WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:14.099 We are continuing over the next few weeks to look at part of Jesus's life that isn't much recorded. 00:00:14.099 --> 00:00:15.140 It's his childhood. 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:25.260 From the time he was born until he started his ministry when he was in his early 30s. 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:28.100 We don't have much. 00:00:28.940 --> 00:00:32.260 We have this remarkable, remarkable story. 00:00:35.760 --> 00:00:38.460 I'm going to start, though, in 1945. 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:48.040 The Scottish author Bruce Marshall wrote a novel called The World, The Flesh, and Father Smith. 00:00:49.120 --> 00:00:50.840 Father Smith is a Catholic priest. 00:00:50.840 --> 00:01:00.060 At one point in the book, Father Smith is walking to an appointment and crosses paths with a woman, a young woman, named Miss Dana Agdala. 00:01:00.580 --> 00:01:05.939 She's beautiful, intelligent, professional, a very successful author. 00:01:06.659 --> 00:01:08.219 And they strike up a conversation. 00:01:08.219 --> 00:01:15.599 She says, tell me, Father, do you get much response to the old, old story these days? 00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:24.620 And she reveals that she had long rejected all of that poppycock about baptism and purity and the virgin birth. 00:01:24.620 --> 00:01:30.660 Because, of course, she says, it's against all modern science and obstetrics. 00:01:32.980 --> 00:01:38.420 But she's eager to talk to Father Smith because she rarely comes into contact with his type. 00:01:38.420 --> 00:01:41.359 And has all kinds of questions she wants to ask. 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:45.159 So he invites her to walk with him and to ask away. 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:52.140 And eventually, she asks him about his own sexuality, this Catholic priest. 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:55.859 And how he manages to, she says, live without us. 00:01:55.859 --> 00:02:02.359 Unfazed, Father Smith responds, I don't think this is mansplaining. 00:02:02.459 --> 00:02:03.000 It might be. 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:05.159 You know, it's 1945, so who knows. 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:05.560 Anyways. 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:11.000 So Father Smith responds, women's bodies are rarely perfect. 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:12.939 They soon grow old and sag. 00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:23.340 And always the contemplation of them, even at their best, even at their best, is a poor and boring substitute for walking with God in his house as a friend. 00:02:23.340 --> 00:02:26.360 Aha, Miss Aguila thinks. 00:02:27.640 --> 00:02:31.219 Father Smith's answer proves what she had always thought about Christians. 00:02:32.460 --> 00:02:35.219 That religion is only a substitute for sex. 00:02:35.640 --> 00:02:36.300 And she says that. 00:02:37.259 --> 00:02:40.020 Father Smith turns her assertion upside down. 00:02:40.580 --> 00:02:46.900 He says, I still prefer to believe that sex is a substitute for religion. 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:53.180 And that the young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God. 00:02:53.939 --> 00:03:00.060 The young man that rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God. 00:03:01.259 --> 00:03:07.240 In today's passage from Luke, we meet another old religious man. 00:03:07.699 --> 00:03:11.080 And he understands his deep longing for God. 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:16.740 And that longing is fulfilled beyond his wildest dreams in the form of a baby. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:24.160 In that moment, he responds with a declaration that will captivate readers of the Bible for the next 2,000 years. 00:03:24.600 --> 00:03:26.880 It will be set countless times to music. 00:03:27.140 --> 00:03:29.900 And it will be used as a prayer by Christians all over the world. 00:03:30.120 --> 00:03:31.280 It has a Latin name. 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:32.880 The Nunc Dimittis. 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:37.299 Now, Lord, let your servant depart in peace. 00:03:37.799 --> 00:03:39.939 For my eyes have seen your salvation. 00:03:41.939 --> 00:03:45.599 Simeon's longing was fulfilled in Jesus. 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:48.979 Is Jesus your chief desire? 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:50.859 Is he mine? 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:54.639 Now, technically, as we've discussed, the answer is yes. 00:03:54.859 --> 00:04:00.439 But we turn to all kinds of other things to fulfill those longings and desires. 