Do you have time for Christmas?

Introduction (5m)

My Christmas Dinner Timings

Piece of paper from Delia’s book

Timed down to the last minute. Woe betide anyone who gets in the way! E.g. family members who decide to go out for a walk whilst they wait and then get lost! The glass dish that decided to shatter instead of cooking roast potatoes!

Want everything to be perfect

Lunch timed to perfection. Many of us will have things we want to prioritise - great expectations of Christmas Day. Some of us will discover the world doesn’t always work like that.

Explanation (5m)

That was possibly Joseph and Mary’s experience

Gone through difficult spiritual and emotional experience. Given divine mission that turned lives upside down. Mary found pregnant, with all the gossip/tittle-tattle that ensured. Joseph ready to divorce until God sends an angel to change his priorities.

Then long journey to Bethlehem. No room. Animal cave. Childbirth. Visitors.

Now within first 40 days of Jesus’ birth they have travelled from Bethlehem to Jerusalem so J can be circumcised in the temple, then back to Bethlehem, then back to Jerusalem to make the purification offering.

Luke 2:21–22 NLT

Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived. Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

Young. Weary. Sleepless, uncomfortable nights. Must have been physically and emotionally exhausted.

A Study in God’s Perfect Timing

Luke 2:25 (NLT)

At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him

Just at that time/at that moment. God ensures it all comes together with perfect timing.

It’s like complicated choreography

God laid down thousands of years before the purification laws that required Jesus to be presented in the temple just at this time.

HS guides Simeon to the temple just as they arrive.

Here in place where Jews believed God’s presence was found, Simeon encounters the Son of God. Jesus who is a Saviour for both Jews and Gentiles. For everyone.

Simeon has been waiting a whole lifetime for this moment. For this perfect timing

Luke 2:25–26 NLT

At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.

Waiting for this day. Anticipating it, patiently. Faithfully longing for it. Longing for Messiah who would come and comfort God’s embattled and occupied people with spiritual deliverance.

Isaiah 40:1–2 NLT

“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.”

Simeon longed for this Comforter to come and pay for the sin of his people. Never given up hope that God would complete his promise. Living in the light/hope of salvation.

And just at this moment - in God’s perfect timing - God chooses to fulfil his promise

What can he do but praise God for his perfect timing?

Luke 2:28–32 (NLT)

Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

God’s perfect timing brings Simeon the peace he longs for

Now - this moment - timing is emphasised. Now Simeon can die with this peace he has longed for. He can die calmly. Confidently. With the hope that we share today.

Application (5m)

What will do with your time this Christmas? How will you prioritise it?

Wisdom from wizard Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Video: Gandalf - What to do with time | 1:00

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us”.

Will we try to control it? Like my list? Trying to engineer the perfect timing for the perfect Christmas?

Will we try to manage it? Trying to fit in as much as we can? Ending up feeling busy and exhausted?

Or will we prioritise God moments? Allowing him to catch us unawares in the small things of Christmas? A line of a carol. A sweet smell. A bird singing in a bare tree. A child’s smile. To rest our souls in him and realise - first time/again - that Christmas is about Jesus Christ and nothing else.

May you find God’s peace as you allow the Christmas story to unfold before you.

Next Steps

Video: The Nativity Story

Video: The Nativity Story | 3:00