How Was Your Day

HOW WAS YOUR DAY? Luke 2:25-35 January 3, 2021 I am a planner. I like to know exactly what will happen every day. And, I know if I make and keep a schedule, my life moves more smoothly. Even my grandchildren know my schedule. They know exactly what my Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday look like every week. It's the same. Always the same. But, the truth is no one knows exactly what will happen on any given day. When you get up in the morning, you think you know what will happen. But, actually, you don't. You may not realize it, but every single day your life plays out the tension between free will and sovereignty. Free will says you are the master of your choices. What you eat today is your choice alone. What job you train for, what person you marry, what clothes you put on. You and only you make those decisions. And, whether or not you accept the free gift of eternal salvation, rests on your shoulders alone. If you deny Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that's on you bubba. At the same time, we believe God is in control. Satan doesn't rule this world. Chance and bad luck don't rule this world. God does. God is sovereign. What God wants to happen, happens. God will never be denied his holy and perfect plan. Only - how can that be? How can I have complete free will, and God still be totally in control, at the same time? And, the answer is, the indwelling Holy Spirit. When we put our complete faith in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit. And, we are encouraged to work in partnership with the Spirit. It's our choice whether to obey or not. But, when we do, amazing things happen. We exercise our free will, and at the same time God's sovereignty works miracles. The perfect example of this is today's Epiphany story. Our story takes place when Jesus is 40 days old. On the 40th day a very special ceremony happens for all first-born males. If this is your first baby boy, you must bring him to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and give him to God. Now, usually, this is more of a tradition and ritual than a fact.1 Parents bring in their 40-day-old boy, give him to God, then buy him back. The price varies based on how much money you make. If you are dirt poor, you trap a couple pigeons, and that's the price to take your son back home. This is the way it works for everyone and their first boy. Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to the Temple, just like God says to do. And, we know they have two pigeons with them - to buy Jesus back. But, you know full well Mary is thinking about the story of another baby boy. Hannah was married, but couldn't get pregnant. Year after year went by without conceiving. One year, during her annual trip to visit the High Priest and bring an offering, Hannah prays to God. If you will give me a child, I will dedicate him to you. Sure enough, Hannah gets pregnant and gives birth to a baby boy - Samuel. The next year, during her annual trip she gives Samuel to High Priest Eli, to dedicate. And, Eli says - thanks for the kid. You can visit him each year when you bring your offering. Now, move out of the way, there are others waiting. Mary knows Jesus is superior in worth to Samuel. There is a very real possibility she will not go home with her son. How about that for conflict between free will and sovereignty? Would you do it? Would you take your son to the Temple? The Holy Temple is divided into areas of decreasing admittance. Anyone, Jew or Gentile, can come to the entrance - called the court of the Gentiles. Just beyond that is the court of women - this is as far as Jewish women and children can go. Beyond that is the court of men, followed by the court of priests. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus have only made it as far as the court of Gentiles (the entrance) when they are approached by Simeon. This isn't where holy and wonderful miracles are supposed to happen. If God is going to do something amazing it should happen deeper inside. Simeon lives in Jerusalem. Why do we care?2 Luke is writing to Gentiles, to convince them to choose Jesus as their God. The Gentiles don't really care if Jesus is a big deal in Nazareth. Nazareth is insignificant. But, if baby Jesus comes to the big city - Jerusalem - and is well received, that bears noticing. Simeon is an old man. We don't know exactly how old, but old. Old enough that death is a possibility on any day. Luke makes no bones about it, Simeon has reached end of life. But, he is a very righteous man. He is devout. Every morning Simeon gets up and asks - what can I do for you today Lord? Every morning Simeon submits his free will to sovereignty. And, every day, God says - don't die yet. Our text this morning translates the Greek as you will not die until the Messiah comes. The burden is on God to keep Simeon alive. But, it can just as easily be translated as 'you should not' die until the Messiah comes.3 It is possible God has put the burden on Simeon. Your job is to stay alive until you see the Messiah. What does that do to your free will? Simeon has embraced his responsibility. He will stay alive to see the Comforter. The Hebrews had a much different impression of the end times than you and I. We believe Jesus comes back, gives us new perfect bodies, and takes us to Heaven. The Hebrews believed in the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord. On that Day God's wrath burns against a sinful world. Fire and destruction rain down on the entire earth. Gentiles are burned alive. The streets run read with the blood of the Gentiles. Their concept was very much Hell on earth. And, the Jews are not spared this. They exist in this burning dying world until only they are left, and God creates Heaven on earth. The only good thing about being alive at this time is the Comforter.4 God will send a Comforter to make it bearable. So, the Comforter is both sign and salvation. His arrival means the end times are beginning. And, he is the only one who can make the end times survivable. Simeon's job is to be alive when the Comforter comes. Either because he makes it happen, or because God will not let him