00:04:00.439 --> 00:04:05.939 Instead of going to God himself, I turn to all kinds of other things. 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:10.139 And then to Jesus. 00:04:10.139 --> 00:04:21.479 But fortunately, I think this passage is more than just a description of what happened on a given day 2,000 years ago. 00:04:21.479 --> 00:04:26.039 It also tells us how we, too, can find Jesus as our ultimate desire. 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:32.879 Jesus becomes our ultimate desire when we realize that he completes our stories. 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:40.399 He does that by entering into relationship with us. 00:04:41.500 --> 00:04:43.259 And by representing us. 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:44.920 So we're going to talk about stories. 00:04:46.500 --> 00:04:47.019 Relationship. 00:04:47.959 --> 00:04:48.740 And representation. 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:50.319 Let's pray. 00:04:52.540 --> 00:04:55.420 Heavenly Father, we come to your word needing your help. 00:04:55.420 --> 00:05:03.780 We don't have eyes which on their own can see the truth and beauty right in front of us. 00:05:04.120 --> 00:05:09.560 And we don't have hearts which on their own are willing to submit to truth and beauty. 00:05:12.460 --> 00:05:16.139 These next moments together, we ask you, Father, to be our vision. 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:20.740 Holy Spirit, come light our hearts. 00:05:21.780 --> 00:05:23.020 Jesus, be our desire. 00:05:23.019 --> 00:05:28.719 We ask this in the name of our high king, Jesus. 00:05:28.979 --> 00:05:29.199 Amen. 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:34.599 So do you have anything like this? 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:38.779 This is my favorite candle holder. 00:05:39.699 --> 00:05:42.819 It has been broken so many times. 00:05:43.299 --> 00:05:47.399 My wife and I picked this up in Doolin, Ireland. 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:52.239 It was just kind of sitting on the wall as we drove by. 00:05:52.459 --> 00:05:54.979 And you could just put money in a box and take it. 00:05:55.019 --> 00:05:55.359 So we did. 00:05:56.839 --> 00:06:02.279 And in the, I don't know, 17, 18 years we've been married. 00:06:02.379 --> 00:06:02.839 She's not here. 00:06:02.899 --> 00:06:03.579 I can just guess. 00:06:05.739 --> 00:06:06.779 I think it's 18. 00:06:07.719 --> 00:06:09.739 In the 18 years or so, we've been married. 00:06:09.740 --> 00:06:13.319 This thing has been broken like so many times. 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:18.240 And you can see like all the cracks and crevices. 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:20.540 And now there's even holes that you can peer through. 00:06:21.960 --> 00:06:26.160 But even so, I think this is the most beautiful thing in my house. 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:33.120 And I think we all know instinctively that the most beautiful things come from the most broken things. 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:37.400 We realize this is what we want to be. 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:43.220 We can relate to the shards, the fragments. 00:06:44.200 --> 00:06:49.720 We live in a culture that can be well described as fragmented. 00:06:49.720 --> 00:07:01.220 And because of the fragmentation in our culture, our stories tend to be fractured into pieces that don't quite fit together seamlessly like we would like. 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:03.780 Take geography, for instance. 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:08.400 Who in this room grew up inside the Beltway? 00:07:08.820 --> 00:07:09.360 Raise your hand. 00:07:11.460 --> 00:07:11.920 Really? 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:12.440 Not one. 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:12.740 Wow. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:14.460 Yeah. 00:07:15.180 --> 00:07:15.660 Yes. 00:07:15.780 --> 00:07:16.000 Yes. 00:07:16.200 --> 00:07:16.620 Grats. 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:17.080 Come on. 00:07:17.140 --> 00:07:17.500 No, I'm kidding. 00:07:17.700 --> 00:07:17.860 Yes. 00:07:18.860 --> 00:07:19.300 Yeah. 00:07:19.300 --> 00:07:20.740 Okay, so one of us. 00:07:22.520 --> 00:07:22.800 Yeah. 00:07:23.240 --> 00:07:27.800 Where we live now is disconnected from where we grew up and where our families are from. 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:32.620 And where we work is often different from where we live. 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:38.040 And there's all kinds of other examples of fragmentation that we suffer in our culture. 