1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:03,720 Merry Christmas it is it is great to be together. 2 00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:08,200 It is great to celebrate this season of Advent with you to 3 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:11,280 celebrate the birth of Christ. This week. 4 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:13,160 If we haven't met, my name is Josh. 5 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:17,480 I have the the joy of serving as pastor here at the garden. 6 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:22,040 And as Caleb had alluded to, we are, we are now reaching the 7 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:24,760 end, the final week in this series that we've been in over 8 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,840 the last four weeks titled Waiting and Hope. 9 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:32,280 We've been exploring through the season of Advent what it looks 10 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,800 like to, to, to hold on, to hope, to wait for something that 11 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:40,240 we long for, that we want to see but hasn't yet arrived. 12 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:45,000 And this morning we get to talk about arrival and the joy of 13 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:46,680 Christmas. I'm excited about that. 14 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:50,440 And the the main thing I'd like to suggest to you this morning 15 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:55,480 is, is simply this. Because of Christmas, we don't 16 00:00:55,480 --> 00:01:00,800 have to wait for joy, even when we are still waiting for its 17 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,640 full fulfillment. Now, maybe this sounds obvious 18 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,360 to you. After all, Christmas is a season 19 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:08,840 that is full of joy. You know the story, right? 20 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,400 There's angels and shepherds on a hilltop. 21 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,200 And the angels have this crazy cantata. 22 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,000 They light up the night with this amazing flash mob of 23 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,080 singing and joy. And they proclaim the 24 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,880 declaration. They, they, they say, I bring 25 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:29,080 you good, good news that will cause great joy for all people. 26 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,880 So inherent in this this Christmas story is the promise, 27 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,040 is the hope that this moment is going to spark joy. 28 00:01:37,960 --> 00:01:39,360 Are you feeling joyful this morning? 29 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,360 How many of us are got some joy in our heart, some soul, some 30 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,640 things that we're feeling, feeling the warmth, feeling the 31 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,320 joy of Christmas maybe, maybe as you sit here this morning, you 32 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,920 are looking forward to time with close friends or family. 33 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:56,120 I think half of our congregation is already experiencing close, 34 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:58,560 not friends, a time with friends and family this morning. 35 00:01:58,560 --> 00:01:59,880 I know a lot of people already out. 36 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:04,440 Maybe you're looking forward to some like special meals. 37 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:08,320 You've got some special things that that mom back home makes or 38 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,360 that you like to prepare over the holiday season. 39 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,560 Maybe like my daughter, you are very excited about the presents 40 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,600 that are already under the tree and each day you're like holding 41 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:19,840 on to them, shaking them, trying to figure out what's going on. 42 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,080 Very excited to open some presents. 43 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:25,040 I feel like in the season, there's so many things that can 44 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,120 spark, can evoke joy. Even just the fact that like in 45 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:32,560 December, which it's cold, it's dark all of a sudden and we have 46 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,840 like all of these lights, all of this decor, which kind of pushes 47 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,360 back on some of the difficulty of winter. 48 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,120 There's a lot of things that can evoke joy. 49 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:45,000 I know, I know that's true for me, feel these things. 50 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:50,520 But I think if we're honest, there's also some of us who are 51 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,920 having a different experience, or at least I've been alive long 52 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:56,600 enough, I've been pastor long enough to know that not 53 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,240 everybody receives joy in the same way. 54 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:01,920 It's not evenly distributed across the board. 55 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:05,800 Sometimes all of these things feel like these these very, very 56 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:09,400 amazing dollar store glasses that I got here that light up 57 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:12,760 with some very, you know, they look like, I mean, they're very 58 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:14,440 entertaining. They spark some delight. 59 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:17,480 They spark some joy. They also seem like they are 60 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,280 about to break at any moment, right? 61 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:22,720 Like if this is just cheap plastic, like it's, it's not 62 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,000 going to last very long. The battery will die, it will 63 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,440 break. We had some of these out for an 64 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,240 event this year. They, we brought 3 strands and 65 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:35,640 one of them broke immediately. Sometimes I think there's a 66 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,600 question that, that some of these, some of these things that 67 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:44,160 spark, that evoke joy for us at Christmas can also feel mass 68 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:48,440 produced, you know, like manufactured somewhere else, a 69 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:51,000 little, a little bit superficial. 