Forever!
A Weary World Rejoices - Part 6
Sunday, December 20, 2020
Luke 2:25-38
There was also a prophet, Anna… then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Luke 2:36a, 37-38
Even in a “normal” year, it is common to hear talk about being weary after Christmas. We love all of the parties and decorating and cooking and baking and shopping and special worship services and plays, but no matter how much we enjoy our celebrations, the holidays are a busy and often exhausting time of year. For most pastors I know, the week between Christmas and New Years is the time to crash and recover.
This is a good kind of weariness. While we know our bodies and minds need rest, we rest with a sense of joy and satisfaction having been filled with the hope, peace, love and joy of Christ throughout the season. 2020 has been a bit different. We were weary long before Advent began and not from too much celebration. And as much as we have joked about putting this year behind us and getting into 2021, the causes of our weariness will not miraculously disappear on January 1st.
If anyone had reason to feel weary, it was Simeon and Anna. After a lifetime of devotion to God it would be easy to retire and pass the torch to the next generation. Yet they remained faithful to the end and in their final days sang out the hymns of joy and praise that the world might see the light that had entered their darkness.
Christmas is not about a temporary season of hope and joy amid despair. Though the strings of lights may come down in a few weeks, we do not have to return to darkness. When we sing “the weary world rejoices”, is not only on that single Holy Night.
Weariness is temporary. Rejoicing is forever!
Listen to this week’s sermon here:
Video of the complete worship service available at http://asburyumc-huntersville.com/live