00:07:38.840 --> 00:07:43.120 Many of us grew up with divorced parents and broken families. 00:07:43.900 --> 00:07:45.819 We moved around a lot as children. 00:07:45.819 --> 00:07:50.159 And we still don't know what to tell people when they ask us, where are you from? 00:07:51.779 --> 00:08:00.219 Our work friends are separate from our church friends, are separate from our neighbors, not to mention all the other friends we have ever had. 00:08:00.220 --> 00:08:05.300 And we know also, instinctively, that nobody really has a thousand friends, right? 00:08:08.300 --> 00:08:14.920 We consume all kinds of products, but we're disconnected from the people that have made them and where those products come from. 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:21.840 We have online presentations of ourselves that are often vastly different from who we are in real life. 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:30.980 And our individualistic culture adamantly and fanatically tells us to write our own stories. 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:35.539 And in doing so, we divorce ourselves from a common story. 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:39.480 So you feel it, right? 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:43.500 Now, for different reasons, Simeon has experienced a kind of fragmentation. 00:08:44.460 --> 00:08:48.860 His nation, Israel, has been ruled by one foreign kingdom after another. 00:08:50.220 --> 00:08:53.120 Israel used to hear regularly from God through the prophets. 00:08:53.800 --> 00:08:56.399 But he's been silent for a long time. 00:08:56.820 --> 00:08:58.420 For over 400 years. 00:08:59.259 --> 00:08:59.700 Silent. 00:08:59.700 --> 00:08:59.900 Silent. 00:09:01.900 --> 00:09:06.160 And when he used to speak, he had promised deliverance from oppression. 00:09:07.100 --> 00:09:08.440 But that is yet to come. 00:09:09.259 --> 00:09:10.440 And he had promised a rescuer. 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:12.700 And he has yet to appear. 00:09:14.140 --> 00:09:16.240 It's a story that was incomplete. 00:09:17.400 --> 00:09:19.720 And probably didn't make sense a lot of the time. 00:09:21.700 --> 00:09:24.460 One group of elites tried to make sense of it by saying, 00:09:24.460 --> 00:09:27.580 if we follow God's law closely enough, 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:30.580 and if we follow all these other rules that we've made up, 00:09:30.920 --> 00:09:32.240 rules upon rules, 00:09:32.600 --> 00:09:35.080 then God will come and rescue us. 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:38.080 But that just set up another form of oppression. 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:42.480 And so suffering had become a way of life for Simeon and for the Israelites. 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:45.480 And they were waiting for its consolation. 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:47.800 As it says in verse 25, 00:09:48.940 --> 00:09:51.480 Simeon was waiting for Israel's deliverance. 00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:55.879 But at some point in Simeon's life, 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:57.720 the Holy Spirit speaks to him. 00:09:58.940 --> 00:10:01.340 Before Simeon dies, he will meet the rescuer. 00:10:02.180 --> 00:10:05.460 God's servant will liberate his people. 00:10:05.940 --> 00:10:08.879 The comforter that will bring this consolation. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:11.799 Now, Simeon lived in Jerusalem, 00:10:11.899 --> 00:10:13.879 and he would have spent a lot of time at the temple. 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:18.379 Jewish families were required to bring their firstborn sons to the temple 00:10:18.379 --> 00:10:20.620 to have them dedicated, as we heard in the passage. 00:10:21.220 --> 00:10:22.320 And so week after week, 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:24.019 month after month, 00:10:24.519 --> 00:10:25.620 year after year, 00:10:26.039 --> 00:10:29.059 Simeon would see baby after baby pass through the temple 00:10:29.059 --> 00:10:30.240 until one day, 00:10:30.919 --> 00:10:34.940 a baby is brought by a young carpenter from Galilee 00:10:34.940 --> 00:10:36.919 and his young wife. 00:10:36.919 --> 00:10:39.059 And God says to Simeon, 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:40.099 that's the one. 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:42.019 That's the one. 00:10:44.039 --> 00:10:45.539 That's who you've been waiting for. 00:10:47.799 --> 00:10:50.719 All the broken fragments of Simeon's story, 00:10:51.099 --> 00:10:53.659 all the broken fragments of Israel's history 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:55.919 were gathered up in this little baby. 00:10:57.419 --> 00:11:00.079 In this baby, Simeon's story makes sense to him 00:11:00.079 --> 00:11:02.899 so much that he scoops the child into his arms 00:11:02.899 --> 00:11:05.299 and declares out loud in the temple, 00:11:05.299 --> 00:11:09.059 Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace 00:11:09.059 --> 00:11:10.620 according to your word. 