70 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:57,280 And, and for some of us, we, we face the question of, well, what 71 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:02,040 about if the, the holiday season actually highlights for me the 72 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:06,120 loneliness that I experience or the tension that exists in the 73 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:08,400 relationships I have with my family? 74 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,640 What about when the pressure of Christmas shopping actually 75 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:16,560 threatens to Max out my credit cards right and I'm in this 76 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:21,000 comparative dance with a sibling who is buying fancier presents 77 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,400 than my family can afford, And I'm just like, is the gifts 78 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:26,520 going to be good enough? Am I going to get side eye from 79 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,120 somebody in the family? Maybe that's your experience of 80 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:33,840 Christmas. What about when the memories of 81 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:40,840 the past invoke not nostalgia but but pain and sadness because 82 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:44,760 of broken relationships or the lost of a loved one that we 83 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,080 grieve and the season reminds us of? 84 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:51,560 Now I've come to believe that this holiday season is is less a 85 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:56,200 straightforward thing that evokes joy universally and 86 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:58,840 across the board and more like a magnifying glass. 87 00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:04,320 You know if your life is good, man, you really feel it in this 88 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,880 holiday season. But if there are deep longings, 89 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:14,080 aches, pains, sometimes that too is only turned up or exacerbated 90 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,440 when we get to the holidays. Of course, This is why in many 91 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,640 Christian traditions, today the the winter solstice, the longest 92 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:24,440 day of the year, is a time when people celebrate what's known as 93 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:27,080 as Blue Christmas. Maybe you've heard of this or 94 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:31,240 experienced it. Blue Christmas is is a time. 95 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:35,160 It's it's a liturgy that focuses on making room for grief, for 96 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:39,720 loss, for heartbreak, the fact that even in this time of year 97 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:44,200 when there is a lot of goodness around, that sometimes we're 98 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:47,680 carrying heavy things and significant weight. 99 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,040 And I want to suggest to you that that there is good news in 100 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:55,760 the Christmas story that we look at today, because the kind of 101 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:59,800 joy that was promised by the angels to the shepherds, the 102 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:04,040 kind of joy that we see in Scripture is not this, this 103 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:08,320 superficial plastic threatening to break at any moment veneer. 104 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:15,040 It's a deep, it's a resilient, it is a grounded joy that can 105 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:19,160 exist even in suffering. Tim Mackey of the Bible Project 106 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,960 puts it this way. He says joy is not an attitude 107 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:26,520 God's people adopt because of happy circumstances, but because 108 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:30,240 of their hope in God's love and promise. 109 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:33,120 I think that's an important distinction. 110 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:35,560 You probably know the story of the Grinch. 111 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:37,760 It is now a favorite in my household. 112 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:42,000 Ava loves to read the story in this In this story, the Grinch, 113 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:47,000 who I have to say TBD. We can have this argument later 114 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:49,560 about what causes the Grinch's distress. 115 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:52,360 I think high sensitivity could be a part of it. 116 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,600 He's very bothered by the loud, loud, loud, loud, right? 117 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:59,320 You know, so, but for whatever reason, his heart is too small. 118 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:02,520 Whatever's going on, the Grinch, you know the Grinch doesn't like 119 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:05,920 Christmas, right? He's determined to stop it from 120 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:07,040 coming. And So what happens? 121 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:10,320 He he goes down into this village of the who's and he he 122 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,800 steals all the trappings of Christmas, the stocking, the 123 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:18,200 trees, all of the gifts that the roast beast from the fridge. 124 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:23,680 And yet at the climax of the story, as he impersonates Santa 125 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:26,800 and and and goes all the way back up the hill with all of the 126 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:31,920 trappings, he is confronted with a shocking surprise. 127 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:34,280 Right. You know what happens. 128 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:39,640 All of his labor fails to stop Christmas from coming as he 129 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:43,520 tunes his ear to hear that the whose grief and their wails of 130 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:47,080 distress. Instead, he hears Merriman Joy 131 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:51,080 singing. The Grinch asks a question. 