Have you ever had to download something and it took forever? Have you waited in line at a fast-food chain for over a few minutes? Have you ordered something online and the parcel took longer than expected to arrive? Waiting…we don’t like it. We are used to a world where things are quick, fast, instant. If we want approval we will send out texts to a multiple of people so that we can hear quickly from at least one person. If we want a quick meal we go through a drive thru or throw a meal in the microwave. If we want to shed a few pounds we find a slim-fast diet. If we want a parcel to arrive quickly we spend the extra money to get Amazon Prime delivery. You get the picture…we like things quick. This same mentality creeps into all aspects of life. But sometimes we need to wait. There is a person in the Christmas story that reminds me of this truth. His name is Simeon. We read about him in the gospel of Luke. There we read: “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon Him” (Luke 2:25) He was waiting. For what? The consolation of Israel. That’s a title for Jesus. To console someone is to bring comfort and strength to a person, especially someone who is disheartened. How long was he waiting? I would imagine from an early age. As a nation, Israel had been waiting for a long long time for the promised one who would strengthen and rescue them. One of my favorite Christmas carols focuses on this longing. O come, O come Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the son of God appear Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanual Shall come to you, O Israel. Now Simeon wasn’t simply waiting for Jesus, he was waiting for a promise to be fulfilled. We go on to read about this promise:
“And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). That’s a wonderful promise. He would see Jesus. But when was this promise made? It doesn’t say. How long did he have to wait? It doesn’t say. He could have been waiting for years. Could you imagine being in his position? Waiting can often feel like an eternity. Waiting is also difficult when you see things coming closer and closer. Like a child at Christmas. The hardest day for me was Christmas Eve. I couldn’t sleep. I wanted Christmas to be now. There are events that were happening as Simeon was waiting. The angels had appeared to the shepherds. And the shepherds had been spreading the news of the baby that was born. This news no doubt reached Simeon. Can you imagine the excitement? But he wouldn’t see this baby for another forty days. Waiting…ugh. But the day arrived. “And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel’.” (Luke 2:27-32) Waiting can often be difficult. As Christians we are waiting. Like Simeon we are waiting for the arrival of Jesus. We are expecting his return, and that will be a glorious day. And just as the promise was fulfilled and Simeon saw Jesus, the promise of his return is just as sure. What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for things to go back to normal? That may never happen. Then what? There is something far grander to wait for…and that is Jesus’ return. You see, on that day, all the injustices will be dealt with...all the miseries will come to an end…and there would be peace and joy all over the whole earth. But for now, we wait. Yet waiting doesn’t mean inactivity. As we wait, we serve others. We share of God’s greatness and goodness to a world that needs to see it. And sometimes, as we wait for his return, we also wait for his timing for things to happen in our life. And in this waiting, there is much blessing and growth. But that is another story for another time.
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