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:13.620 For my eyes have seen your salvation 00:11:13.620 --> 00:11:16.000 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:18.779 a light for revelation to the Gentiles 00:11:18.779 --> 00:11:21.279 and for glory to your people Israel. 00:11:23.359 --> 00:11:25.279 Could it be possible with you? 00:11:26.939 --> 00:11:29.479 Could he bind together 00:11:29.479 --> 00:11:31.899 all the broken fragments of your story? 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:35.360 Now our fragmentation is not just a cultural one. 00:11:36.259 --> 00:11:38.959 It is also deeply personal and spiritual. 00:11:40.299 --> 00:11:42.139 Could he gather up those fragments? 00:11:42.860 --> 00:11:44.840 Could he take the bad decisions you've made? 00:11:47.059 --> 00:11:49.059 Or the betrayal you've experienced? 00:11:49.939 --> 00:11:50.860 Or the abuse? 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:53.039 Or the abandonment? 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:58.980 Could he gather up your neuroses and insecurity? 00:12:00.179 --> 00:12:02.179 Could he gather up your broken dreams? 00:12:03.179 --> 00:12:04.299 Your failed relationships? 00:12:05.199 --> 00:12:06.279 And your painful loss? 00:12:07.579 --> 00:12:10.139 Could he take it all and redeem it all? 00:12:15.079 --> 00:12:18.480 Yes, he does it first by being in relationship with us. 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:23.440 When we look at this brief summary of Simeon's character, 00:12:23.560 --> 00:12:25.840 we find a man who is intimate with God. 00:12:26.420 --> 00:12:29.320 We get the impression that he spends most of his time at the temple. 00:12:29.779 --> 00:12:32.200 His life is spent in worship of God. 00:12:33.180 --> 00:12:35.300 He would know the songs of the temple by heart. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:38.399 Those songs are in our Bible, they're called the Psalms. 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:43.259 And so these words would regularly come from Simeon's lips. 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:45.299 Like in Psalm 19, 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:56.759 Or something completely different, regularly from his lips. 00:12:57.279 --> 00:12:58.559 How long, O Lord? 00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:00.939 Will you forget me forever? 00:13:02.100 --> 00:13:04.039 How long will you hide your face from me? 00:13:06.419 --> 00:13:09.500 Or the psalm we prayed earlier, Psalm 84, 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:11.059 that Kathy led us in. 00:13:11.059 --> 00:13:14.000 How lovely is your dwelling place. 00:13:14.539 --> 00:13:15.379 O Lord of hosts, 00:13:15.859 --> 00:13:17.439 my soul longs, 00:13:17.819 --> 00:13:18.179 yes, 00:13:18.739 --> 00:13:20.259 faints for the courts of the Lord. 00:13:20.959 --> 00:13:23.859 My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:28.819 The range of emotions and postures that we find in the Psalms 00:13:28.819 --> 00:13:30.599 would have opened up Simeon 00:13:30.599 --> 00:13:33.500 to honestly express himself to God. 00:13:34.099 --> 00:13:36.839 Not to role play before him, 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:38.199 but to be himself. 00:13:38.959 --> 00:13:40.839 That's intimacy, right? 00:13:41.059 --> 00:13:46.459 I mean, intimacy isn't a formula. 00:13:47.619 --> 00:13:52.500 It's probably something different than we've been taught as evangelicals. 00:13:52.539 --> 00:13:55.959 Who's ever been taught to pray with the formula X? 00:13:56.379 --> 00:14:01.039 You go through adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. 00:14:01.299 --> 00:14:02.859 That's how you should pray, right? 00:14:03.119 --> 00:14:03.559 You've done that? 00:14:03.619 --> 00:14:03.899 Me too. 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:09.459 And I think it's trained us to not actually tell God what we're really thinking 00:14:09.459 --> 00:14:10.579 and really believing. 00:14:10.779 --> 00:14:13.319 That's, I mean, it's helpful, but it's not intimacy. 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:20.580 Like, man, you really don't want a formula for talking to your spouse, 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:22.320 your wife, your girlfriend. 00:14:22.760 --> 00:14:23.440 I'll give you a formula. 00:14:23.560 --> 00:14:24.879 It will not go for well, I promise. 