132 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,240 As he reflects, he says maybe Christmas doesn't come from a 133 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:57,360 store. Maybe, perhaps Christmas means a 134 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:02,640 little bit more. I think maybe an odd parallel, 135 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:05,400 but Luke might agree with the Grinch in this case. 136 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,160 I think that this is what scripture would suggest to us 137 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:13,800 that the Christmas Joy is not is not depended on our ability to 138 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,680 to have a great budget, not dependent on our ability to 139 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:20,280 reunite with the people who we wish were there. 140 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:25,720 It's not dependent on on lights or magic or or fantasy stories 141 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:30,280 because in if the Christian world, joy is an attitude we 142 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:33,840 adopt because of our hope in God's love and promise. 143 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:37,760 This is a picture that Luke paints here in Luke chapter 2 as 144 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:40,559 he describes this story of Simeon that of course we heard 145 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:43,919 read for the kids. This happens just after the 146 00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:46,720 shepherd's rush to meet the baby and the Manger. 147 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:51,600 Mary and Joseph, who are of course practicing Jews, follow 148 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:54,320 the the the rituals prescribed by the Torah. 149 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:58,560 They take their newborn son to the temple to be consecrated and 150 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:03,280 and for the purification rights. And there we see in in verse 22 151 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,560 that they encounter an elder by the name of Simeon. 152 00:09:07,680 --> 00:09:09,360 We don't know a lot about Simeon. 153 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:12,560 The Scripture doesn't give us a lot of detail and and this is 154 00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:16,120 the only place in Scripture that we think that we encounter him 155 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,960 or find him recorded. But he is a remarkable man. 156 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:25,200 Verse 25 describes him as both righteous and devout, someone 157 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:29,400 who is waiting for the consolation of Israel. 158 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:35,480 Now this word, consolation is not something that I don't use 159 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:37,440 that word very often. I don't know, maybe you do. 160 00:09:38,680 --> 00:09:42,240 But it's an interesting word it it's a word that suggests 161 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:46,800 comfort, encouragement, and even the lifting of spirits. 162 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:52,640 It's referring to the realization of hopes longed for 163 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:57,080 and waited for. So here Simeon is is waiting for 164 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:59,360 the consolation of Israel. Of course, we've talked about 165 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:03,440 this a good deal over the past few weeks, but at the time of 166 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:07,640 the Christmas story, things were not all great, right? 167 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,280 There were chief priests and scribes who we talked about last 168 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:15,760 week who were kind of oppressive and legalistic and really only 169 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:19,320 interested in their own power. We have the Roman authorities 170 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:22,280 who are exploiting and taking advantage of people. 171 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,120 We have this tyrannical king Herod, right? 172 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,280 Things were not all golden and rosy. 173 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:30,920 And Simeon here waits for the consolation of Israel. 174 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:32,880 He's waiting for the spirits to be lifted. 175 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:36,280 He's waiting for these inequities to be resolved, for 176 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:38,840 for things to finally be set right. 177 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:43,000 And there was a prophecy that he had received from the spirit 178 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:48,200 stating that he would not die until he met Messiah. 179 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:56,520 And so here we we find that Simeon is led by the Spirit into 180 00:10:56,520 --> 00:11:01,160 the temple where he meets the baby Jesus. 181 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,040 I don't know about you, but one of the things that consistently 182 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:12,600 sparks joy for me is the the little clips that you see the 183 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:15,400 reels in which we have reunions happening. 184 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:17,160 I don't know, it gets me every time. 185 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:19,920 I'm sure you've seen them usually, like usually it's a 186 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:23,520 military family, right? And they'll be this, this video. 187 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:28,080 It's like there's a middle school gym and there's a, a, a 188 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:32,080 wife with couple of kiddos, like attached to the legs. 189 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:34,560 And she's sitting there and they're saying something about 190 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:36,360 how the, you know, the kid, they've received some 191 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:38,480 recognition or some award from the school. 