Some of you will remember the TV commercial from the 70s for Heinz ketchup.  Carly Simon’s song “Anticipation” played while the person waited for the ketchup to slowly come out of the bottle.  The idea was that some things are worth waiting for.

For most of us waiting is not a pleasant prospect.  But when waiting becomes anticipation it can be a wondrous thing – the expectation for something we look forward to; the building of excitement as the moment draws closer.  We can envision what lies ahead and each day builds more and more hope as the day draws near.

As a kid, that is the way Christmas was for me.  Sure, there were times when I impatiently waited for that day to arrive, but mostly it was this building expectation for Christmas morning.  We couldn’t wait for the day to come, and all of the Christmas traditions and special occasions just added to the longing for Christmas day.  Still today, as a fifty-two year old kid, the month of December holds a special sense of anticipation.

I think about all of those saints who lived prior to the birth of Christ – how they lived with the anticipation and expectation that the Messiah would come, their Savior and King.  The promises of God and the words of the prophets stirred that expectation and longing.  But most of those people, generation after generation, died without seeing the fulfillment of the promise.

The gospel writer, Luke, tells us about two exceptions.  An old man named Simeon had been waiting for years for the promise of the coming One who would be the comfort and consolation of Israel.  He saw that day come and got to hold the child, Jesus, in his arms.  His words are moving; “Lord, now I can die in peace!  As you promised me, I have seen the Savior you have given to all people.”

Anna was a devout lady who dedicated herself to prayer and service in God’s temple.  She had been a widow for many years and had been waiting for the promised deliverer who would bring salvation.  After all those years, she finally got to witness this huge moment in history.  All that she had longed for and anticipated was there in Jesus, and she saw Him with her own eyes.

Since the time Christ left this earth, leaving the promise that He would return, generation after generation of faithful believers have lived and died with the anticipation of His return.  And so today we still live with that anticipation. 

Sometimes it feels like we are waiting impatiently, especially when life gets hard.  But mostly, for me, it is this deep longing for the time when the King of the universe returns to set all things right, to judge evil, to establish justice and lasting peace; and ultimately to make all things new.  I anticipate the new heaven and new earth where God will be very present among us and we will be at home with God.  I live in expectation of the time when there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  Until that time – I keep on hoping, anticipating, longing for Home.