This is how it could have been…

Simeon
It had been many years since the Holy Spirit had spoken to him and revealed to him that before he died, he would see the Messiah with his own eyes.  All his fellow Jewish countrymen also hoped for a Messiah.  They ached for deliverance.  They longed to be free from the pagan Romans and their hateful rule.  It wasn’t right for them to rule God’s people.  But Simeon knew something none of the rest of them knew. Simeon knew it had to be close.  He could feel it. The Messiah was at hand.  He was after all getting way old.  His anticipation of seeing the Christ grew with every new day.

He also knew something the rest of his people didn’t.  This Messiah was not exactly what they were expecting.  They wanted another Moses to free them from captivity.  They wanted a Gideon to slay all their Midianites.  They wanted another Judas Maccabeaus to drive the pagans from their Temple and liberate their city.  But on that night when the Spirit had told him he would see the Messiah, the Spirit had told him other things as well.  He wasn’t going to be another deliverer, another military leader; another one to raise an army. The Spirit, instead, used a strange word for the Messiah.  He called their Messiah, the consolation, the comforter of Israel,.  Simeon had pondered that word for all these many years.  How would the Messiah comfort us?  Everyone thought the Messiah would be the Mighty One of Israel, or the Right Arm of the Jehovah.  But the one who brings aid and compassion, hmm.  Simeon knew the Messiah, everyone was expecting, wasn’t going to be exactly what they thought he would be.

As he made his way toward the Temple, Simeon reflected back on the night the Spirit had talked to him.  He had been asleep and then he was wide awake.  The voice he heard was in him and all around him, yet it was not his ears that heard the words.  The message was clear, yet it was not like any other voice he had ever heard.  There was no doubt it had been the voice of God which had given him the promise.  And the exciting thing was he had heard that wonderfully strange voice again this morning.  Before dawn the voice had told him, “Today is the day.  Get up and get moving.  Today is the day of salvation.  Get to the Temple and look for the baby.”  So, he was moving as fast as his old bones would take him.  Finally, he would fulfill his purpose.  Finally, he would see the hope of his people.  Finally, he would say the words.

As he climbed the steps into the Court of the Women he knew without hesitation which baby was THE baby.  In the line of couples waiting to present their babies to the Lord and offer the sacrifice of consecration, the Spirit left no doubt who they were.  Quickly, he went to them and took the Messiah-Baby into his arms and the words of the Spirit flowed forth in a voice of authority:

Luke 2:29-32   "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."

Joseph and Mary stood there with their mouths hanging open, in wonder.  They knew the baby was special, they hadn’t forgotten how he was conceived, but they didn’t know anyone else knew.  And now this old guy comes and announces it to everyone.  What did he mean, “A light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory for Israel?”  Then after an awkwardly long time the old man reluctantly handed the month old back to his mother.  But he wasn’t finished.

Simeon reached out and hugged all three of them and called down the blessings of God upon their little family.  This was what Simeon had been made for.  This was to be climax of his long life.  He blessed the Holy Family. But when he stepped back, there came over him a different emotion.  He looked into Mary’s eyes and prophesied,

Luke 2:34-35  "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

It was that last phrase that sent a chill down Mary and upset Joseph. It would be many years before Mary would fully understand this prediction, “A sword will pierce your own soul as well.”  With nothing more to say, knowing his job was done, Simeon bowed and backed away, leaving Joseph and Mary feeling oddly blessed and frightened at the same time.  But the strangeness wasn’t done for the day.

Anna 
The Holy Spirit had been busy that morning in Jerusalem.  There was an old widow who hung out in the Temple all the time.  The Bible says Anna was a prophetess.  Her life had begun normal enough.  She had been engaged and married at a young age.   She had lived just like all her other friends for seven years; doing wifely things, not too different then any other woman.  Then came that tragic life-changing day when her husband died.  She never forgot the news.  Her husband had been killed.  In that moment her life took a sudden turn.  She was no longer like her friends.  She never remarried, never lived the normal life, never wanted to be involved with friends or family, instead she moved into the temple courts and lived with God.  For 77 years her life was worship.  Prayer, fasting, praise, and prophesying were her life.  To many she seemed crazy; to others fanatic; to others annoying. But to God she was precious.

She had watched from a distance as the old man, Simeon rattled on with the Holy Family. When he had finally finished and left his cryptic message with Joseph and Mary, the frail old woman, Anna, took her turn and did it all again.  Thanksgiving was given to God.  Praise to him for the promise of the child.  The baby was to be the redemption of Jerusalem.  By that time a crowd had gathered around the four of them.  On and on Anna preached about the great things the baby would one day accomplish.  The words of prophecy and thanksgiving mixed together to weave a sacred blessing on Joseph and Mary and Jesus and all who stood there listening.  It was an incredible and unforgettable moment to everyone there. 

Joseph and Mary offered the two pigeons as sacrifice and consecrated their baby to the Lord and went back home to raise their extraordinary and wonderful child in Nazareth.  It would be fun to know what it was like to raise the Son of God, as a baby.  When did he learn to walk? Was he always precocious, or simply normal? What were his first words? Mama or Atonement.  How did he get along with his brothers and sisters? Did he lecture his siblings on loving your enemy and doing good to those who despitefully use you.  Was he good at sports?  Was he a fun kid?  Did he have his head in a scroll all the time? None of the inspired writers give us any of that information.  But Luke does tell us one story of the almost teenage Jesus. 