192 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:39,920 It's all set up, but they don't know that. 193 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,720 And, and then the, the mic gets passed to the mom and, and they 194 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:47,520 say, you know, well, you know what, what if anything could 195 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:49,600 make this day better? Or is there anything that's 196 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,320 missing from this moment? Of course, she says, you know, 197 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,560 well, the only thing missing is just the opportunity for my 198 00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:59,120 husband to be home to experience this moment with us. 199 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:02,280 And then the camera pans away and there's this guy all decked 200 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:05,440 out and all of the regalia and fatigues or whatever he's 201 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:09,200 sneaking around the corner and coming up in the camera shot. 202 00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:13,800 And of course then, you know, you kind of see like as the mom 203 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:17,040 says this, she starts to be like, is this his setup? 204 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:20,040 Like, but but you could tell like that the hope is like a 205 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:23,200 little too fragile, like they're not ready to fully get, get 206 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,000 excited about this moment in case it doesn't materialize. 207 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,760 And then, and then she turns and there's this expression of 208 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:35,280 wonder and shock and delight as all of a sudden this person that 209 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:39,920 that is so central to the family experiences this reunion. 210 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:42,800 And then she's crying, he's crying. 211 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,160 I'm crying. Like we're all, we're all 212 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:46,760 crying. Like, I, I don't know, it gets 213 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:48,400 me every time. There's something about this, 214 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:52,560 this, this unification, this reunion, this moment where hope 215 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,560 is realized that disturbs our soul, right? 216 00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:59,360 I think this is what happens here in this moment, 217 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,000 emotionally. Simeon has been sitting, he's 218 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,440 been waiting for this promise. He's been longing to see God 219 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:10,520 finally come through this, that the prophecies to be fulfilled. 220 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:13,480 He waits patiently in Jerusalem and he's got, he's got an 221 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,960 indication that it's going to happen from the Spirit, but 222 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,200 still he waits and waits. He's an elder at this point 223 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,600 until one day the Spirit leads him into the temple. 224 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:28,600 He turns the corner and there he just knows this is it. 225 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:33,680 This is what I've been waiting for, the consolation. 226 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:41,840 Simeon takes baby Jesus in his arms, and we read in verses 28 227 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,560 through 30 that as he took the baby in his arm, he praised God, 228 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:50,040 saying, Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now 229 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:54,880 dismiss your servant in peace, for my eyes have seen your 230 00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:59,120 salvation. Simeon experiences the full 231 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:03,840 weight, the full depth, the full joy of consolation that which he 232 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:09,880 has hoped for has arrived. It's beautiful, it's beautiful 233 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:17,160 and it's also a paradox, right? Because what is also true in 234 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,920 this moment, the thing which Simeon has hoped for is finally 235 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:25,320 arrived. Messiah is here and also the 236 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:29,040 corrupt chief priests are still running the temple where he 237 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:32,520 stands. The the Romans are are still in 238 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,360 charge of Jerusalem. Simeon is not going to live to 239 00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:41,680 see Jesus preach or heal or confront injustice or defeat 240 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:44,760 death. In fact, Luke seems to suggest 241 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,000 that Simeon is not long for this world. 242 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:53,280 He'll pass shortly after this and yet in that moment he 243 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:57,400 experiences consolation. I mentioned earlier that we had 244 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:01,840 had a, an event this last week in which we used some very 245 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:04,000 absurd and ridiculous, I'm going to swear these things as many 246 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,880 times as possible, some some accoutrement of, of festivity. 247 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:12,680 The event on this last Wednesday was a couple of our groups that 248 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,560 are based in Dorchester teamed up under the the fearless 249 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:19,120 leadership of Richard and we went to a a couple of 250 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:21,960 facilities. One of those was like a, a 251 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:26,480 nursing home assisted living facility where a bunch of us 252 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:32,360 very enthusiastically and only marginally on key sang, sang a 253 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:34,360 bunch of Christmas carols and it was a blast. 254 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:36,880 We had a, we had a great time. It was really joyful. 255 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,040 And my daughter Ava also joined us. 256 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,240 Some of you know Ava, some of you witnessed Ava as the the 257 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:46,240 person leading the dance team up front here during the first 258 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:48,520 worship set. But Ava did what Ava does when 259 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:50,920 music is going, she is moving, right? 260 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,120 She is up here dancing and moving around and having a great 261 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:57,040 time. And you could just see these 262 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:00,400 these elders, these folks who are, are, are in their last 263 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:03,760 chapter, right, People who are, if if you saw them on the 264 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:06,160 street, you'd be like, Oh my, don't fall down, please. 