Peace for the Waiting
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We are all looking for peace (wholeness, rest, fulfillment)
Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to people he favors!
The angels claim that peace has been here all along (Luke 2:14)
Before COVID, 9/11, Jim Crow laws, two world wars, the holocaust, the great depression, the Spanish Flu, the displacement of the Native Americans, the transatlantic slave trade, the Black Death, the fall of the Roman Empire—peace has been here all along.
How is that possible?
The Story of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
The Story of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
Simeon was waiting for God to deliver Israel (v. 25; Isaiah 40:1-2, 61:1-3)
From conflict, oppression, guilt, and struggle.
“Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your God.
“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and announce to her
that her time of hard service is over,
her iniquity has been pardoned,
and she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.”
The Spirit of the Lord God is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and freedom to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of our God’s vengeance;
to comfort all who mourn,
to provide for those who mourn in Zion;
to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
festive oil instead of mourning,
and splendid clothes instead of despair.
And they will be called righteous trees,
planted by the Lord
to glorify him.
In Jesus, Simeon saw God’s plan at work in the present.(Luke 2:29-32)
For my eyes have seen your salvation.
You have prepared it
in the presence of all peoples—
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and glory to your people Israel.
Simeon had faith—trust in the present that God’s plans will be completed in the future. (Hebrews 11:1)
Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
By faith, we can experience the peace of the future in the here and how. (Luke 2:29; 8:22-25)
Now, Master,
you can dismiss your servant in peace,
as you promised.
One day he and his disciples got into a boat, and he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they were sailing he fell asleep. Then a fierce windstorm came down on the lake; they were being swamped and were in danger. They came and woke him up, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to die!”
Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves. So they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?”
They were fearful and amazed, asking one another, “Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the waves, and they obey him!”
By faith we can bring the peace of the future into the here and now. (Luke 4:21; 17:20-21; Hebrews 11:13-16)
Don’t strive for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious. For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
“But seek his kingdom, and these things will be provided for you. Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Finding Peace on Earth
Finding Peace on Earth