1st week of Advent 2015

The doors swung shut with a loud thud, and the world went from light to dark. Standing just inside the threshold of the temple, Zechariah could hear the prayers of the worshipers gathered outside the walls. As a priest, he had served many times at the temple as his family worked their allotted time, but he had never won the right to serve before the Lord in the Holy Place. Some priests waited their entire life and were never chosen. After years of cycling on and off, his name had finally been drawn; it was his turn to offer the incense to the Lord. He overcame his awe and walked reverently through the dimly lit Holy Place, watching motes of dust meander through the shafts of light. With piousness, he measured out the correct portions of oils and spices, spreading them out over the glowing coals that had come from the altar of burnt sacrifice in the courtyard. 

 

 

As fragrant smoke swam through the sacred room, Zechariah inhaled the physical representation of the people’s prayers to the Lord and then choked in fear; he was not alone! Standing beside the incense, as if from the Holy of Holies itself, stood a being like he had never seen before. Clutching his chest, Zechariah heard the angel, for what else could it be, speak, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayers have been heard and your wife will bear a son and you will name him John.” As the meaning of the angel’s words pierced his shocked mind, fear turned to wonder, wonder turned to confusion, and confusion turned to doubt. How was all of this going to happen? They had been praying for years for the Lord to bless them with a child. Elizabeth was decades past child bearing years; Zechariah had given up hope for an heir. Only in stories did someone his wife’s age have a child. Though shock, fear, wonder and confusion had left him speechless, doubt unfortunately loosed his tongue making him speak recklessly, “What proof do I have that any of this will happen?” Gabriel’s countenance shifted, and his voice deepened, “You shall be silent and unable to speak until all that has been spoken to you comes to pass because you did not believe my words.” Even if Zechariah had had a response, he couldn't have offered it. His voice was gone.

Simeon's pace up the steps was quicker than those around him, and it was all he could do to refrain from shoving people out of his way as he made his way to the temple. Finally he passed through the eastern gate called Beautiful and paused to catch his breath; he was here. Simeon could hear the prayers of the people scattered around the temple courts, but it was uninteresting background noise today.  Today was the day! From the moment his eyes opened in the predawn gloom, the Lord’s Spirit had been prodding him proclaiming that today was the day. His friends thought he was crazy, his family simply thought him odd, and his wife had come to the point where she just ignored him, but Simeon believed he had heard from the Lord. He could remember every facet of that moment from years ago. The prophet Isaiah was being recited one Sabbath morning, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." As the priest's voice droned on, a soft murmur came from behind Simeon, “You will see that child.”  Who said that? Simeon looked at the man next to him in the temple courtyard, but he was dutifully listening to the priest. Simeon began to surreptitiously look around him, searching for the owner of the voice. Which child would he see? There were no children here! No one was looking at him, which began to get under Simeon's skin. Was somebody joking with him? Who is dishonoring the Lord during the lesson? “You will live to see My child, Immanuel.” And then he knew; just like the Lord had spoken to Samuel hundreds of years before, the Lord was now speaking to Simeon. Where others would have doubted their ears, Simeon believed, and his belief changed him. 

Everyday his eyes would wander to each baby he passed, hoping, searching for the One. Even though years passed, he still waited; his belief sustained him. Simeon longed to see the Promise fulfilled. Today was the day! He paced from side to side in the Court of Women where the Lord had led him. No, not that one. Not that one either! Where was he? He whirled back to search the other side again and found himself fumbling with a babe he had almost knocked from a young mother’s arms. As he apologetically looked down into the face of the jostled child, his soul reverberated with awe and wonder. Messiah was here!

The Lord has made promises to you just like he made to these men. His Word is full of promises, and it’s full of stories showing His faithfulness to keep those promises. For this first week of Advent, the theme in many churches is Hope. What does your hope look like? Is your hope the dying embers of tradition like Zechariah's? Is church a tradition you fall back on when convenient? Is the Bible a group of stories you find comforting? Or, is your hope a flame of anticipation that burns through doubts and fears like Simeon's? Do you believe in the promises of God so strongly that it will empower you to remain steadfast for years? Jesus was promised once, and He came. Jesus has been promised a second time, and He will come in all the awe and glory He didn't come in the first time. Let this truth bring you hope. Let this hope be an assurance that no matter what you face in this life Christ Jesus will return and take His followers home. May the story of Jesus’ birth, death, resurrection and His promised return blow on the embers of your soul, fanning the flames of hope in your life.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” -1 Peter 1:3-6

(All Scripture taken from the New International Version)