265 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,320 Right. And they're there and they're 266 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:13,320 just drinking it in. They're just drinking it in with 267 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:16,880 so much appreciation. We wrapped up and as we're, as 268 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:21,160 we're going to go, all of all of these old ladies were like, can 269 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:23,440 I, can I touch the baby? Can I touch the baby? 270 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,040 You know, they, they wanted to like they, they had the like the 271 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:28,360 claw hand where they, they grab and won't let go. 272 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,160 Some of you have experienced this in church maybe or, or 273 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,080 sometime in your families of origin. 274 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:35,360 They, we didn't quite get to the, the cheek pinching, but 275 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:38,800 they, they wanted to make contact, physical contact with 276 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:43,800 this source of joy. I think we've, we've witnessed 277 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,760 this kind of dynamic sometimes, but it wasn't until this week 278 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:50,440 where I really paused to consider like, what's going on 279 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:52,880 in this moment? Like what's what's actually 280 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:54,160 happening here? Why, why is there this 281 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:57,080 attachment? I'm not a psychologist, so maybe 282 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:01,240 I've got this wrong, but you know, I, I, I think that there's 283 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:06,119 something especially for those who are older of, of the next 284 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:11,040 generation, right, representing this life, this fatality, this 285 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,400 future, which continues to endure, which continues to 286 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:16,480 persevere. And they, they want to somehow 287 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:19,640 like be attached to it, be connected to it. 288 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,800 The appreciation for it grows, is their own life is coming to a 289 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:29,320 close because this is where this is a demonstrated, physical, 290 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:33,080 embodied, tangible proof. This is where the future is 291 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:36,200 going. And this is what's happening 292 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,520 here for Simeon, not in the sense that he's some senile old 293 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:43,360 guy, but in Jesus, he sees not just not just some future, not 294 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:46,560 just the fact that there will be a future, but a particular 295 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:52,600 future, a promised by God future, a future in which all of 296 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:55,440 these things that are are deeply frustrating, that are deeply 297 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:59,480 painful will eventually be set right. 298 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:04,760 And this, friends, is the paradox, the joy which can exist 299 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:09,760 in the already, even when we haven't yet got there right. 300 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:12,520 We don't need the full fulfillment of everything that 301 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:16,080 we're hoping for or longing for when we can look in the present 302 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:21,640 and we can see evidence that God is already on the move. 303 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:26,640 The pioneering psychologist CR Snyder spent much of his career 304 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,520 trying to make sense of the dynamic of hope. 305 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:33,720 He wanted to understand like what hope was all about and, 306 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:37,560 and, and particularly how it could be such a, such a strong, 307 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,600 such a compelling factor that that would actually give people 308 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:44,240 incredible resilience and perseverance even under really 309 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:48,560 dire and awful circumstances. So Snyder did all of this 310 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:52,040 research, a lot of observations, and at the end he found that 311 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:53,920 there were some consistent patterns. 312 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:56,240 Anywhere that you saw hope, there were, there were three 313 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:59,680 things that were required. First, he observed that hope 314 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:03,800 requires A meaningful goal, a future that is worth having. 315 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,840 There's something out there in front of us that we're longing 316 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:10,680 for. Secondly, it requires not just 317 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:16,120 not just a meaningful future, but but a believable pathway, a 318 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:18,880 sense that somehow we can get from here to there. 