Days

 Luke 2:22-40

Imagine the faith Simeon and Anna must have had. In a time when even the temple was under control by a foreign dictatorship. In a time when even the temple was under immense pressure to put up a dreaded statue of Caesar. In a time where daily people died from paying heavy taxes meant to make them bow to a power so far away they had faith.

Simeon puts it best when he says that God has sent comfort to him. Comfort, not salvation, which is the easing of grief or distress. Comfort in the form of a baby not a grown warrior, not a strong man, but a little baby.

What does this mean for us? It is like having faith even amidst bad news. Keeping the comfort that God will see us through. Even when we are most raw, most afraid, and most concerned for the future. This is one of the hardest things to do in our spiritual life.

In the book "The Second Life of Mirielle West" the main character gets the devastating news that she has leprosy. Even though she is rich, even though she has the best creams and soaps, even though her husband is an actor she has to deal with her own stigmas about the disease and everyone else's. It is hard for her to keep the faith. She is too self centered, she has feelings of not deserving this, and she thinks everyone else makes her sicker. Because in the 20's when you got this you were quarantined and sent away to live with others.

There are times in the story where she loses all hope or comfort and then something happens to bring her out of herself. It is the only way we can walk forward in faith. We have to have hope to bring us out of ourselves. This is the only way we can walk into a future.

One day in a class in seminary people in the room were talking about dictators and how they need to be gotten rid of in order for the people to live any kind of life. One of the people was from Zimbabwe, which was under the rule of Robert Mugabe. He said they have a saying in which it is only one man, and one man cannot live forever. They live in hope. Hope of one day being free.

We live in this hope every day. If you read the Psalms and read the scripture, you know we live in freedom. Not a freedom the world gives, but a freedom God gives. To choose how we feel today. To choose how we will treat others, even during the hardest times, to choose to live by faith. Even though now we only see in part, eventually we will see and be known face to face. Our comfort is in this. Now we have to live it.