00:14:25.420 --> 00:14:26.200 That's not intimacy. 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:35.520 We find God responding in kind, intimately. 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:38.640 Simeon was sensitive to the voice of God 00:14:38.640 --> 00:14:41.960 so that he understood the Spirit speaking to him, 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:45.460 promising him that he would meet the great rescuer before he died. 00:14:45.460 --> 00:14:48.920 He was sensitive to the voice of the Spirit 00:14:48.920 --> 00:14:51.960 so that he would recognize Jesus when he was brought into the temple. 00:14:54.400 --> 00:14:59.780 Intimacy with God has implications for both the Christian and the skeptic. 00:14:59.879 --> 00:15:01.500 Now, if you're a skeptic of Christianity, 00:15:01.940 --> 00:15:07.040 it may be because you've regarded Christianity as a set of propositions 00:15:07.040 --> 00:15:10.220 to either accept or to discard. 00:15:11.040 --> 00:15:13.000 Or perhaps you've looked at the church 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:16.500 and you've thought there's no way I can accept a religion 00:15:16.500 --> 00:15:19.480 that's represented by these people. 00:15:19.659 --> 00:15:20.700 These people are crazy. 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:22.559 And they're hypocrites. 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:24.639 And they're really hypocrites. 00:15:25.740 --> 00:15:26.559 And I get that. 00:15:27.100 --> 00:15:30.700 And I find my own faith challenged by these same things too. 00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:33.320 Particularly my own hypocrisy. 00:15:35.580 --> 00:15:38.980 But this is not how Christianity presents itself, primarily. 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:42.480 Not as a set of propositions or principles. 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:50.759 If we say we can have intimacy with God, 00:15:51.620 --> 00:15:54.720 that presupposes that Christ is a person. 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:58.720 That sounds like really hyper basic. 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:02.440 And a bit silly that Christ is a person. 00:16:02.539 --> 00:16:02.740 Yes. 00:16:02.899 --> 00:16:06.000 But you can't have intimacy with principles and propositions. 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:06.480 Okay? 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:10.080 At the core of Christianity is a person. 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:12.360 It's this person, Jesus. 00:16:13.139 --> 00:16:15.460 And he merits investigation. 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:21.000 And let me say, you might not like everything you encounter. 00:16:21.420 --> 00:16:27.379 Now, in doing so, I think that would somewhat evidence that he could be a real person. 00:16:28.040 --> 00:16:30.440 If Jesus was everything you think he should be, 00:16:30.900 --> 00:16:34.200 then he's probably just a projection of yourself onto someone or something. 00:16:34.640 --> 00:16:34.900 Right? 00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:41.399 Also, in saying that you might not like everything you encounter either. 00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:48.539 You, yeah, a lot of folks in his day didn't like Jesus either. 00:16:48.899 --> 00:16:50.179 Simeon predicted as much. 00:16:51.059 --> 00:16:54.679 He said that this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel. 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:57.500 That thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. 00:16:57.500 --> 00:17:03.379 Just two chapters later, we find Jesus in his hometown. 00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:08.019 And the people in his hometown take him up to a cliff and want to throw him off. 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:09.079 They try and throw him off. 00:17:09.160 --> 00:17:09.779 They don't succeed. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:12.779 But that's how he's received in his hometown. 00:17:12.779 --> 00:17:21.200 When you investigate Jesus as a person, you'll find that he makes some pretty bold claims. 00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:28.240 And you won't be able to say any more when you read those claims that he was just a good teacher or some kind of prophet. 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:32.279 He claimed to be God. 00:17:32.500 --> 00:17:33.500 He claimed to be the Lord. 00:17:34.039 --> 00:17:36.759 And as C.S. Lewis pointed out, you'll be left with three choices. 