Walk This Way ~ Luke 2:22-40 ~ Presentation of Our Lord / Liturgy of Healing
As of today, I’ve been married four years, eight months, twenty-six days, and twenty-two hours.
So I certainly can’t claim to be an expert on the making of a successful marriage. But there’s one piece of advice I have for men everywhere: learn to notice what your wife does for you when you’re not looking…
I always know I’m in trouble when Elizabeth says, “I can’t believe you didn’t notice…”
Granted, there are some things I would notice if she were to do them:
But sometimes, I miss things:
All I can say is it takes practice to be observant. That being said, when two people love each other-- be it in a marriage, family relationship, or friendship: the one you love will do good for you. Hopefully you will do the same for them. Where there's love, it's not unreasonable to expect the loved one to do loving things.
But would you have noticed the baby Jesus being carried into the great Jerusalem temple in the arms of his parents?
Here was a place that was at the center of religious life for the Jewish people. Dozens of families would have been bringing in their newborn sons to present them before God, as was stipulated in the Law of Moses. There would have been nothing to set Mary, Joseph, and Jesus apart from everyone else; nothing that would say to onlookers “here is the Son of God.”
But a man and a woman, both very old, recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the second they see him.
How did they know?
We’re told that Simeon and Anna were persons of great faith—and they lived what they believed. They prayed, they fasted; they obeyed God’s will. They believed that God keeps promises; specifically that God’s Messiah was coming. So this wasn’t a case of seeing is believing; but rather believing FIRST—and then seeing…
That being said, it is certain that believing wasn’t any easier for them than it is for us. Deep inside, we all want to believe that God will keep promises, but we never have to look very hard for good reasons to doubt:
We all come to the crossroads of faith and doubt—with no compelling reasons to keep on believing. And yet, we’ll find no comfort or peace on the way of doubt, either. Give up faith—and you give up on hope.
Very often, faith means reaching out into the darkness for God’s hand. We’re persisting in prayer and devotion; holding onto God’s promises even when there’s no good reason to do so. With all our brokenness and need, we fall on our needs before God who is our only hope.
That’s what we’re doing here today. We ourselves and so many people we know and love are in places of extreme darkness right now. So we’re lighting candles. This is a most simple act of faith—and faith needs to be nothing more than the faintest, weakest belief that God keeps promises… Just fall at the feet of Jesus, believing that you are loved and that it is God’s will to bless you and keep you, to shine upon you and give you peace. The work of the Holy Spirit is to give you faith—especially when you believe that you cannot believe.
And as you persist in faith, your eyes will be opened to the reality of God’s presence and God’s answers to our prayers. One of the biggest mistakes we make as Christians is expecting God to answer prayers instantly, and in dramatic ways. Most of the time, that won't be the case. God’s answers come in the ordinary and unremarkable—and the Spirit gives us faith to see that these gifts are from God. Faith is what sees God in the ordinary—and especially in the face of life’s giants.
Then as faith takes hold within all of you, God’s love and concern for you becomes a love and concern for those in need within you.
God’s ultimate self-revelation of love to the world was Jesus and the life he gives for the sake of all people. God’s second-greatest revelation of love to the world is the Body of Christ; people like you and me. We become beautiful gifts of God to one other as we intercede for one another in prayer. One way that God always answers these prayers is by lighting a fire in your heart for those people, and then showing you the gifts you have by which you can heal.
Sometimes, God’s greatest answer to prayer is someone like you.
But no matter where you are, cast yourself today on the one who cares for you and gave his life for your sake. Believe and you will see Jesus shining in your darkness. Believe and you will find that there is no trial or tragedy too great that will keep God’s love out of your life. Believe and you will see Jesus, sometimes in the most ordinary of gifts and blessings. Believe that you are the answer to the prayers of God’s people—and that our church is an answer to prayer.
Believe that God is faithful—and that God keeps promises.
