THE WAITING PEOPLE
Luke 2:20-40
Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord to complete their purification according to the Law of Moses. Though they had already come to Jerusalem to register, the journey still from Nazareth still took long time. If it was only for purification ceremony the author Luke didn’t write this incident in detail. They met two waiting peoples here. This accidental meeting clearly revealed the identity of Christianity of concealing character, Jesus’ essence and their waiting became a Christian tradition.
One of them was Simeon. The text says that he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. All the Jews had the consciousness of the chosen people and expected the coming of Messiah the savior. Most of them dreamt the reestablishment of David’s kingdom. They believed someday a king would be born in David’s family line and be able to regain the past glory with remarkable tactic and strategy. Some of them believed God would intervene in human history in supernatural way and make Israel the super power of the world. However, a handful people, called “the people of silence” had different view point. They didn’t have any expectation from violence, power and army but waited for God’s consolation and salvation by only praying and meditating the word of God. Simeon was one of them.
To wait for the consolation of Israel meant to wait for God’s salvation. Most people settled their goal based on their own politic, economic and family plan. However, Simeon’s goal was different from them. The Bible always has been pointing out it. Jesus’ says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” also has same meaning. Church is called as an eschatological community for it has the goal of waiting which is different from the world. Christians are waiting for the time of complete accomplishment of God’s salvation. The first generation Christians were thinking that Jesus would come again during their lifetime. The faith of advent is different from Nietzsche’s critics about Christianity’s utopia. It has much more dynamic factors of revolution and changes. Advent faith brings freedom to the waiting people.
The waiting people of God’s salvation do not absolutize the manmade things in this world. If we are satisfied with the way we are living now we cannot wait for God’s salvation and it is not even necessary to wait. The people who dream a sort of utopia in this world do not wait for the salvation of God.
However, today’s world absolutizes the manmade world. Look at the natural sciences today. Life engineering which considerably approached to the mystery of life thinks their technique may solve the entire human problem. Probably time goes by human life will be extended beyond our imagination. Generally human can live till 120 years old. If science develops more, then the day man may able to extent their life to 1000 years like Methuselah in Genesis. If we think a little more extremely we can imagine the day human may be immortal being by changing their organ continually. So the peoples insist to invest more in life engineering. It can’t be helped out that they are thinking that it is the way of living of human kind.
Politicians are bragging to solve all human problems through political activity. They insist that they can raise productivity, reduce gap between rich and poor, solve terror problem, removes all antagonism between states and even the aged problem. The absolutizing of politics finally distorts human life like Hitler’s the Third Reich ideology.
Nowadays the dream of fundamental ecologists is similar to this. I basically agree with their point to protect the earth through changing from production and consumption-centered system to ecosystem-centered. However, there is a possibility to get rid of room to intervene God’s salvation activity which transcends human expectation if the ecosystem movement also becomes an absolutized ideology.
People think that welfare for welfare’s sake is the upmost point to reach for human happiness. Their idea of perfect welfare from the cradle to the grave should be the ultimate goal of human kind. However, the establishment of perfect welfare itself is impossible and even if it is possible, such status of earthly paradise may guarantee only a relative happy life. It cannot give absolute happy life. No one can boldly say absolute joy and freedom have been guaranteed to the people in European countries like Norway and Sweden who enjoy their life with high standard welfare system. Nor can one decisively say that the poor in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India are unhappy. Nor can one say that the future of the developed country will be much more hopeful than the future of the third countries. The reason is that people cannot enter into the absolute world with science, politic, economy, society, culture and arts that they are making.
I don’t mean that the life in this world is meaningless. Nor is all cultural activity is in vain. I point out the fact that these things always have a relative value. Humankind doesn’t know clearly the way of reaching to the abundant life for they do not understand the ultimate life despite their every effort. In such status, absolutizing such effort is foolish. All our effort is a mere way to live in convenient and interesting while we are living in this world. We have to think our effort to seek happy life in this world under this limitation. On the contrary, the ultimate thing is coming not from man but from God as Apostle Paul had testified that our citizenship is in heaven.
Based on such faith we live and wait for Jesus’ second coming. We do not hope for a man-made program but the salvation of God which is quite different from man-made one. Some of you may say, “You are talking too much in abstract terms. You have to tell us a little more in practical terms.” However, think a little more. The things holds in our hand are not everything to trust. Rather the things we are holding in our hand and experience are quite small. If we think what we hold is only the trustworthy then it means we are holding the nothingness. The real thing is not here yet. It comes in the end of world. However, it is with us as the form of “hiding’
Look at Simeon in today’s content. He entered into Jerusalem temple led by the Spirit and saw Jesus who was fulfilling a purification ceremony. As soon as he saw the baby Jesus he began to sing a song, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." (29-32) What on earth to see God’s salvation just seeing an infant nestling in its mother's breast! This baby hasn’t taken the cross yet nor has risen. Despite all this Simeon sang a song by seeing God’s salvation for all people from this baby. It means God’s salvation is concealed in the baby Jesus. Simeon saw the future of Jesus from the baby. He could see God’s salvation in baby Jesus and overjoyed with this. There are many paintings in the medieval century to draw the baby’s future while they were drawing baby Jesus. The artists added Jesus’ suffering on the cross and the glory of resurrection while they were drawing an infant of Mary.
