Jesus Delivered All That The Father Promised (Monday, Week 3 of Advent 2011)

What Did Jesus Do?

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your promise.”
Luke 2:29

I think the most heartsick fans in all of Major League Baseball call Wrigley Field home. The Red Sox having finally overcome the Curse of the Bambino, I can’t think of anyone who’s been waiting longer for a World Series win than Cubs fans. Others, I’m thinking of Cleveland, Seattle, Washington, might be disappointed, frustrated, even resigned. But long deferred hope in Chicago has broken countless hearts for over a century now, with no end in sight. And, you know, there have been many, what have always turned out to be, empty promises, made to Cub World. Managers, players, and owners have assured fans time and again that the fortunes of their favorite team were about to be turned around. Yep, hope deferred makes the heart sick (Proverbs 13:12), and few hopes have been deferred longer than the World Series hopes of the Chicago Cubs. Unlike the Cubs perpetual failure to fulfill hopes and expectations, Jesus delivered all that the Father promised, and to a man whose hopes had been deferred for a lifetime it was worth waiting for.

The man was Simeon, and he had spent his entire life waiting for, as Luke put it, “the consolation of Israel.” (Luke 2:25) But a lifetime of deferred hope had not made Simeon angry, bitter, frustrated, or resigned to disappointment. No, throughout his long life Simeon had remained righteous and devout. What kept the heart of Simeon faithful and strong was a promise, a promise that death would not come for him before he would see with his own eyes the Messiah. Many generations had come and gone in Israel, while their Messianic hope remained deferred. But the promise to Simeon meant that either he would become as old as Methuselah, or the fulfillment of the promise, the coming of the Christ, was imminent.

The promise of the Christ was no small thing, for it represented, so to speak, “the hopes and fears of all the years.” Everything the Father had covenanted, had promised, from Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to David, was to be fulfilled in and through the Son, the Messiah. So it was that, when he took the baby Jesus up in his arms, Simeon blessed and thanked God, not just for keeping the promise to him, but for all the Father’s promises kept—the advent of peace, the coming of salvation, for the light given to the Gentiles, and the glory given to Israel. (Luke 2:29-32) The answer to Cubs fans, and to all of us who are heartsick from hopes deferred, is Jesus Christ. In Jesus, the Son, is truly a tree of life, the fulfillment of every desire, if we would but receive him with joy as Simeon did.

With two weeks left in Advent there is still time to prepare our hearts for Christmas. Many will continue to hang their heart’s hopes on what they expect, or a least wish, they will find underneath the Christmas Tree on the 25th. But the stuff found in gaily wrapped boxes, or sitting in a driveway with a big red bow on top, or tucked inside a stocking hung by a fire, can never fulfill all our desires. The sun won’t even set on Christmas Day before many will be longing for something more, perhaps even planning major Day-after-Christmas expeditions to the malls in search of bargains. Yet, if we would but take the time over the next thirteen days to put all our hopes in the promise of the Christ, I can guarantee that our desires will be as completely satisfied as those of Simeon were when Jesus delivered to him all that the Father promised.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4