down at the human beings who were all trying to hide behind each other (poor things, no wings), the angel said in as gentle a voice as [s]he could muster, ‘Do not be afraid; for see I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.’ And away up the hill from the direction of town, came the sound of a newborn baby’s cry.”
Here is our current prayer request list. (Anyone can ask for prayer, just let me know! You can talk to me or drop one of our prayer request cards in the worship space Drop Boxes.)
:: Holly Stockburger has breast cancer – they’re still doing tests, but she’ll probably begin treatment this week. Please be in prayer for her, the doctors and her family as she begins this fight.
:: Eric and Tina are expecting their first child! So far, so good. Please keep everyone’s health in your prayers.
:: Pray for Christa and her sons
:: Andrea, Amanda B and Randall F are all looking for new jobs – pray God will open up the right opportunities.
:: Pray for Sam Dills (and his family) as he fights cancer.
:: Pray for Keith Kenney – he’s injured his ankle pretty severely.
:: Pray for Katie Thompson, she’s having surgery Wednesday morning.
:: Pray for Syd Kiser’s sister (Ellen) as she fights Breast Cancer.
:: Pray for Theo Pinkston – he’s having severe back pains, and is figuring out treatments now.
At RUMC we find ourselves in the middle of what many would consider an uncomfortable situation. Our church is in the middle of a campaign – a debt reduction campaign, and it’s also the time of the year when we’re all asked to make a commitment regarding our stewardship for the year – how we will commit to giving back to God by investing with our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness.
