The Ultimate Bucket List

These days, everyone has a bucket list – a list of things they want to have done or seen before they die. Ask your friends and you’ll find out everyone has some kind of bucket list. They may not have written it down, but everyone has given it some thought. Some people want to jump out of airplanes. Other people want to climb mountains and everyone it seems wants to write a novel. Some of the wishes are large - climb Mt Everest - and others are more intimate – get through these treatments and walk my daughter down the aisle at her wedding. Yet, as varied and interesting as these lists are, no one has come close to the bucket list of a man called Simeon in Luke’s gospel.

What was so special about Simeon’s bucket list? There was only one thing on it. The only thing Simeon wanted to do was see the Messiah God had promised. After a lifetime of prayer, God answered and promised Simeon he wouldn’t die until he saw the promised Savior.

There was only one thing on his bucket list…to see the Savior promised to Abraham and David.

You remember Simeon, don’t you? According to Luke’s gospel, Mary and Joseph were taking Jesus to the Temple to fulfill all of the requirements in celebration of the birth of a son and on their way, they ran into Simeon. Or rather, Simeon ran into them. After all, this is all he has been waiting for. According to Luke, Simeon had been waiting for the day when the Spirit would point out the child – the Messiah – the One Simeon had been looking for. When Simeon saw Mary, Joseph and the child, he erupted into praise and worship. Holding the child in his arms, Simeon danced and praised God. His over the top antics made Mary and Joseph a little uneasy.

If Simeon’s praise had made Mary and Joseph uneasy, the rest of Simeon’s words must have sent them over the top. “He will be set for the rise and fall of many…” “A sword will pierce your heart…” This child, this baby in Mary’s arms, was God’s line across time and space. The birth of Jesus marks the beginning from the end, the before from the after, from how things used to be to how things will be.

All in the birth of a child…

Do you ever wonder what Simeon had been doing all this time? Luke begins his gospel with the story of Elizabeth and Zachariah, Gabriel and Mary, and the birth of John the Baptist. Jesus is born and shepherds come to see. Angels sing over this child born in a stable and lying in a manger. All of this is going on and we haven’t heard anything about Simeon. When Mary and Joseph go into Jerusalem, he suddenly ambushes the young couple with joy and laughter. “Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. For my eyes have seen your salvation.” He prophesies a little more and then, he disappears from the story. We don’t hear anything else about him.

What was he doing? He was waiting. Sometimes, waiting is all you can do. You can’t call anyone. You can’t buy anything. You can storm a castle or fight off an attacking enemy. All you can do is sit there until the moment is over. An anxious family waits for the doctor to come out of surgery and tell them how their patient is doing. A student scrolls their phone looking at test scores to see if they’re accepted to graduate school. A defendant waits for the jury to bring their verdict. There are times when all you can do is wait until what you’re waiting for is done.

So, we wait and we pray. Waiting is the moment when we realize we aren’t in control at all. We can’t make things happen by wishing harder or trying more. We can’t pile up our good intentions and make things better. We just have to sit there and pray. In these prayers, we confess we are weak and helpless, that our world is out of control and nothing in this world can fix what is wrong with us. We can’t save ourselves. We can only wait for rescue to come. We can only wait for God to come to us.

Like Simeon, there’s only one thing we want for Christmas.

There’s only one thing on our bucket list.

To see the Child.

Then, we can die in peace.

Then, we can live in hope.

This is the only thing that matters.

To see the Child, the salvation promised by God.

It’s the only thing on our bucket list.

This essay was first posted in Scot McKnight’s newsletter.