319 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:23,400 There is a possibility of moving along the trajectory towards 320 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:26,840 that future. And finally, Snyder suggested 321 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:30,280 that agency the the fact that not only is there a pathway, but 322 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:34,560 we have some way to to move along that pathway, to move 323 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:38,520 towards that which we hope for. When these three dynamics were 324 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,680 present, according to Snyder, you had this, this existential 325 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:45,440 experienced hope, which was durable, which was real. 326 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:49,560 It wasn't, It wasn't just pie in the sky optimism, it wasn't 327 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:53,400 trite sentimentalities. It was a real enduring hope that 328 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:57,000 could motivate people and galvanized people and and 329 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:00,240 sustain people even in the most difficult and dire of 330 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:04,160 circumstances. Now, This is why I bring this 331 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:08,120 up. I think in Simeon's story, we 332 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:11,480 see something of what Snyder is saying, but it's a little 333 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:13,120 different. It has a Christian twist, if you 334 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:17,280 will, because certainly we have clarity that Simeon had the 335 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:20,280 future. The longing that he imagined, 336 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:25,040 the consolation of Israel that he was sitting and hoping for 337 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:29,240 and dreaming of, there was a pathway to that. 338 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,680 And the agency. These are the places where it 339 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:37,480 got a little dicier, right? Because for Simeon, it wasn't 340 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:40,520 necessarily clear how this was going to work out. 341 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:41,840 Who was going to overthrow the Romans? 342 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:44,400 Who was going to deal with this corruption out there? 343 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,680 How were these things going to be resolved? 344 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:52,400 I would suggest to you that although Snyder didn't envision 345 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:57,920 it this way, that the agency, the pathway that Snyder put in, 346 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:03,400 the person and the individual that Simeon finds in faith in 347 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:06,400 God. See, Simeon is able to have the 348 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:09,560 same kind of enduring hope, even though he doesn't have some 349 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:13,040 pathway to manufacture it. He doesn't have a way to solve 350 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:16,760 for it because he knows that God will do it. 351 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:22,840 That's the pathway. He sees that God is at work and 352 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:27,840 in the baby Jesus, Simeon has a tangible demonstrated 353 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:32,520 opportunity to experience, to enter in, to participate with 354 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:34,240 the future that God is bringing out. 355 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:40,080 God is bringing about hope and Simeon can experience it. 356 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:44,320 He can rejoice in it. He can enter into it even in the 357 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,880 not yet. This, friends, is Christian joy. 358 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:52,040 And throughout the Bible, we see this pattern over and over 359 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:55,920 again, whether it's the Israelites coming out of the 360 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,240 Reds across the Red Sea, coming out of Egyptian bondage. 361 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:02,320 They're rejoicing, they're singing, they're delighting, 362 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,000 even as they just got landed in the desert without any food. 363 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,560 Things are not there yet. They haven't arrived, but they 364 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:12,120 see the hope and the promise because God has moved. 365 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:15,360 We see the same things in the prophets and in Paul. 366 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:19,480 Paul writes these letters that are filled with joy, like the 367 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:21,800 book of Philippians from a prison cell. 368 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:27,000 His circumstances are not OK, but the joy is enduring. 369 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,280 It's persevering. And friends, I think this is 370 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:34,720 great news for us at Christmas. There's nothing wrong perhaps 371 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,640 with, you know, the trinkets, the lights, the rich food, the 372 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,920 enacted rituals of belonging and care that we extend to each 373 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:45,000 other. Maybe these are part of your 374 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,920 life this Christmas. And if so, great, praise God, 375 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:53,360 enjoy it. But even if they aren't, there's 376 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:58,440 an opportunity to experience, to access the same kind of joy that 377 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,280 we see in Simeon, the same kind of joy that we see in the 378 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:04,360 shepherds, the same kind of joy that we see in Paul. 379 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:09,760 A joy that doesn't depend on a Thanksgiving feast or presence 380 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:15,120 under the tree, doesn't depend on family all being there, but 381 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:19,640 is a future which is assured because of the goodness of God 382 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:25,360 and an awareness of how God is moving here and now to bring 383 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:30,280 about that future to its end. This, friends, is what I want to 384 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:34,800 invite you into this Christmas. This, this is a a hope, this is 385 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,560 a longing. This is a joy that is much more 386 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:41,760 durable and deep than any of the superficial sentimentalities 387 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:45,680 that are available to us through consumerism or through even 388 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,240 rituals which may be good or may not be. 389 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,360 This is the real joy of Christmas. 