Look at verses 36-38. “There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” She also spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
We need such spiritual insight that Simeon and Anna had. Inclined toward general things, we should not neglect the absolute power that penetrates the inner side. For example, as atom, the foundation of the entire materials, is distinguished by electronic microscope, we also need to have a spiritual electronic microscope to see the absolute power. To those who are saying, “Such level is too difficult for us and I would like to take easy way of life” I cannot persuade them not to think like that. However, I clearly can say that such idea doesn’t belong to Christian faith. The resurrection of the real life world is not the form of life to marry, buying and selling. The real life world prepared for us is in hidden form. To believe the coming of real world and entrust our destiny on it is Christian faith. At this point, faith is so mysterious. Faith is mystery at the point of waiting and hoping for future life that hasn’t caught in our hand. So Luke explains the Holy Spirit was with Simeon. The word he was receiving the instruction of the Holy Spirit means he was living depends on the power that transcends common life.
Today is the first week after Christmas. The awaited Jesus has come into this world through Christmas and now we are again waiting for his second coming. We are waiting for the hour of his complete rule by believing his promise to come again. Those who fully indulge in the joy of this world don’t have any interest in Jesus’ coming again. However, if you honestly looked into the reality of life even a little bit, then you may realize the joys in this world are really small in number. Joy in this world doesn’t provide the ultimate meaning. Those who are waiting for the salvation of God only can have real joy and freedom without any tension.
However, our faith of waiting is different from Christian fatalism. Those who fall into such fatalism abandon their historical responsibility saying that everything is God’s will. Generally we can find out this fatalism from many Christians and it is not an act of entrusting God’s power but a sort of evading their responsibility in making practical decision and observing every moment of life.
Faith of waiting looks similar to fatalistic faith at the point of waiting and passive character. However, it has fundamental difference. The meaning of waiting and passive character is quite different. The waiting based on advent faith is the waiting to observe the symptom of the world with awaken spirituality. It is not an unconditional waiting. As a Psalmist expressed, he is waiting for God’s time Kairos as a watchman waits for morning. Such person tries to discern this generation and examine self in the light of God’s word and deepens his spirituality. And also tries to his best to advance the date of Jesus’ coming. He prays in tension, “Your will be done in earth as it is in heaven” which is in the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus had taught. This is a real attitude of faith of waiting. Don’t forget the ultimate life and joy is waiting for us. We can see it as Simeon and Anna did.
Luke 2:20-40
Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord to complete their purification according to the Law of Moses. Though they had already come to Jerusalem to register, the journey still from Nazareth still took long time. If it was only for purification ceremony the author Luke didn’t write this incident in detail. They met two waiting peoples here. This accidental meeting clearly revealed the identity of Christianity of concealing character, Jesus’ essence and their waiting became a Christian tradition.
One of them was Simeon. The text says that he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. All the Jews had the consciousness of the chosen people and expected the coming of Messiah the savior. Most of them dreamt the reestablishment of David’s kingdom. They believed someday a king would be born in David’s family line and be able to regain the past glory with remarkable tactic and strategy. Some of them believed God would intervene in human history in supernatural way and make Israel the super power of the world. However, a handful people, called “the people of silence” had different view point. They didn’t have any expectation from violence, power and army but waited for God’s consolation and salvation by only praying and meditating the word of God. Simeon was one of them.
To wait for the consolation of Israel meant to wait for God’s salvation. Most people settled their goal based on their own politic, economic and family plan. However, Simeon’s goal was different from them. The Bible always has been pointing out it. Jesus’ says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” also has same meaning. Church is called as an eschatological community for it has the goal of waiting which is different from the world. Christians are waiting for the time of complete accomplishment of God’s salvation. The first generation Christians were thinking that Jesus would come again during their lifetime. The faith of advent is different from Nietzsche’s critics about Christianity’s utopia. It has much more dynamic factors of revolution and changes. Advent faith brings freedom to the waiting people.
The waiting people of God’s salvation do not absolutize the manmade things in this world. If we are satisfied with the way we are living now we cannot wait for God’s salvation and it is not even necessary to wait. The people who dream a sort of utopia in this world do not wait for the salvation of God.
However, today’s world absolutizes the manmade world. Look at the natural sciences today. Life engineering which considerably approached to the mystery of life thinks their technique may solve the entire human problem. Probably time goes by human life will be extended beyond our imagination. Generally human can live till 120 years old. If science develops more, then the day man may able to extent their life to 1000 years like Methuselah in Genesis. If we think a little more extremely we can imagine the day human may be immortal being by changing their organ continually. So the peoples insist to invest more in life engineering. It can’t be helped out that they are thinking that it is the way of living of human kind.
Politicians are bragging to solve all human problems through political activity. They insist that they can raise productivity, reduce gap between rich and poor, solve terror problem, removes all antagonism between states and even the aged problem. The absolutizing of politics finally distorts human life like Hitler’s the Third Reich ideology.
