Will Willimon is not easily intimidated. He asked the father: "Sir, weren't you the one who had her baptized?"

"Well, well, well, yes."

"And didn't you take her to Sunday School when she was a little girl?"

"Well, well, yes."

"And didn't you allow your daughter to go on those youth group ski trips to Colorado when she was in high school?"

"Yes ... what does that have to do with anything?"

"Sir, you're the reason she's throwing it all away. You introduced her to Jesus. Not me!"

"But," said the father, "all we wanted was a Presbyterian."

Will Willimon, who has an instinct for the jugular, replied, "Well, sorry, sir, you messed up. You've gone and made a disciple!"

Are you willing to release the people nearest you to allow them to grow into the people God is calling them to become, even though it may turn your familiar world upside down? And are you willing to let God say something new to you?

Simeon and Anna were wonderful people: steeped in the traditions of Israel, but still willing to hear a new word from God. Simeon would stand on the top step of the temple every day and scan the faces of the infant babies who were being brought in by their parents. All the while he was wondering, "Is that the one? Could he be the one? Is that the Messiah?" -- because God had promised him that he would not die until he saw the baby. One day at the temple, the Holy Spirit whispered, "Simeon, that's him!" Reading this passage, we can picture an elderly gentleman who has waylaid a young couple in a temple corridor. He reaches out; his face, lined as a road map of Jerusalem, crinkles into a wide grin as he takes the baby into his arms. Of course, we all know the wonder of holding a baby in our arms.

We adults make fools of ourselves when we take a baby in our arms. We emit strange noises: "boo, boo, boo," or "goo, goo, goo," or "ha, ha, ha," -- anything to make the baby smile. Can you imagine the wonder of holding that baby, the baby that Simeon had waited his entire life to hold? The Bible says he threw back his head and began to sing acapella. Perhaps he had prepared the song years before in anticipation of the moment when he would at last hold the child: "Now let thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation."

I can just imagine that as he threw his head back and began to sing, the little baby reached up with his hand to play with the fringes of Simeon's beard.

I believe the Holy Spirit is still speaking this morning as we worship together in the temple. Are you willing to let God break through all of the familiar Christmas traditions to speak a new word?

My friend, Tim Hansel, tells a wonderful story about a Native American man visiting his close friends in Manhattan. They were walking along a busy street at Christmastime, when suddenly, the native American stopped and said, "Whoa! Did you hear that?" His friend said, "Hear what?" The native American replied, "I hear a cricket." The New Yorker said, "Wait a minute! Here we are walking down a midtown street in Manhattan, with horns blaring and taxis squealing all around us. You can't possibly hear a cricket!"

Meanwhile, the Native American walked to the intersection, waited for the green light, and crossed the street. On the opposite street corner stood a planter with a tree in it. He bent down, flipped over a leaf, and said, "Aha! Come here, little fella." His friend was utterly dumbfounded. The Native American said, "Oh, no. Your ears are no different from my ears. It all depends on what you're listening for." With that, the Native American reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change -- nickels, dimes and quarters. He dropped the change on the sidewalk. Every head within a city block turned and looked. The Native American said, "You see, it all depends on what you're listening for."

Amid all the cacophony of our Christmas celebration, it is very hard to hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit's voice. If you are here in the temple like Simeon, and you listen very carefully, you will hear a still, small voice, no louder than a cricket in Manhattan. The voice will say, "There He is: My Son is there among you. Take Him into your arms. Treasure His presence. Behold My salvation."

This sermon is the first of a series entitled "The Four Loves". The next three can be found in the November, 2002 issue of Preaching On-Line. For more information or to subscribe to Preaching On-Line, visit our web site at http://www.preaching.com