390 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:57,520 It's available to any of us who are able to see, who are able to 391 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:02,520 locate, who are able by eyes of faith to identify the way God is 392 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:05,680 moving. So as we move to a close in our 393 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:09,680 gathering this morning, I want to invite you into an embodied 394 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:14,080 practice. In the Old Testament, there was 395 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:17,920 this ritual that we see pop up in several different occasions 396 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:22,560 where there's there's like a pillar of stones which is 397 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:24,920 constructed or some stone that is consecrated. 398 00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:27,920 And often these were called an Ebenezer, which is another big 399 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:29,480 word that I don't use very often. 400 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:34,120 But but essentially what an Ebenezer was, what these pillars 401 00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,960 or monuments were, where they were indications that God has 402 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,680 helped up until now in my life, God has shown up. 403 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,840 God has been present. I've seen and experienced and 404 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,360 tasted his goodness and they set up these memorials. 405 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:54,160 They set up these reminders because they knew, I don't know 406 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:56,320 if you are have experienced this in your life. 407 00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:01,240 I know I have that sometimes God moves and then two weeks later 408 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:05,680 we're all up in the anxiety and the hustle and the challenge and 409 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:09,000 the the next thing. It's so easy to forget, isn't 410 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,520 it? And so these monuments, these 411 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:15,400 pillars would be set up not just for the people, but also for 412 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:17,640 their children, for the next generation to be able to say, 413 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:22,520 hey, God has been faithful. God has been a help in a time of 414 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,040 trouble. When we needed him, God was 415 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,360 here. He showed up, He came through. 416 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:33,480 And as we move to a close this morning and and as you move into 417 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,840 the Christmas season, I want to invite you whatever your next 418 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:38,880 week looks like. Maybe they'll be a tree, maybe 419 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:40,840 they'll be family, maybe they'll be presents. 420 00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:45,720 Maybe you'll find yourself alone, whatever that looks like. 421 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:49,800 I want to invite you into a deeper joy that is available 422 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:54,560 through our modern practices around this holiday. 423 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:58,600 A joy that is rooted in the faithfulness of God who has 424 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:02,080 shown up, who is broken into our world in Jesus. 425 00:26:02,360 --> 00:26:07,120 And because of that, we know that the future which He 426 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:11,680 promises is already on the way. We can trust, we can be 427 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:15,880 confident that there will be a space when when sickness and 428 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:19,880 disease will be ended, where isolation and brokenness will be 429 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:22,280 no more, where relationships will be healed, when the 430 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:26,400 environment will be fixed, when when those in power will will 431 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:30,080 govern justly. We know this because of Jesus, 432 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:34,200 because we already have the first fruits of what God is 433 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:36,560 doing. So I want to invite you this 434 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:40,280 morning into those first fruits and into a, a concrete practice 435 00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:45,120 of kind of erecting a bit of an Ebenezer for yourself, a sign to 436 00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:48,520 remind you that God is here, that he is on the move. 437 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:52,120 So we enter this space. First. 438 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:56,920 I want to invite you to reflect. We're going to take just a 439 00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:58,920 moment. Chris, if you want to play 440 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:04,080 something underneath quietly, I want to invite you to consider 441 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:08,400 the following questions. Where have I seen evidence of 442 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:13,840 God's faithfulness recently? Where in my life have I seen 443 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:17,720 evidence of God's faithfulness recently? 444 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:28,690 If you have a journal or a phone, you can write it down. 445 00:27:29,930 --> 00:27:34,130 Doesn't have to be a big thing. It can be a small sign, a 446 00:27:34,130 --> 00:27:36,650 foretaste, even if it looks humble or small. 447 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:43,320 Where have you seen evidence of God's faithfulness recently? 448 00:27:58,910 --> 00:28:03,670 Perhaps it looks like a relationship that is healing, a 449 00:28:03,670 --> 00:28:10,150 moment of unexpected peace or joy, finding strength that you 450 00:28:10,150 --> 00:28:18,230 didn't think you had or beauty that took your breath away, help 451 00:28:18,230 --> 00:28:25,160 that arrived just in time. What evidence can you notice 452 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:26,800 that's real for you in the season? 453 00:28:27,840 --> 00:29:01,400 How has God been faithful? As you identify something, a 454 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:06,520 moment of goodness or beauty, healing or justice, 455 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:12,560 transformation of life, I want to invite you to to even give 456 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:16,160 that moment, give that story some kind of a name, some kind 457 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,520 of a word. What comes to mind for you is 458 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,920 you consider this, this moment of God's faithfulness.