00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:46.579 To say that he was crazy or that he was a liar or that he was who he says he was. 00:17:47.059 --> 00:17:48.940 That he really is Lord and God. 00:17:49.619 --> 00:17:57.599 Now, if you're interested in exploring deeper the claims of Jesus, Church of the Advent will be offering a class very soon called Alpha. 00:17:58.140 --> 00:18:01.200 And it's designed to walk through these claims of Jesus about himself. 00:18:01.339 --> 00:18:02.019 Who was he? 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:04.420 And we do this together. 00:18:04.420 --> 00:18:06.640 It's for skeptics and believers together. 00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:10.339 And we each talk honestly about these claims, the basics of Christianity. 00:18:10.779 --> 00:18:11.980 And that will be offered soon. 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:15.319 I highly recommend you participating in it or bringing a friend. 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:20.859 If you're already a Christian, I'd like to point out an implication. 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:22.859 That being in relationship. 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:29.000 I'd like to point out that being in relationship to God as a person has an implication as well. 00:18:29.900 --> 00:18:33.920 That you, like Simeon, you don't need to play act when you come to him. 00:18:34.420 --> 00:18:35.319 He's a real person. 00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:37.319 And he wants intimacy with you. 00:18:38.119 --> 00:18:41.939 Now, back in December, I mentioned I was talking to my spiritual director. 00:18:42.519 --> 00:18:45.359 He was encouraging me to be brutally honest with God. 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:49.480 Expressing to him my disappointments, my anger with him. 00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:57.299 And I found God responding by saying, finally, we can have some real honest conversation. 00:18:58.220 --> 00:19:01.360 You've trusted me in a way you've never yet trusted me. 00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:08.819 So if you want intimacy with God, then do as David did in the Psalms. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:10.759 Blurt it out. 00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:12.319 Blurt out to God. 00:19:12.859 --> 00:19:14.219 Blurt out to God what you're thinking. 00:19:14.899 --> 00:19:15.779 What you're feeling. 00:19:16.639 --> 00:19:17.679 Scrap the formulas. 00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:20.139 You can absolutely trust him. 00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:23.660 With everything you might possibly think and feel. 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:25.940 He is always welcoming you. 00:19:26.320 --> 00:19:28.700 He was always wanting to be connected to you. 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:32.000 And then you'll have a fearless relationship with God. 00:19:32.600 --> 00:19:35.200 Everything you want to be and do will flow out of that. 00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:42.019 So we find that God binds up our broken fragments by being in relationship to us. 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:45.740 He does it by representing us as well. 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:50.519 Luke includes some very specific details about Jesus' infancy. 00:19:51.860 --> 00:19:55.000 In verse 21, he was circumcised at the end of eight days. 00:19:55.279 --> 00:20:00.380 Just as God's law required in the Old Testament of newborns. 00:20:00.380 --> 00:20:04.000 Mary came for purification at the end of 40 days. 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:05.780 Just as the law required. 00:20:06.560 --> 00:20:09.660 As a firstborn son, Jesus was dedicated at the temple. 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:13.540 God's law required firstborn sons to be ransomed. 00:20:13.860 --> 00:20:17.040 Parents would pay a sum to redeem their firstborn children. 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:20.340 Identifying with Israel who were rescued from Egypt. 00:20:21.080 --> 00:20:25.280 So here we find Jesus fulfilling God's law in every respect. 00:20:25.280 --> 00:20:26.740 Even as an infant. 00:20:27.060 --> 00:20:29.560 So that he, from start to finish, 00:20:29.559 --> 00:20:32.539 can represent us before the Father. 00:20:33.099 --> 00:20:35.379 We can't obey God's law perfectly. 00:20:35.819 --> 00:20:37.259 So he does it for us. 00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:39.019 He unites us to himself. 00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:41.059 And when we stand before the Father, 00:20:41.139 --> 00:20:43.480 we have a perfect record of obedience 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:45.240 to offer to him. 