Luke 2:22-40
In last week’s Christmas
Eve sermon I talked about how both lowly, outcast shepherds and wise, wealthy
strangers stood at the side of Mary, Joseph and Jesus to teach us about what it
means to adore God and to really believe that God adores us. This
morning, let’s meet two other adorers who came to the side of the newborn
Messiah. There are a few likely reasons why Luke tells
us their story. A reason I invite us to
consider is that Simeon and Anna are Luke’s way of calling on us to pay
reverent attention to the faithful words and wisdom of the older, tradition
bearing believers found in every congregation.
Luke first tells us the
context in which Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus meet this significant pair of very
first believers. It happened because Mary and Joseph devoutly
chose to honor tradition. They did so by
going to the great Temple in Jerusalem to ritually dedicate the baby. Luke doesn’t tell us this historical fact as
a side note. It’s there for the very
important reason of reminding us that as Christians we are firmly connected
with the sacred history of the Hebrews.
This Gospel writer
insists that we remember how back in the days of Egypt, all Hebrew children
born into that slavery belonged to a slave master. But as we know God worked miraculously through
Moses to liberate them into a free future.
So the religious practice of dedicating the firstborn male, found in
Exodus 13:2, was then established to celebrate and confirm their identity as people
belonging to God alone. Every time we offer the sacrament of baptism, I
follow suit by praying over the water being using with the words “We thank you,
Almighty God, for the gift of water … through water You led the children of
Israel from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land.”[i] By telling us that Mary and Joseph obeyed the
traditional ritual found in Exodus, Luke is reminding us that the rescuing God
of Moses is the very same God active in the lives of Mary, Joseph and the
infant Messiah. And, of course, the
same God of the two tradition-bearing first believers Luke calls on us to pay
reverent attention to.
As the holy family dutifully
entered the great temple that day, the first of the elder duo, a righteous and
devout man named Simeon, quickly came to their side and asked to hold the baby. Many of us have done the same, haven’t
we? Asked to hold someone else’s baby at
a church event? I really think there is
a something about cradling an infant in our arms that deeply comforts us and
fills us with fresh hope.
But it was not a general comfort or hope for
the future Simeon was cradling. He’d
been waiting his entire life for the fulfillment of a special promise given to
his heart by the Holy Spirit. This was the promise that he would not die
before getting the chance to personally see the Savior of the World. How he recognized and confirmed the Messiah
in the cute little scrunched up face of baby Jesus we can only say was revelation
of the Holy Spirit. After all, unlike
the shepherds and wise men who’d come to Mary and Joseph’s side for the same
purpose, there isn’t any record of Simeon having been visited beforehand by a
heavenly host of angels or being given a bright, guiding star.
So there stood Simeon, looking
and cooing right into the face of everything his heart had most been looking
forward to seeing before passing from this world. Just try to imagine yourself in the same
sacred place, feeling the immense elation of truly, deeply knowing that not
only had God’s personal word come true for you, but even more so God’s word of
salvation for all humanity. So he joyfully
praised the only God he and they all belonged to saying, “Master, you are now
dismissing your servant in peace, according to Your Word, for my eyes have seen
Your salvation.” And then, being
someone who had long lived a righteous and devout life, he added a few words of
saintly and prophetic wisdom to his proclamation. He turned to Mary and Joseph and spoke
cautionary words about how Jesus was going to bring about the rising and
falling of many people by bringing their innermost thoughts to light.
Once telling us about Simeon
stepping out the shadows to offer blessing, Luke then immediately introduces us
to a devout eighty-four year old woman named Anna. Her beautiful name, at its biblical language
root, means “grace.”[ii] She’d long been a widow, and since economic
status was strictly tied to marital status, this had left her socially and
financially marginalized. To survive, she
had found safe sanctuary by spending night and day in the temple worshipping with
fasting and prayer.
Since Luke likes to give
us important contextual facts to connect us Christians with the sacred history
of the Israelites, it’s good to wonder why he mentions Anna’s daily spiritual
practices. I found out the constant fasting
was a sign of her being in a state of mourning.
But not just for her husband. It was mourning for all God’s people in suffering.[iii] This does explain why Luke identifies her
as a prophet. But this life-long
mourning turned to instant joy and praise upon seeing baby Jesus. No longer did she need to live in intercessory
sorrow, for she knew this child had been born to fully free all of humanity
from enslavement to sin. So bless her
heart, she spoke right up and praised the arrival of the world’s Redeemer.
Devout congregational
elders Simeon and Anna. No angelic chorus suddenly summoned them. No sudden stunning starlight shone on them. I don’t believe I know of any hymns that
help us sing of them. Yet they are both
crucial witnesses in the Christmas story.
Who are the modern day
Simeons and Annas in every church? Right
here at FPC? Folks perhaps just waiting in the wings for an
inspired, opportune moment to speak about the hope and vision for the future the
Holy Spirit has long placed in their hearts?
To speak faithful words and
wisdom to young families coming through the doors of historic churches seeking
to fulfill traditional rituals? To
offer witness to the constant, daily Christmas truth that the Savior of the
World is with us?
I can’t think of any
better of the very first Christian believers to call our attention to on this
first Sunday in 2014 than Simeon and Anna.
They further fuel my strong desire – and sure, let’s call it a
resolution -- that we need to work together to find more ways of facilitating faithful
conversations between generations here at FPC.
I know how blessed I am to be pastor for so many wise, long-standing
tradition bearing believers. And I
know how greatly I value your voices.
So if you have an inspired idea or two about how we can get more relevant,
intergenerational conversation about Jesus Christ going in our congregation, in
our families and across our local communities, please reach out to me soon so
we can spend some time together. I’m
hoping and planning on this being a year of strategic visioning for the future
God is calling us as FPC to live into.
And this looking forward always begins by stopping and listening to all
the ways God’s Word keeps stepping up and out to speak to us all. Amen.
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