Nowadays the dream of fundamental ecologists is similar to this. I basically agree with their point to protect the earth through changing from production and consumption-centered system to ecosystem-centered. However, there is a possibility to get rid of room to intervene God’s salvation activity which transcends human expectation if the ecosystem movement also becomes an absolutized ideology.
People think that welfare for welfare’s sake is the upmost point to reach for human happiness. Their idea of perfect welfare from the cradle to the grave should be the ultimate goal of human kind. However, the establishment of perfect welfare itself is impossible and even if it is possible, such status of earthly paradise may guarantee only a relative happy life. It cannot give absolute happy life. No one can boldly say absolute joy and freedom have been guaranteed to the people in European countries like Norway and Sweden who enjoy their life with high standard welfare system. Nor can one decisively say that the poor in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India are unhappy. Nor can one say that the future of the developed country will be much more hopeful than the future of the third countries. The reason is that people cannot enter into the absolute world with science, politic, economy, society, culture and arts that they are making.
I don’t mean that the life in this world is meaningless. Nor is all cultural activity is in vain. I point out the fact that these things always have a relative value. Humankind doesn’t know clearly the way of reaching to the abundant life for they do not understand the ultimate life despite their every effort. In such status, absolutizing such effort is foolish. All our effort is a mere way to live in convenient and interesting while we are living in this world. We have to think our effort to seek happy life in this world under this limitation. On the contrary, the ultimate thing is coming not from man but from God as Apostle Paul had testified that our citizenship is in heaven.
Based on such faith we live and wait for Jesus’ second coming. We do not hope for a man-made program but the salvation of God which is quite different from man-made one. Some of you may say, “You are talking too much in abstract terms. You have to tell us a little more in practical terms.” However, think a little more. The things holds in our hand are not everything to trust. Rather the things we are holding in our hand and experience are quite small. If we think what we hold is only the trustworthy then it means we are holding the nothingness. The real thing is not here yet. It comes in the end of world. However, it is with us as the form of “hiding’
Look at Simeon in today’s content. He entered into Jerusalem temple led by the Spirit and saw Jesus who was fulfilling a purification ceremony. As soon as he saw the baby Jesus he began to sing a song, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." (29-32) What on earth to see God’s salvation just seeing an infant nestling in its mother's breast! This baby hasn’t taken the cross yet nor has risen. Despite all this Simeon sang a song by seeing God’s salvation for all people from this baby. It means God’s salvation is concealed in the baby Jesus. Simeon saw the future of Jesus from the baby. He could see God’s salvation in baby Jesus and overjoyed with this. There are many paintings in the medieval century to draw the baby’s future while they were drawing baby Jesus. The artists added Jesus’ suffering on the cross and the glory of resurrection while they were drawing an infant of Mary.
Look at verses 36-38. “There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” She also spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
We need such spiritual insight that Simeon and Anna had. Inclined toward general things, we should not neglect the absolute power that penetrates the inner side. For example, as atom, the foundation of the entire materials, is distinguished by electronic microscope, we also need to have a spiritual electronic microscope to see the absolute power. To those who are saying, “Such level is too difficult for us and I would like to take easy way of life” I cannot persuade them not to think like that. However, I clearly can say that such idea doesn’t belong to Christian faith. The resurrection of the real life world is not the form of life to marry, buying and selling. The real life world prepared for us is in hidden form. To believe the coming of real world and entrust our destiny on it is Christian faith. At this point, faith is so mysterious. Faith is mystery at the point of waiting and hoping for future life that hasn’t caught in our hand. So Luke explains the Holy Spirit was with Simeon. The word he was receiving the instruction of the Holy Spirit means he was living depends on the power that transcends common life.
Today is the first week after Christmas. The awaited Jesus has come into this world through Christmas and now we are again waiting for his second coming. We are waiting for the hour of his complete rule by believing his promise to come again. Those who fully indulge in the joy of this world don’t have any interest in Jesus’ coming again. However, if you honestly looked into the reality of life even a little bit, then you may realize the joys in this world are really small in number. Joy in this world doesn’t provide the ultimate meaning. Those who are waiting for the salvation of God only can have real joy and freedom without any tension.
However, our faith of waiting is different from Christian fatalism. Those who fall into such fatalism abandon their historical responsibility saying that everything is God’s will. Generally we can find out this fatalism from many Christians and it is not an act of entrusting God’s power but a sort of evading their responsibility in making practical decision and observing every moment of life.
Faith of waiting looks similar to fatalistic faith at the point of waiting and passive character. However, it has fundamental difference. The meaning of waiting and passive character is quite different. The waiting based on advent faith is the waiting to observe the symptom of the world with awaken spirituality. It is not an unconditional waiting. As a Psalmist expressed, he is waiting for God’s time Kairos as a watchman waits for morning. Such person tries to discern this generation and examine self in the light of God’s word and deepens his spirituality. And also tries to his best to advance the date of Jesus’ coming. He prays in tension, “Your will be done in earth as it is in heaven” which is in the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus had taught. This is a real attitude of faith of waiting. Don’t forget the ultimate life and joy is waiting for us. We can see it as Simeon and Anna did.
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