© 2025 The Rev. Seth Olson
This sermon was inspired by the readings above and was preached at a service of Holy Baptism on February 2, 2025 at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Apostles. Video of the sermon may be found here.
Holy God, may my words be your words and when my words are not your words, may your people be wise enough to know the same. Amen.
Awhile back, I found myself in a familiar situation—standing in line at the grocery store, scanning for the shortest route to checkout. I thought I had chosen well, but then the man in front of me turned and said, “I’m just warning you, but I’m slow!” I considered jumping ship, but with my collar on and someone now behind me, I responded with the first kind thing that popped into my head: “I’m in the business of waiting.”
His wife soon arrived, and the man repeated, “I told him I’m slow, honey.” She laughed, and looked at me, I smiled to the couple and remarked, “Patience is a virtue.” But then the woman’s face turned serious. Staring me in the eye, she exclaimed, “Patience may be a virtue, but I won’t ever ask God for it.”
How often have you heard that? Patience might be the most maligned of virtues. We admire it, but we don’t want to develop it. We live in a world that prizes speed, efficiency, and immediate gratification, yet our Faith Tradition teaches us that God’s work often unfolds slowly. And today, we witness just that in our Gospel lesson.
On this the Feast of the Presentation, we experience a story about anticipating—about two patient souls, Simeon and Anna, who hoped their entire lives to see the Messiah. Their stories, as well as the story we are telling today through Skylar’s baptism, reveals that waiting is not passive but a holy expectation, an active action of faith that leads us into redemption and release.
Simeon and Anna knew what it was to wait. Simeon had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Messiah. Anna, an 84-year-old prophetess, had lived most of her life in the Temple, fasting and praying, trusting that God’s redemption was at hand. They did not see waiting as a burden but as an act of faith.
And then, one day, all of a sudden, the waiting ended. Mary and Joseph entered the Temple with their child, and the Spirit moved. God’s Spirit moved so powerfully that Simeon took Jesus into his arms and broke out in song:
“Lord, you now have set your servant free, to go in peace as you have promised. For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior whom you have prepared for all the world to see.”
(By the way, the first chapters of Luke’s Gospel are truly like musical theater, it seems that every few verses Zechariah, Mary, and now Simeon break out with a holy hymn.)
Seriously, though imagine the weight of Simeon’s words. A lifetime of waiting fulfilled in a single moment. The joy, the relief, the redemption!
Waiting, when viewed through Simeon’s lens, was not about enduring time but about preparing his heart to receive the presence of God. Isn’t that we all are invited to do? But, it’s not always so easy.
I personally do not like waiting. I have struggled with it my whole life. That impulsive, controlling, egoic part of me wants things to be completed yesterday, but this is not the Way of God. Fortunately, I have had ones who have tried to teach me the patient path.
As a kid, when my sister was at dance rehearsal, I would run around on the playground next to the ballet studio. Toward the end of the time, which always felt longer than it was, my mom would call me over to watch for my sister. I did not want to sit still, so she turned it into a game. She would ask if whoever was walking down the street towards our car was my sister. “Is that huge man your sister?” “NO!” (huge laughter) “Is that old lady your sister?” “NO!” (rolling on the floor laughing). Finally, my sister would arrive, and I would joyfully walk with my family to the car.
As I reflect on this example of waiting, I see that growing patience can be full of joy, laughter, and hope, as much as it can be a time which is difficult, irritating, and uncomfortable. Regardless of our emotional state, Simeon and Anna show us that faithful waiting is never in vain—it leads us to a moment of recognition, a moment when we see Christ clearly before us.
Like how we will clearly see Christ before us in Skylar’s baptism today. Holy Baptism is the sacramental way we are adopted into the Household of God—the outward and visible signs of water and oil punctuate the sure and certain means of grace that Sklyar receives as she becomes a member of the Body of Christ. In a way, Holy Baptism marks a beginning and an ending—it is a redemption and a release—an ending of the old ways of sin, separation, and death. And at the same time, we realize in Baptism the fulfillment of a promise and the start of a new journey.
Malachi’s words from this morning’s First Lesson tell us that the Lord comes as a refiner’s fire, purifying and making new. Hebrews reminds us that Christ, by taking on flesh, came to release us from fear and death. Holy Baptism, then, is our own presentation before God. It is our moment of being claimed, of being refined and set free to walk as God’s beloved children.
For Skylar, today is the day she is presented before the Church, just as Jesus was presented before His Heavenly Father in the Temple. Skylar will be named and marked as Christ’s own forever. Her parents, Trevor and Sophia, godparents, David and Megan, and other family (including her grandfather—a fellow priest in the Church) stand as witnesses and guides, just as Simeon and Anna once stood. And we, the gathered community, promise to uphold her in the Faith, knowing that our waiting and watching for Christ continues in each new generation. Beautifully, as we wait and watch Skylar (and others who join the Body of Christ), God will give us glimpses of Christ’s presence.
Simeon and Anna teach us something about how we can do this work of waiting and watching and walking together. They show us that waiting is not just about looking for God in the grand moments but in the everyday ones. They show us that we do not wait alone. God is always near, always working, always preparing us to recognize Christ in our midst and in each other. They also show that it is much easier to wait together than alone.
Holy Baptism of course reminds us of these truths too. This is not a finish line but a beginning—an invitation to continue seeking Christ in the world. Just as Simeon and Anna saw salvation in a swaddled baby, we are invited to see Christ in the most unexpected places: in the eyes of a child, in the face of a stranger, in the slow moments when we learn to let go of control and trust that God’s timing is always good.
So, when we grow impatient, when we wonder if God is truly at work in our lives and in this broken world, let us remember Simeon and Anna. Let us remember that Christ comes—perhaps not always in the way we expect or at the speed we desire—but always, always in love. And let us rejoice that today, through Skylar’s baptism, we see once more that the promises of God are being fulfilled in our midst.
Patience is a virtue. Not because it is easy, but because it shapes us to see the world as God sees it. Today, we witness the fulfillment of promises in Jesus’ presentation. We witness the power of redemption and release in Holy Baptism. And we witness, in Skylar, the next chapter of God’s story unfolding.
May we, like Simeon and Anna, live in expectant hope. May we see Christ in the waiting. And may we celebrate and share with joy the light that has come into the world.
Amen.
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