The Gift of a Welcomed Disruption

Un-welcomed Disruption

How do you handle disruptions?

It probably depends on the situation.

If the disruption is someone calling you during a ball game, it might be annoying, but it isn’t that big of a deal.

Now, if it is a snow storm or mechanical problem disrupting the flight for your vacation, that is a much bigger deal isn’t it?!

In November of 2020, we had scheduled trip to Fargo to visit friends.

A week before our flight, we got an email that our flight had been canceled.

No real explanation, no rescheduling, just canceled.

It was really disappointing. But after a few days, we decided to just drive up.

So 40 hours of driving, 5-6 days of visiting, we came back home just a bit before Thanksgiving, looking forward to spending some time with family.

4 days later we were struck with Covid for the first time and had to miss Thanksgiving with family.

Of course there are even bigger and more life-altering disruptions we deal with.

The death of a loved one, loss of a job, or a health crisis. All of these can really disrupt our lives, sometimes even altering them permanently.

Though we don’t always like disruptions, sometimes it is what we need more than anything else.

It might sound odd, or even a bit scandalous, but the Christmas represents the greatest disruption this world has ever known.

Jesus disrupted a world infected with sin, plagued by evil, and ruled by death.

He was a welcomed disruption for those who were ready to receive Him, those longing comfort and looking forward to salvation.

But for others, He represented something different.

I want to spend a few minutes today looking at 2 people who were very much looking forward to Jesus and who received Him as a WELCOMED DISRUPTION.

Luke 2:25–38 CSB

25 There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him up in his arms, praised God, and said, 29 Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation. 31 You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples— 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel. 33 His father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary, “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed—35 and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” 36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and was a widow for eighty-four years. She did not leave the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers. 38 At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

This account likely happens when Jesus is around a month old.

It was Jewish practice after the eighth day to circumcise the baby and name him.

This would then make the woman unclean for 33 days and then at the end of this time she would go to the Temple to offer a sacrifice to cleanse herself and to dedicate Jesus to the Lord.

As faithful Jews, Mary and Joseph were eager to fulfill this right of passage.

So, that is where they meet Simeon and Anna, two righteous, devout, and faithful seasoned believers who were overjoyed to meet Jesus.

They saw something in Jesus that many did not see then and even more struggle to see even now.

For Simeon and Anna, Jesus represented:

1) COMFORT and HEALING for their needy souls.

Simeon and Anna are described as righteous and devout, loving God and serving Him in the Temple every day.

And that they both were looking forward to “consolation of Israel” and the “redemption of Jerusalem”.

We don’t use the word “consolation” very often, but you can see the word “console” in it.

It means comfort, relief, and even salvation.

Simeon and Anna’s lives were marked by a devotion to the Lord that was fueled by a longing for God salvation.

Going to the temple for them wasn’t just a weekly obligation or something to do to make themselves feel better.

They went looking, longing, expecting.

They longed for God to step into this broken world and to comfort their weary souls and heal the brokenness that they saw all around.

Can you relate with Simeon, likely at the end of his life.

He knew that spending all his time, energy, and money trying to fill the emptiness of his soul with stuff was only going to satisfy him for a short time and would never relieve the emptiness he felt deep in his soul.

Maybe you can relate with Anna who for 84 years had lived with the pain of death, loosing her husband only 7 years into their marriage.

She knew the lifestyle the world sells of instant gratification and just looking for pleasure in the moment wasn’t going to heal the brokenness she felt in her soul.

They knew the promises of God for a Savior King, who would come to heal, restore, and redeem.

But they didn’t just KNOW the promises, the BELIEVED them and they LONGED for them, and they PRAYED for them.

So when Jesus and His parents entered the temple eight days after His birth, they were frustrated, annoyed, or anxious, they were overjoyed.

The one they had prayed for, fasted for, longed for, and devoted their LIFE to had finally and fully come.

2) SALVATION and REDEMPTION from the chains of sin.

It says Anna thanked God and spoke to other about the “redemption of Jerusalem.”

Anna knew the promise of God in Isaiah 52:9

Isaiah 52:9 CSB

9 Be joyful, rejoice together, you ruins of Jerusalem! For the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.

It isn’t really the city of Jerusalem this promise was meant for, but the world as a whole.

Anna knew and believed that this child represented FREEDOM from the oppression and the hopelessness of the bondage of sin.

You ever feel like things are so bad in this world or in your own life that you can’t hardly breath from all the pressure?

That hope seems far too dim and victory far too distant?

Anna’s hope wasn’t in political parties or self-help gurus.

She had fixed her gaze to heaven, fasting and praying for God’s salvation.