die. The clash of free will and sovereignty. The Holy Spirit gets Simeon out of bed that morning. Drives him to the Holy Temple - not a place he went to on most days.5 And, pushes him directly into the path of Mary and Joseph. Because Simeon has spent his life listening to God speak to him; because he has spent his life embracing the will of the Father; Simeon hears clearly when the Spirit tells him - this is him. This is the Comforter. This is the Messiah. This is your Epiphany Simeon - the moment you have waited your entire life for. This is why you were obedient. Simeon is overjoyed. He sings a little song. We call it the Nunc Dimittis. Because in Latin, his song begins Nunc dimittis servum tuum - now you release me. I can finally die. And, while he is still under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Simeon shares two important revelations. Why did he meet Jesus in the court of the Gentiles, and not deeper into the Temple? Why not where the men, and the priests, and the important people go? Because, Jesus is for everyone; Jew and Gentile alike; male and female alike; adult and child alike. Luke uses this as a teaching moment. Baby Jesus was promised to the Jews. But, he came to save everyone. He is your God too. Simeon sings that Jesus came to comfort everyone in the entire world. Then, Simeon's song makes reference to Jesus' resurrection.6 Jesus is only 40 days old, and already the burden of the crucifixion and resurrection is there. How about that for tension between free will and sovereignty? How would you like to spend your entire life aware that your brutal suffering and death is the will of God? When Satan tempts Jesus for 40 days in the wilderness, he is challenging Jesus to choose free will. Just because Simeon said it, doesn't mean you have to do it. You're a grown man. This is your life. You decide what you will do. Have you ever said that to yourself? Have you ever clearly known the will of God, but decided to go your own way instead? Do you realize you face that decision every morning? Every single day you choose, my way or God's way. Simeon finishes by saying - now I can die in peace. Why? Why would giving up his life be OK with Simeon? Why not fight for every last breath? It appears Simeon understands the Resurrection. He gets it. It's in his song. The Comfort comes in knowing this is not the end. This is not all there is. The Comforter brings peace of mind because he assures us of eternal peace in the presence of the Father. There were ships/boats that made regular trips every day. Passengers and cargo were reliably delivered to seaports every day. Of course, there was always the possibility something might go wrong. Storms could capsize and sink a boat. The crew might mutiny and take the cargo to another port for their own profit. Old boats had maintenance issues, and might begin sinking a long way from shore. So, every seaport had a sentinel.7 A man whose job was to keep track of the arrivals. If a ship failed to arrive he notified others to send out a search and rescue party. But, if every shipped arrived as it was supposed to, if everything were as it should be, the sentinel could report this good news and go home. Simeon uses the language of the sentinel. Everything I have been looking for has come. My watch is complete. So, I'm going home. And, that gives Simeon peace. His reward for subjugating free will to sovereignty. I believe Luke learned all this information from an interview with Mary at the end of her life. Because, she goes on to share a private conversation she has with Simeon after his song. Simeon sees something else. He sees the life and ministry of the Comforter will be controversial. And, he understands this will divide people. Some will permanently reject Jesus. Some will place their complete faith in him. But, everyone will be forced to choose.8 Will you be god of your own life? Will you choose complete free will? Or, will you choose Jesus? Will you choose to practice free will by embracing the will and purpose of the Father? Will your free will be the path to sovereignty? Luke records that Simeon's insight causes Mary pain. She gets to take her baby boy back home. She doesn't have to leave him at the Temple with the priests. In that respect her day will be much better than Hannah's. But, she has been forewarned that being Jesus' mother will not be easy. There is a lot of pain and suffering ahead. And, her days of choosing are not over. Each morning she will choose whether to teach the boy his identity and purpose - or not. She will choose whether to raise him strictly in accordance with the traditions and practices of their faith. Or hide him away and keep the Church from noticing her boy. Whether to convince him to be a simple carpenter. Or, walk the Via Dolorosa as he heads to Golgotha. Every day, Mary will have to submit her free will to sovereignty. You can plan your week as much as you want to. You can plan your year as much as you want to. I'm assuming 2020 didn't come out anything like you planned. And, in fact, every day has the potential to be the day 'you never saw coming'. Every day you face Mary and Simeon's choice. When I am face to face with the will of God, will I say yes? I have the freedom to refuse. God does not force me to obey. I have complete freedom to say no. And, my life may be much easier if I do say no. So, what will I do? Free will, or sovereignty? What does your day look like? 1 Joel B. Green, New Interpreter's Study Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 1856. 2 Krzysztof Mielcarek, "Prayers of Old People: Zechariah, Simeon and Anna," Verbum Vitae, 22 no. 1 (2012), 75-92. 3 Ibid. 4 NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 1745. 5 Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1-9:50 (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 240. 6 John P. Heil, "Luke's Infancy Narrative as a Foreshadowing of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus," Theoforum, 47 no. 2 (2016-2017), 333-345. 7 Bock, 241. 8 R. C. Sproul, general editor. New Geneva Study Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1606. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2