So I certainly can’t claim to be an expert on the making of a successful marriage. But there’s one piece of advice I have for men everywhere: learn to notice what your wife does for you when you’re not looking…
I always know I’m in trouble when Elizabeth says, “I can’t believe you didn’t notice…”
Granted, there are some things I would notice if she were to do them:
- I’d notice if she painted the living room red…
- I’d notice if she was cooking French onion soup for dinner…
- Being a man, I’d probably notice if she washed and waxed her car…
But sometimes, I miss things:
- I didn’t notice that she had four inches of her hair off…
- I didn’t notice the new wreath on the door…
- I didn’t notice the day she finished all the house-cleaning AND the laundry…
- And I even didn’t notice when she stocked the fridge full of my favorite foods…
All I can say is it takes practice to be observant. That being said, when two people love each other-- be it in a marriage, family relationship, or friendship: the one you love will do good for you. Hopefully you will do the same for them. Where there's love, it's not unreasonable to expect the loved one to do loving things.
But would you have noticed the baby Jesus being carried into the great Jerusalem temple in the arms of his parents?
Here was a place that was at the center of religious life for the Jewish people. Dozens of families would have been bringing in their newborn sons to present them before God, as was stipulated in the Law of Moses. There would have been nothing to set Mary, Joseph, and Jesus apart from everyone else; nothing that would say to onlookers “here is the Son of God.”
But a man and a woman, both very old, recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the second they see him.
How did they know?
We’re told that Simeon and Anna were persons of great faith—and they lived what they believed. They prayed, they fasted; they obeyed God’s will. They believed that God keeps promises; specifically that God’s Messiah was coming. So this wasn’t a case of seeing is believing; but rather believing FIRST—and then seeing…
That being said, it is certain that believing wasn’t any easier for them than it is for us. Deep inside, we all want to believe that God will keep promises, but we never have to look very hard for good reasons to doubt:
- Two thousand years is an awful long time for us to be waiting for Jesus’ return…
- God can’t be real with all the suffering and evil in the world…
- Perhaps God does not love because of all the bad things I’ve done, or because I have so little faith…
We all come to the crossroads of faith and doubt—with no compelling reasons to keep on believing. And yet, we’ll find no comfort or peace on the way of doubt, either. Give up faith—and you give up on hope.
Very often, faith means reaching out into the darkness for God’s hand. We’re persisting in prayer and devotion; holding onto God’s promises even when there’s no good reason to do so. With all our brokenness and need, we fall on our needs before God who is our only hope.
That’s what we’re doing here today. We ourselves and so many people we know and love are in places of extreme darkness right now. So we’re lighting candles. This is a most simple act of faith—and faith needs to be nothing more than the faintest, weakest belief that God keeps promises… Just fall at the feet of Jesus, believing that you are loved and that it is God’s will to bless you and keep you, to shine upon you and give you peace. The work of the Holy Spirit is to give you faith—especially when you believe that you cannot believe.
And as you persist in faith, your eyes will be opened to the reality of God’s presence and God’s answers to our prayers. One of the biggest mistakes we make as Christians is expecting God to answer prayers instantly, and in dramatic ways. Most of the time, that won't be the case. God’s answers come in the ordinary and unremarkable—and the Spirit gives us faith to see that these gifts are from God. Faith is what sees God in the ordinary—and especially in the face of life’s giants.
Then as faith takes hold within all of you, God’s love and concern for you becomes a love and concern for those in need within you.
God’s ultimate self-revelation of love to the world was Jesus and the life he gives for the sake of all people. God’s second-greatest revelation of love to the world is the Body of Christ; people like you and me. We become beautiful gifts of God to one other as we intercede for one another in prayer. One way that God always answers these prayers is by lighting a fire in your heart for those people, and then showing you the gifts you have by which you can heal.
Sometimes, God’s greatest answer to prayer is someone like you.
But no matter where you are, cast yourself today on the one who cares for you and gave his life for your sake. Believe and you will see Jesus shining in your darkness. Believe and you will find that there is no trial or tragedy too great that will keep God’s love out of your life. Believe and you will see Jesus, sometimes in the most ordinary of gifts and blessings. Believe that you are the answer to the prayers of God’s people—and that our church is an answer to prayer.
Believe that God is faithful—and that God keeps promises.
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