1st Sunday after Christmas “Waiting for God”
December 31, 2023 Isaiah 61:10—62:3
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Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,
About 70 yrs ago, (1949) Irish playwright Samuel Beckett wrote a play that’s considered a masterpiece. The play is about two men who are waiting under a tree for a man called Godot. The two men are unsure of exactly who Godot is or if he will ever arrive. They talk at length, mostly with meaningless conversation as they wait. They’re not really sure what they are hoping for, or what will happen when Godot shows up.
The play is titled ‘Waiting for Godot’. As the play comes to an end, night falls on the hapless & unfulfilled men, & the one they’re waiting for never comes. Now, if you were an English major in college, you could argue with me about whether Samuel Beckett meant have the following comparison or not. One interpretation of this play is that it shows the unbelieving world mocking Christians for spending their lives waiting on empty promises – made by a nonexistent God.
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Now, that would be a very clever, devilish argument. To human logic, we can understand how this Christian faith can appear. Scripture teaches us that for practically all of history, mankind has waited for God – who has promised to save us. A typical English Bible has 66 books & about twelve hundred pages. For about a page & a half, mankind was sinless & in favor with God. We all know what happened in that 3rd chapter of Genesis. Our first parents -Adam & Eve- rebelled against God; they plunged themselves =and all of God’s creation= under the curse of sin. The world & everything in it was torn away from God.
God was justly angry, and expelled male & female out of the garden. He cursed them with difficulties & tribulations, and -finally- death. We see from the beginning that God despises rebellion against Him; but we also see that God’s wrath is overshadowed by His astounding grace. For even as God was expelling His wicked children from paradise, He promised that one of Eve’s offspring would crush the head of the serpent – who tempted them into their fatal mistake. From that point on, mankind has waited for God for about 6,000 yrs; that’s using the Bible genealogies, and some historical anchor points.
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Unfortunately, our fallen nature does not wait very well. God’s wisdom & His lengthy timeline, has always seemed foolish to humans; so we’ve always -impatiently- sought to have things our own way. Throughout history, whenever man’s sinful will led him to misery, suffering, & despair (which is what a sinful will does), helpless man cried out to God, and waited for the merciful God to save him again. As Scripture shows, without fail, God always helped, and restored man to His future promise.
The entire OT points to the need & the promise of the Savior, thru events & people, and both in plain language & in stealthy symbols. Whether thru events that foreshadowed the coming salvation, or by bold oracles spoken by the called prophets of God, every book of the OT tells of man’s pitiful inability to save himself, and tells of God’s enduring promise to save man, & restore all things. God promised to send a champion for His people, a Messiah, who would crush all of our oppressors, restore our relationship with Him, & lead God’s people to the promised land. And so, …man waited.
Now, unlike that ‘Godot’ play, our heavenly Father -in His mercy- did not make man to sit around here on earth alone – without Him; God knew that that would be too much of a burden for us to bear. So God always placed himself where His broken children could easily find Him. He told them to build a tabernacle, which means ‘dwelling place’, where they could come & hear God’s Word to them. They were to come to Him in repentance, using the symbols of blood sacrifices for their sins, incense for their prayers, /fire, /water, /bread, with feasting or fasting as symbols for their faith & worship, and trust & obedience to their saving God.
They were to come & receive forgiveness & comfort. They were to come and be in the real presence of God. God was always there, just as He said He would be.
Even after God cleansed the whole earth, preserving only faithful Noah & his family, man’s heart continued to be sinful & rebellious; so the reminder of animal sacrifice & blood had to remain in front of them. Despite God’s gracious presence, mercy, & guidance, man still wanted to run his own way. At times, God gave us a lot of running room. Often, God’s warnings thru His prophets were extremely harsh, & needed to be, because God’s wrath means eternal condemnation. For example, thru Isaiah, God warned His people of the day when all they had would ‘be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left,’ ‘thus saith the Lord.’ (Is 39:6).
And, true to His word, God allowed them to be taken into the bondage of slavery again.
And yet, faithful to Himself, God still spoke words of promise. He assured His people that the Messiah would come to them – at just the right time. Again thru Isaiah, God spoke to them about a new day of deliverance. As we heard in our OT reading:
“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God. …For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, …so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout
- …For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, …until her righteousness goes forth as
brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that
the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.” (61:10a, 11; 62:1–3).
Of course, these were still future promises; so the ‘samuel becketts’ of the world could still mock believers: /‘promises, promises’, / just words, /a pipe-dream. And yes, God’s people waited; powerless to do anything else except take God at His word.