So when Jesus entered the Temple, He wasn’t a burden or a distraction, He was a GIFT, a WELCOMED DISRUPTION.

How do you see Jesus?

Simeon and Anna challenge us to consider how we see Jesus.

Is He a welcomed disruption to our lives or is He something else?

As much as we might try to fight it, there is no way around Jesus being a disruption to life as we know it or want it, but how do we see His disruption in our lives?

Is He a INCONVENIENT DISTRACTION?

In all seriousness, do you ever feel like following Jesus and serving the Lord is keeping you from enjoying life more.

Does Jesus instigate FOMO (fear of missing out) in your heart?

If you didn’t go to church on Sunday then you could be hunting, fishing, or playing golf.

Or maybe working so you could have more money to do those other things.

Giving, serving, and doing all the things Christians are “supposed” to do sounds good and all, but it is keeping you from the stuff other people are doing.

Just look at the beach pic on Instagram, the new car you buddy got, the experiences their kids are having that you just can’t afford or don’t have time for because of church commitments.

There is something in all of us that struggles to see Jesus as a welcomed disruption and not as a INCONVENIENT DISTRACTION to what we THINK we WANT.

What we fail to see is that this world is an ocean full of salt water.

We see all around us things we think will quench our thirst, but when we start drinking we only get more and more thirsty and more and more in need of a drink of living water.

Jesus says of Himself to the woman at the well in John 4 “When you drink the water I give you will never thirst again.”

He disrupted her life, and she was never the same.

A WELCOMED DISRUPTION

Is He a TEDIOUS BURDEN?

We know the passage in Matthew 11— “Come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest. I will take your heavy burden and give you a light one.”

But the way of Jesus doesn’t alway feel light does it?

There are days, weeks, or even prolonged seasons in which Jesus’ yoke seems unbearably hard and his burden feels crushingly heavy.

Jesus isn’t lying in the passage, but we are plagued by 2 attitudes toward the life of faith that cause us to consider following Jesus as King a tedious burden.

The first is, we are comfort-loving American Christians.

Our groaning, complaining, and discontentment in our faith comes from a misunderstanding that the Christian life is supposed to be easy and comfortable.

Our culture has groomed us to believe that God promises an easy road for those who follow Him, but that is a failure to remember the call of Jesus to take of our cross and follow Him.

And it fails to remember our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who daily face reality of persecution because of their joyful pursuit of Jesus.

The burden is LIGHT, because Jesus carries the burden of our sin in order that we might be free to enjoy Him forever.

The second attitude is, we see the commands of Jesus as obligations rather than opportunities.

If you see the commands of Jesus as obligations to follow in order to keep God happy so that He will bless you, then the life of faith will be a burdensome life for you.

But if you see the commands of Jesus as opportunities to find joy in Jesus, then you likely agree with the apostle John in 1 John 5:3

1 John 5:3–4 NLT

3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.

You practice the spiritual disciplines to grow in the enjoyment of Christ and to become more like Him in all that you desire, love, think, say, and do.

The Gospel gives you the freedom and peace to joyfully pursue the spiritual disciplines, knowing that God will lovingly help you in your weaknesses, and rejoice with you in your victories.

Following Jesus shouldn’t be a burden, but a source of REAL and UNWAVERING joy.

He truly is a welcomed disruption.

Is He only a MEANS to an END?

We introduced our kids to The Game of Life just recently, and just after you are forced to buy a house, you have the option of getting fire insurance.

I usually don’t spend the $25k, but there are times it comes in handy.

But every time we talk about Fire Insurance I think of the way we often treat our relationship to Jesus.

There are times and situations where Jesus really does come in handy.

Where we see Jesus as a means to an end;

He can help to improve our broken marriage.

He can help us with a physical or financial need when we are in a pinch.

He can make us feel better, maybe even cure us when we are sick.

In these cases, we see Jesus as the “salvation genie” that swoops in ever time we rub the lamp of prayer.

Jesus is a means to an end, the end being whatever we think will make us happy in that moment.

The most important of these times is when we face death.

I have heard Frank Sinatra’s song “My Way” a couple of times at funerals.

If you are choosing songs for a loved one’s funeral or your own, don’t choose that one.

It we get to the end of our lives and the thing we are most proud of is that we did things OUR WAY there is quite likely a tragic and unhappy ending to our story.

Jesus isn’t a means to an end brothers and sisters, He is the MEANS and the END.

Jesus is the end for which the EVERYTHING was made, and the means that makes that end possible to enjoy by those of us who give ourselves fully to Him.

Will you welcome Jesus as a gift of disruption in your life today?