Almost Teenage Jesus
It happened when Jesus was 12.  As a devout Jew, Joseph made the 75+ mile trip every year to Jerusalem to observe the Passover feast. It was the highlight of their year.  It was their Christmas and Easter and family vacation all rolled up together.  It was a time of joy, of family bonding, of celebration and a reminder of who they were as God’s children.  It was a hectic time, like all holidays, and keeping track of all the kids without car seats and seatbelts or cell phones was a bit difficult.  One morning after walking for a day on the way home after the Feast, Mary asked Joseph if he had seen Jesus around anywhere.  “It is not like him to not check in.”  “He is probably with the cousins.  You know how popular he is.  Everyone wants him to walk with them.  I’ll go find him.”  Well, as we know, he was not with any of the cousins or aunts or uncles or his typical place with the rabbi. He was no where to be found and no one had seen him at all on their journey back to Nazareth. 

Joseph panicked.  “I’ve lost the son of God. I have only one important job, and that is to protect the Messiah until he is old enough to save Israel.  What will Gabriel do to me?  He told me it was my job to protect Mary and Jesus.  I’ve lost the Christ!”  Although 12 years have passed, Joseph hasn’t forgotten the Angel’s message, or the shepherds who had gathered around the stable gawking, or the message of Simeon and Anna.  He knows his role in all this is to keep the safe.  He has lost the son of God; crimenetly!

The two of them hurried back to Jerusalem. That makes two days.  They spent another day looking for him. That makes three days. They retraced their steps to all of the places they stayed; where the other kids had played, to the Garden of Gethsemane, he kind of liked it there; to the market place, he always found someone there to talk to.  All over the still busy town they searched, until someone told them, “I saw a kid in the temple courts with a bunch of teachers chatting about the law.” Obviously, thought Mary and Joseph.  “It was pretty impressive to hear a 12 year-old having a remarkable deep conversation about the Law with those old Pharisees,” spoke the man to no one because Mary and Joseph were already gone. 

Sure enough there he was in the middle of a circle of old men chatting it up like he was where he was supposed to be. Mixed emotions flooded Mary and Joseph; relief – I found the son of God; anger – who does he think he is running off like that; wonder – he is debating with those scholars and they are taking him seriously. Mary interrupts their gab session with, 

Luke 2:48  "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

Now how many almost teens do we have here this morning? How many 10-12 year olds?  What would your parents say to you if you had skipped out for three days?  I suspect many of you would be grounded for the rest of your life.  But Jesus says to his mother,

Luke 2:49  "Why were you searching for me?  Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"

The Bible doesn’t say any more about what happened to Jesus.  But I think he was grounded till he was 30. At least I think that is what the next few verses say,

Luke 2:50-52  But they did not understand what he was saying to them. (Which teenage parents do?)  Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
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Mary kept all these things in the notebook of her heart and I believe she is the one who told Luke these stories.  Luke records these three stories because he wants us to see something.  Our theme is… Lord, I want to see. I believe he chose these three stories about young Jesus for a reason.  I think there is a connection that links all three of these stories to a single message; something the Lord wants us to see.  That connection is in the word destiny. 
                                
-We find Simeon had a destiny.  He is not going to die until he sees the baby, the comfort of Israel and give his blessing and warning to Mary. 
-Anna, the second witness, also was destined to be there to encourage and bless the Holy family.
-And what is their message about the baby?  He has a destiny.  “This child is destined to cause the raising and falling of many in Israel.”  Jesus had a destiny.  He came to either cause people to fall or raise them up.  Everyone was going to be changed by his coming! It was his destiny. 
-Isn’t that the point of the lost almost-teen Jesus? Isn’t Jesus telling his parents, you above anyone else, should know I have a destiny to do my Father’s will; to be about my Father’s house.  I have a calling. I have a purpose.  I have a destiny.  And I have to get to it. 

Luke wants us to see Jesus was destined from birth to be the redemption of Jerusalem.  But he also wants you to be a part of his story.  He wants you to plug into the destiny of Jesus.  What was last week’s message we were suppose to see?  The Gospel is for all.  That all includes you.  You are to plug into destiny.  Here is what I want you to see this morning: You have a destiny. 

Let’s go back to our three stories and look for clues about your destiny.

-You do have a destiny.  You are not random protoplasm.  That is the scariest part of how our world thinks today.  You are just a waste of oxygen. But that is not true. God created you with a purpose and a specific destiny.  Do you believe you are important to the work of God?  Do you view yourself as significant?  Look at all the characters in our stories: Simeon, Anna, Joseph, Mary, Jesus they each had a destiny, and so do you.

-Your destiny will not be found in serving yourself.  None of our characters were focused on themselves.  Your destiny is going to be found in service to others.  Don’t so much worry about your occupation and your happiness.  Your purpose is in the realm of Good news for all. 

-Your destiny may be as an extra in someone else’s bigger destiny.  That’s okay.  Simeon was elated to just hold the baby-Messiah.  Joseph’s role was to keep the Son of God safe.  You may be an extra to someone else. To all you who are parents or expecting parents, isn’t that the case?  The destiny of the characters in our three stories was all about raising Jesus. 

-God has a time for your destiny. Simeon and Anna had to wait on theirs.  Mary raised Jesus.  Jesus waited until he was 30 to be off grounding.  Be patient. 

-Destiny comes through listening to the Spirit.  Simeon was open and listened. We watch and listen to the Spirit’s voice. 

-Destiny may come in worship.  Did you notice all three of our stories involved the temple?  Coincidence?  Maybe Jesus is telling us something?  We must be in our Father’s house.  You mustn’t assume Jesus is always with you. He may still be at the Temple.  Your destiny will be in being with Jesus. 

This is how it could be… You living in your destiny!

Prayer: Lord, I want to believe my destiny.  Lord, I want to see my destiny.  Lord, I want to be my destiny.