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And as God’s people waited, the Old Test. turned into the New T. The story of Simeon in Luke 2, covers only a few paragraphs, but it holds for us a great turning point in God’s promise. Simeon, like many of his generation, had waited for God’s Messiah. But he’s the only one we hear of that had been guaranteed by God that he would not die before he had seen the promise fulfilled. Simeon waited well; altho we don’t know for how long, even tho tradition portrays Simeon like Anna – greatly advanced in years. All that can be said is that
-in faith- he waited well for his Savior to arrive == and then the Messiah arrived. God has always kept His promises.
By the working of the Holy Spirit, & thru his faith, Simeon perceived that this helpless, fragile baby, being part of this poor & humble family, was the very King of all creation – who would fulfill salvation’s promise & prophecies. Simeon had not waited in vain on a nonexistent fantasy. He was a chosen witness to the very real presence of God.
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Church history -wisely- has preserved Simeon’s words in our liturgy, called the Nunc Dimittis, so that we would share in that fulfillment when we have seen the very real presence of God in bread & wine: “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. ” (Lk 2:29–32 KJV).
The ‘samuel becketts’ of Simeon’s day would have their own ‘dimittis’, and dismissed Simeon & Anna as utter fools; but history shows that this is exactly how God works. God produces child-like faith; inner strength from outer weakness; & true life from death. We see this at the cross. We see the Son of God battered, weak, & crucified, in agony & despair.
The world only sees an innocent, gentle Jewish man being executed; but thru eyes of faith provided by the Holy Spirit, we see God incarnate (in the flesh), facing our death & poised to destroy the power of death for us = and that’s what was promised.
On this side of heaven, we cannot ever move beyond the cross. That’s where we learn of our true sinful condition; and that’s where we learn of God’s true gracious attitude toward us. There God’s shocking fury over sin is met with innocent blood; in His wrath there was death, but in His love – it would not be your death. And that’s the Savior that was promised.
The cross means that our waiting is over; we are reconciled to God thru His Son.
In the name of Jesus, at your Baptism, you have been washed & given a new birth into His family. You are covered by the One who conquered death, the devil, & hell itself on your behalf. The waiting & wondering about ‘what happens next’ is over. You are truly free-in- Christ to live your life before your Creator free from fear, walking in His good ways, & loved.
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Since God’s timeline is not completed yet, we still wait for God; but we wait differently now. His salvation is ‘finished’, so He can call us each home when our days are done. In the meantime, we wait for His return. He has promised to come back in power & glory, to raise up all the souls He had given life, and to open His heavenly home for all who -in faith- are waiting for Him, bearing His name. That’s the promise.
And as in the OT past, in this NT present God knows that our old nature does not always wait very well. We can be doubtful or fearful; & life in a fallen world can be too much to bear alone. So, He has not left us alone. God still puts himself where we can easily find Him. He has promised to meet us here, where two or three gather in His name. He speaks to us by His Living Spirit thru His Holy Scripture. He has actually made a real Meal of bread & wine – that delivers into our mouths the very body & blood of His sacrifice & forgiveness from that historic cross. Here, with His people gathered, calling on His name, we are in His real presence == just as He promised.
And so we wait. But not like two old guys on a park bench waiting for a man they’ve never met; who may or may not come; & who don’t really know what will happen if he ever arrives. We wait for the One who has already shown himself, & who we know very well from His life & His teaching; from His gentleness & power; from His death for us & His resurrection for us.
We wait like Simeon & Anna. They did not worry about polishing up their resumes
as if they were waiting for a ‘holy accountant’ holding their golden ticket. They were two old sinners, repentant & trusting God’s promise. And what they saw & welcomed was their Savior, a little baby, who was bringing them a gracious gift == the light for all gentiles, and the glory of the historic promise of God thru the people of Israel. That’s the promise & gift being given to you, and to all sinners, who are invited to wait for the salvation of our gracious God.
The devil & the world will always play the part of ‘samuel beckett’, and will accuse the Christian of being foolish for waiting on a promise from a God who doesn’t exist.
But that’s a lie; that’s fiction. Our Creator has never left us or abandon His creation; He has made His promise known, and has shown Himself in many times & in various places.
He has used His own timeline, & has proven himself as trustworthy by the sign of the cross. Our Easter Savior has promised to return. In many ways, our waiting has already ended –
in Jesus.
Amen.