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:46.240 Not our own, 00:20:46.700 --> 00:20:49.240 but Christ's given to us. 00:20:51.619 --> 00:20:53.259 And our disobedience. 00:20:53.460 --> 00:20:55.899 And all the punishment it deserves. 00:20:56.619 --> 00:20:58.899 Jesus takes upon himself on the cross. 00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:00.940 We heard in Hebrews 4, 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:02.639 which was read earlier. 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:05.319 It says that through death, 00:21:05.819 --> 00:21:08.679 Jesus might destroy the one who has the power of death. 00:21:09.220 --> 00:21:10.179 That is the devil. 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:13.619 And deliver all those who through fear of death 00:21:13.619 --> 00:21:15.740 were subject to lifelong slavery. 00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:17.319 Therefore, 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:20.200 he had to be made like his brothers in every respect. 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:23.779 So that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest 00:21:23.779 --> 00:21:24.859 in the service of God. 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:28.099 To make propitiation for the sins of the people. 00:21:28.539 --> 00:21:29.920 He suffers for us. 00:21:30.299 --> 00:21:31.700 He dies for us. 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:35.660 And it opens us up to this relationship with the Father. 00:21:36.980 --> 00:21:38.900 Jesus bleeds for us. 00:21:39.240 --> 00:21:40.640 Not just on the cross. 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:43.759 But as an eight-day-old infant, 00:21:44.420 --> 00:21:46.000 there was a high cost. 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:48.160 From the very beginning, 00:21:48.800 --> 00:21:51.300 from the day he was born to the day he died, 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:52.700 Jesus lived, 00:21:53.560 --> 00:21:53.900 suffered, 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:55.900 and obeyed for us. 00:21:56.860 --> 00:21:59.500 This is the love that Christ has for us. 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:04.759 Because we have intimacy with God, 00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:07.440 and because we are united to him, 00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:11.019 our stories intertwine with his, 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:12.220 and we are made whole. 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:14.799 He is the main actor, 00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:17.440 and his own glory is the main plot. 00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:19.180 And as actors in this story, 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:21.660 we find our desires moving towards him. 00:22:22.140 --> 00:22:24.279 We find ourselves wanting him more 00:22:24.279 --> 00:22:26.200 than anything else. 00:22:26.619 --> 00:22:27.359 So now what? 00:22:27.619 --> 00:22:28.339 What's next? 00:22:28.339 --> 00:22:30.819 Well, we now enter into his vocation. 00:22:31.619 --> 00:22:32.659 We share his calling. 00:22:34.139 --> 00:22:36.359 Simeon's song in verse 31 says that 00:22:36.359 --> 00:22:38.619 God's salvation is for all peoples, 00:22:39.139 --> 00:22:41.199 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, 00:22:41.740 --> 00:22:44.000 and for glory to your people Israel. 00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:46.939 Now, with Christ, 00:22:47.699 --> 00:22:49.579 we enter into people's suffering. 00:22:50.459 --> 00:22:52.279 We bear one another's burdens. 00:22:53.459 --> 00:22:56.379 We invite them into an intimate relationship 00:22:56.379 --> 00:22:57.199 with the Father. 00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:00.480 Like Anna the prophetess in verse 38. 00:23:01.819 --> 00:23:03.360 We give thanks to God 00:23:03.360 --> 00:23:05.120 and speak of Jesus 00:23:05.120 --> 00:23:07.819 to all who are waiting for their stories 00:23:07.819 --> 00:23:08.819 to be made whole. 00:23:09.420 --> 00:23:10.420 In the name of the Father, 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:11.059 and of the Son, 00:23:11.120 --> 00:23:11.940 and of the Holy Spirit. 00:23:12.740 --> 00:23:13.000 Amen. 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:14.319 And the Father, 00:23:14.400 --> 00:23:28.319 and of the Lord, 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:28.940 and the Holy Spirit. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:30.339 Amen. 00:23:30.339 --> 00:23:30.880 Amen. 00:23:31.039 --> 00:23:31.599 Amen. 00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:32.940 Amen. 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:37.279 Amen.