‘GOD’S MOMENTS’
1st February 2009
Luke 2;22 - 40
‘for my eyes have seen your Salvation.’ Luke 2;30
We all have our moments don’t we!?….It was only a short time ago when I put cold water into the teapot instead of the kettle and stood around a long time waiting for it to boil!….I’m a reasonably patient man….But I eventually gave in!….It took a long time to get my cup of tea!
We sometimes regard our moments as short periods of absent mindedness or they are moments are when something good has happened. I really like to think of our moments as times when we do, think or feel something special.
For instance we might do something at work which is recognised by our colleagues as something of real value that is unique to ourselves….or we might excel at sport and we have a moment of glory….I remember just how good it felt to score a try in Rugby and how the rest of the team gave their praise!
Or we might have a moment of inspiration or a moment of truth….and then life in some way seems different. I remember when I was studying Chemistry and I was having more than a little trouble with some aspects of it….My tutor said to me: “With some things the ‘penny has to drop’….sometimes it takes time to realise what is going on!” Maybe we have had similar experiences of when the ‘penny drops’. They are special moments.
Or there are those special moments in our love lives….when a ring is given….or when Mum or Dad give us a hug….or when we hold a new born child for the first time….a special moment for parents, grandparents and great grandparents….Some moments we call ‘magic moments’….There is even an old mushy song about them! I dare not try to sing it!
We have ‘moments’ but so does God….And in our theme of ‘The presentation of Christ in the temple’ or ‘Candlemas’ God’s greatest moment is revealed in Jesus Christ who came to save the world. But in the story of Jesus Christ we see two distinct groups of people….Those who recognised ‘God’s Moment’ and those who didn’t….Those who didn’t eventually helped to nail Jesus to a cross! But what about those who did recognise God’s Moment?….There were the disciples of course but their realisation was slow….and even John the Baptist was doubting within the confines of his prison cell!
When Jesus was presented in the Temple three ancient Jewish customs were fulfilled:
Jesus was circumcised….He was presented as the ‘first born’….and there was the purification ceremony for Mary following the birth.
However, something more was going on. This was a remarkable moment. Two elderly people were waiting in the Temple ….There was Simeon, a man whose life was dedicated to God in prayer….The Holy Spirit had assured him that he would see God’s instrument of salvation….and now he had been led to the Temple….When he held Jesus he knew that this was God’s Moment and he praised God with the words we have come to know and love:
‘Master, you are now dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for the presence of all peoples, a light for the revelation to the Gentiles and for the Glory of your people Israel.’
And there was Anna who was a prophet….a profession that was not encouraged by the religious leaders!….Through her life of prayer and fasting she knew God’s Moment when it came….and she praised God and told many people about Jesus.
In the experience of Simeon and Anna we see pure realisation through the Holy Spirit….Simeon and Anna not only prayed but were open to God!
Candlemas represents for us the revelation of God’s greatest moment in history….Jesus Christ. But God has his other moments as we encounter him in our daily lives….Just as countless people down the ages have discovered….They recognised God’s moments but there are also countless people who don’t!
When I last went to a Zoo one of the nocturnal exhibits caught my imagination:
Blind fish from Oman! Apparently these fish are born with eyes which eventually disappear as skin grows over them….This is because over thousands of years they have lived in the darkness…..I thought: We are bit like that spiritually….Our choice to live in spiritual darkness has caused skin to grow over our spiritual eyes….But if we pray and devote our lives to God we are living in the light….and we will recognise God’s moments when they come.
God has special moments for all of us. But will we recognise those moments? Will we have the spiritual eyes to see those moments?
A few years back I spoke to man named Geoff about my faith and he seemed very interested in what I had to say. A few days later he seemed very excited and said:
“I was following a furniture lorry and you won’t guess what it said on the back!….It said: ‘Follow Myson’”….Was this God’s moment for Geoff?….If it was, he did nothing about at that time!….I believe in a God who gives us glimpses or insights into how we should live….Insights that are discerned through prayer….and let’s not forget that prayer is two way.
What is God saying to you and me in these troubled times? Will we catch a glimpse of God’s moment as he opens himself to us? Will we respond to his moment for us? Let us pray that we have the spiritual senses to know God’s moment for us.
Simeon and Anna were open to God and were led by the Holy Spirit….and they recognised God’s Greatest Moment in history. As Simeon proclaimed: ‘for my eyes have seen your Salvation.’
As Christians, our lives unfold and develop according to God’s working through the Holy Spirit….we must be open to the work of the Holy Spirit and those moments of God that challenge and convict us!
God has his moments!
Will we recognise them?
And what will we do about them?
