Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: HISTORY (03/10/22)
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TITLE: Reaching for The Child | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
03/12/22 -
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While the two seniors carried the chaotic history of their people on the wrinkles of their hearts, the future history of all peoples was being presented by a young couple unaware of this moment’s significance.
Simeon, scribe and historian, had lived through the last of the Hasmonean monarchs and the turmoil of civil war. He had endured the plague of the Idumean Antipater and his son Herod enslaving the people into massive building projects like the Temple. He had journeyed through the brief invasion and control of the Parthians along with the onslaught of Roman imperialism as the pounding march of legionnaires smothered the soul of freedom fighters and zealots.
Anna, bent and weary from a life of lonely service, had survived within the stronghold of the Temple for most of her life. She had survived the slaughter of 12,000 when the Romans broke through the last bastion of defense where her people hid. She had survived the constant merry-go-round of high priests set in place by the Maccabees, the Parthians, the Idumeans, the Nabateans and the Romans. She had endured the sieges and the slaughters and still treasured her beliefs.
One hope held the two octogenarians together. Messiah.
Ha’Shem (God) had promised a Savior. A peacemaker. A healer. From the beginning of time their people had wrestled with hope. History was about His story and the life he promised to those who clung to it. Through grief and loss, through pain and aging, through disappointment, they hung onto the One who promises and keeps his promises.
Abraham had stood on this very mountain offering up his son Isaac in faith that the One who took could also give back. David had sacrificed in this space to stop a plague that was devastating his people because of his own sin. Solomon had rallied his work force to carve off the top of the mountain into massive building blocks for a place of worship. People had died here under the hand of Babylonians, Greeks and Romans. Now, Herod had resurrected a structure that amazed the world.
But none of that mattered in this moment. The Messiah had arrived. Isaiah’s suffering servant, his majestic monarch, his Prince of Peace, lay vulnerable and helpless before them.
And suddenly, all the pain of the past, the doubts of the heart, the struggle for truth and hope – none of that mattered. The promise lived.
But oh, what history lay in the hand and heart of this little one. The Creator who had formed the frame of history, who had walked the paths of history, who had nourished the souls of history past. The future history of mankind rested in the tiny physical form, hungry to be fed, thirsty to be filled, wrestling to step out into his calling.
So, amidst the lowing of cattle, the bleating of lambs, the chanting of priestly prayers and blowing trumpets, an old man extends his arms in faith that the child he reaches for is the hope of his heart. His eyes turn skyward above the graceful artwork of craftsman, above the peaks of nearby hills, and above the swirl of sacrificial smoke toward the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
The reality of history flowed through his soul as he handed the child back. “Many will rejoice as history is lived out in this life. But some will not and pain will pierce you too.”
Words flow like the river of time that continues to pass. From both the old man and the old woman. The child is regathered into the arms of those who will provide and protect. And as the young family exits the hallowed sanctuary, the two silently nod, look toward each other, and smile.
History has traveled to this moment exactly as it was meant to. The seniors shuffle away and await the rest of His story.
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It was the beginning of His story on earth, and we still await the rest of His story.
Thank you for a good read.