THE PROMISES OF GOD

Luke 2:22-40

Intro

On a Sunday like today, where we gather together on the first day of the year, we have this tendency of looking forward while looking back. We have the best of lists that sit right next to the ‘10 things to look forward to in 2012’. It’s everywhere: online, print, TV, radio. We have this desire to know what was and what will be popular and conversely, what was not and will not be popular in the days that we have now entered into.

So we gathering together with that backdrop and what we are greeted by in our passage are two individuals, Simeon and Anna, who have been promised something by God. As we hear the passage, it sounds as if these promises were made to them in days long past. Into the context of ‘Top 10’, these promises could have felt like flops if not out and out shams.

But we are told that Simeon and Anna trusted in the promises that had been made and had faith the Source of those promises.

Promises have also been made to us by that same Source. How are we going to respond to those promises as we reflect on the up and downs of 2011, and the ups and downs that will invariably come in the year (and years beyond) that are about to be revealed? The scripture reads this way.

Luke 2:22-40

²²When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they 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”), ²⁴and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵Now 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. ²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷Guided 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, ²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, ²⁹“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; ³⁰for my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, ³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” ³³And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. ³⁴Then 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 ³⁵so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

³⁶There 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, ³⁷then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸At 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. ³⁹When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

“The Promises of God”

When I sat down and looked at the possible passages, I kept coming back to this one…but I wasn’t sure why. The story is good, but there wasn’t that one phrase or image that stood out to me. But I kept coming back to it.

Then I just started thinking about it. Over the next two days, I just kept flipping the story around in my head and then on Wednesday night, as I was watching Austin flip through his fourth Backyardigan’s book at Barnes & Noble, the reason why I kept coming back to the reading hit me: it’s the compare and ultimately the contrast that is able to be seen between the four adult characters. I’ve already mentioned how Simeon and Anna responded to the promises that had been made to them at some point in the (possibly distant) past: they trusted and had faith.

But did you catch Mary and Joseph’s reaction to when Simeon says, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; ³⁰for my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, ³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”? The scripture states that ‘they were amazed at what was being said about him”, and trust me, the ‘him’ they are referring to was not Simeon: it’s Jesus. Mary and Joseph are ‘amazed’ that someone has approached their child and called him, “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

Quick question: why? I know that we’re only a week removed from the reading on the nativity story (filled with angels, shepherds, and proclamations) and that it is still fresh in our minds, but you’d think some (not all…just some) of those events might have stuck with both Mary and Joseph in such a way that they weren’t all that surprised when someone, anyone (everyone?), comes up to them and recognizes their child as holy. This is what Mary and Joseph had been promised: they had been promised that the child she bore was going to be “great, and called Son of the Most High”. When you hear that your child is the Son of God, well, that sticks with you a little bit. That was the promise that had been made to Mary and Joseph, and yet they were still growing in their trust and faith in the Almighty. They most certainly believed. But their trust was not as solid as was exemplified by Simeon and Anna. Both groups received promises; both promises came to fruition; one set wavered while the other did not.

As modern day readers of the Bible, I take that revealed truth and what I think is, “I’m glad I’m not the only one who has moments of question.” So often, we read the scriptures and think of the people who are spoken of as some kind of super people because so many of them don’t seem to waver in their trust and faith of the promises of God,…and there are a whole lot of days when we are anywhere but there in regards to our faith. We tend to think that we have to be like them in order to either receive similar promises or to see those promises come to fruition. But as we read in the passage, that most certainly is not the case. God makes promises and once a promise is made by the Almighty, then that is a promise that will be kept. We might not understand the totality, or the timeline of that promise for our lives, but God does not fail.

Because here’s the thing: through the scriptures, we have received promises from God as well. It states as much in Jeremiah 29:11where we read, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” How will we respond to that promise of promise? Will we trust it? Will we learn from those who have come before us and begin to believe those promises that have been made?

Will we trust God as it says in Matthew 11:28-29 to “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”? Will be learn to believe even though we may not see? God has promised this…to you.

Will we have faith in the God that is spoken Isaiah 40:29-31 where it says, “God gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” God has promised this …to you.

Will we work on believing what it says in Philippians 4:19: “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” This is not just a promise to the author but to all those who believe.

We have been promised in Romans 8:37-39 that, “despite all these [worldly trial and temptations], overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. … that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Will you allow your faith to trust in this promise?

What about the promise heard in Proverbs 1:33: “But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.” Or the words of Jesus in John 14:27 when he said, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

Our trust in these promises ultimately leads us to the promises made Romans 10:9 where is says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Or a few chapters earlier in 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

These are just some of the many promises that have been made to us. How will we respond? Will we be like Mary and Joseph who struggled to understand the truth that was right there in front of them, the truth that they had been told? Or are we instead going to move toward being like Simeon and Anna, who trusted, who had faith, even long after it (seemingly) made sense? If you struggle, that’s okay! The promises are worth the struggle!

As we begin this new year, let us do so by trusting in the promises of God …no matter what. Let us believe what we have been told by God, even when everything in the world is telling us to believe trust anything but. Let us place out faith, whole heartedly, in the God who has promised to love us to the end.

The promises of God are here, they are here for you: let us step out in faith and trust in their truth.

After Sermon Prayer

Trust is such a hard thing to have and when that trust needs to stand upon faith, it can get even trickier. Lord, we pray that your Spirit might fill us in such a way that we are able to trust in the promises that You have made: trust so that we are able to see the fulfillment of those promises in Your time and in Your glorious ways. It is in Jesus’ name that we do pray. Amen.