Christmas Expectation - Waiting
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Expectation is funny thing. At some level, we all have an expectation of something. We have an expectation of ourselves…our loved ones…you probably had expectations coming into church today. If we are honest, we have expectations of God.
Sometimes by the grace of God, our expectations are met. And other times, by the grace of God, our expectations are not met.
We imagine in our mind how something will happen, how it should happen and in those thoughts, we birth our own expectations. Others might share the same expectation and we gather around those expectations with one another. And if by chance someone wants to disagree with our expectation, we might allow them to do so, but perhaps they can have those thoughts somewhere else.
At Christmas, I see how expectations ratchet up a bit. We have an expectation of what we’ll get for a gift. We have an expectation of how someone might receive a gift we’ve given.
We expect that as our families get together to celebrate, things will go the way we want them. Even in our family photos have an expectation…watch this...
Christmas Expectations vs Reality (Credit - Trinity Reformed Church)
https://vimeo.com/193774308
That may have hit a little close to home for some of us…
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As we lead up to the expectation that is Christmas, I want to talk through some Biblical aspects of expectation that will help not only in our relationship with Jesus, but help to shine some light on how we relate to others.
Today, we’ll talk about the time aspect of expectations. Usually when we expect something, we expect that something by a certain time. The word advent means arrival. When we talk about celebrating advent, we are celebrating the arrival and birth of Jesus. This arrival happened at just the right time, but for those involved, it was an unexpected time.
For some, Jesus came too soon, for others, Jesus did not come soon enough. Turn with me to a familiar story in Luke 2 as we read about the birth of Jesus.
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
A pregnancy before being married was not on the plan. Then you have to travel while 9 months pregnant and your fiance has failed to confirm the AirBnB reservation and you get to not only sleep in the barn, but the time also came for the baby to be born.
Have you ever experienced something like this? You have a well thought out plan and for some reason God sees fit to interrupt your expectations and bring the timetable forward.
I am sure Joseph would have preferred to be married before his bride to be was unexpectedly expecting.
I am sure teenage Mary thought that waiting until marriage to have a baby was her expectation, but God had other plans.
If one were to chose a place to give birth to a baby, a manger/barn would be the last place, yet God was not surprised by when Mary went into labor.
Are you prepared to have God interrupt your expectations in order that He might fulfill His expectations?
Both Joseph and Mary got a visit from an angel. They heard a message of interruption in their lives. This interruption was not what they expected, yet their response was one of acceptance and ultimately praise…Here is Mary’s response:
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.
Let’s keep reading in Luke 2...
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
Do you think the shepherds had a different expectation for their night in the fields watching over the sheep? Because these shepherds were watching over the sheep that were needed for sacrifice in the temple, I imagine they heard of the prophecies spoken about a coming Messiah.
They likely had an expectation that the Messiah was coming, but I am not sure that expectation was real to them. It had been hundreds of years since that prophecy was spoken, I wonder if it was something they even anticipated or thought might come while they were still living.
I can say with great certainty that these shepherds had different expectations for their evening…Let’s keep reading...
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”),
24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,
28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.
34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,
35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Have you ever been so certain of something that would come, but for some reason you just had to wait for it? This is Simeon. He was given a word about seeing the Messiah before his death and I can just imagine that every day after that was one of anticipation, hope and then a bit of disappointment as each of those days end without having seen the Messiah.
I wonder if he ever woke up asking the Lord…is today the day? Like kids do on a long road trip…are we there yet? Are we there yet?…How much longer?...
When the moment came, when Simeon was prompted by the Spirit, he responded…he acted. He went into the temple courts to meet his Messiah, his Lord.
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
After meeting Jesus he testifies to the promise fulfilled and is ready to die. The Bible doesn’t tell us his age, but there are other early church documents that state that Simeon was very old and he was ready to be with the Lord.
These early church documents also speak of when Simeon was given this promise as a very young man when reading the passage in Isaiah that prophesied the birth of Jesus:
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Have you ever had an expectation that hasn’t come through in the time you expected? Or maybe it came in the time you expected, but it felt like a really, REALLY long wait? You are not alone in that...
Simeon gives us a glimpse in what waiting well looks like...
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
We wait with the Holy Spirit on us.
When the Spirit leads and guides our wait, our wait then has meaning and purpose. We can be assured of the timing as we wait on the Holy Spirit to lead and prompt.
I was reading some writings by the previous Pope, Pope Benedict XVI. At the time of the writings, he was know as Joseph Ratzinger a Cardinal in Munich Germany. The writings were compiled into a book called The Blessing of Christmas. I want to read an excerpt from his writings on what he observed about waiting and Advent...
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The Blessing of Christmas Paths and Forms of Waiting
A second basic element of Advent is waiting—a waiting that is an act of hope. Advent thus shows us the very essence of Christian time and the true nature of history. Jesus revealed this in many parables: in the story of the servants who are waiting for the return of their master or of those other servants who forget his return and behave as if they were the proprietors; in the story of the virgins who await the bridegroom or of those other virgins who cannot wait for him; and in the parables of sowing and harvest.
The Blessing of Christmas Paths and Forms of Waiting
In his life here on earth, man is one who waits. As a child, he wants to be an adult; as an adult, he wants to forge ahead and be successful; and finally, he yearns for rest. At last, there comes the time when he realizes that he has hoped for too little: he has set his hopes on a job and a good position, but now he has nothing else left for which to hope.
Mankind has never ceased to hope for better times; Christians hope that the Lord passes through the whole of history and that he will one day gather up all our tears and labors, so that everything will find its explanation and its fulfillment in his kingdom.
Nothing shows more clearly than a period of illness that man is one who waits. Every day, we wait for signs of improvement, and ultimately we wait for a complete recovery. At the same time, however, we discover that there are very different forms of waiting.
When the time is not filled with a meaningful presence, waiting becomes unbearable. When the present moment remains completely empty—when all we can do is to look for something to come, and there is nothing at all in the here and now—every second is too long. And waiting is an intolerable burden when it remains completely uncertain whether we actually dare expect anything.
But when time itself is meaningful and each moment contains something valuable of its own, the joyful anticipation of something greater, something still to come, makes even more precious that which we already experience. And it gives us a kind of invisible force that bears us across the individual moments. The Christian Advent wants to help us attain this kind of waiting, for this is the truly Christian form of waiting and hoping.
Is there an expectation you are waiting for? Are you being righteous and devout as you wait like Simeon? Full of the Holy Spirit as you wait?
When the time comes, will you be ready to hear the nudging of the Holy Spirit or will you be too busy chasing something else? As in the parable of the virgins where some were prepared and had enough oil for their lamps and didn’t miss the bridegroom while others ran out of oil and missed it…which will you be?
Perhaps your expectation is that you’ve got time. It’s still out in the future yet and God might be ready to say…I’m moving your plan up…it’s time. How will you respond?
God spoke a prophecy and calling over my life when I was 20. That calling wasn’t fulfilled for 20 years. That fulfillment wasn’t how I expected it to go down, but it did just as God had it planned.
I am sure he has done the same with some of you. Are you in a posture of meaningful waiting? Are you in a state of joyful anticipation of what is yet to come for you?
There are things in my life and my family’s life that we are waiting on the Lord to fulfill. Some mornings I wake up and ask the Lord if today is the day.
It’s not always easy to wait…but it is what we must do.
Ultimately we are waiting on the Lord to return. We anticipate the day Jesus comes again with trumpets blasting to call us home. Oh what a day that will be.
Until then, we wait. We take each day as it comes, asking the Holy Spirit to lead and guide our steps and our words.