Being Present with Assurance

NRSV Luke 2:22-40 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

29“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.[1]

INTRO

Most pastors take this week off. The time right after Christmas until after epiphany is a very common time to take off, as its often a down week in the life of the Church. I usually waited until epiphany to take my vacation, primarily because I could get a better pick of lay servants to substitute for me, as the week immediately after Christmas is usually something pastors arrange months in advance.

Even so, this is not a passage people spend a lot of time on. By now, we can’t wait for Christmas season to be over, with many of us having already put away our decorations. Some people might wait until January 6th, epiphany proper, to take down decorations, but with how early Christmas music seems to start playing on the radio and in stores, many of us are just done. Better to move on to the life and ministry of Jesus in Church rather than dwell on the baby for much longer.

Even so, we get this story in Luke about the period of Christ as a young boy. Luke includes two accounts of Christ’s early life: Today’s scripture and a text about Jesus not coming home with his parents from temple when he is 12. Meanwhile Matthew is famous for the wise men encounter, but lacks these two texts, and Mark and John make no mention of him before his ministry begins. That’s ok, it is not their focus.

But what makes this story interesting is not anything Jesus does directly, but what it tells us about who he is.

Firstly, we see Jesus is a Jew raised in the customs of the faithful. Exodus 13 makes it clear what must be done for a child to be consecrated, in much the same way infant baptism is practiced by Christians today. Certain sacrifices are in order, and the newborn is to be presented to the Lord. Of course, God knows who we are even without such ceremonies, but there is something meaningful about having such an intimate encounter with the grace of God at an early age. Plus it announces to the community that here is a child they will be responsible for in the coming years. There are few things as joyous as initiating a baby into the life of faith.

There are two people that take an interest in Jesus at the temple. The first is a man named Simeon. Some later writers have tried to make him out to be a priest of some kind, but scripture is not explicit on this account. He is, however “righteous and devout.” This implies that he was a very pious man, loyal and a regular at the temple. In another age, he might have been a monk or a priest, but we know of no such identifiers here.

He was a man who wanted the “consolation of Israel.”

This is the first time this turn of phrase gets used. It implies both council and comfort, something spoken of heavily by the prophet Isaiah. “Comfort, comfort my people!” and “He shall be called Wonderful, counselor…” These two ideas are rolled into one, and put on the idea of the messianic figure, the one who would save Israel from its circumstances. The messiah would be more than just wise counsel, but also a comfort to the people of Israel in a time of their oppression. Little did they know what that would entail….

Simeon had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. As he was an old man, it was unlikely that he would live long enough to see Israel’s salvation itself, but instead see the child presented to the temple as part of the consecration ceremony. This promise, however, does imply a lot of waiting.

We don’t know how old Simeon was, or how long he was waiting. All we know is that the Holy Spirit was upon him. A curious thing to note, as most people associate the Holy Spirit with Christ’s ministry, yet here is the Holy Spirit at work in other people beyond just Christ. Yet the sensible answer should be “why wouldn’t the Holy Spirit be at work in the world?” Too many heresies try to claim that the spirit moves only after Jesus left the earth, or that the Holy Spirit is a localized phenomenon, or that it merely adopts people into being in God’s household. None of these heresies stand up to scrutiny! Even within the gospel of Luke, we see the Holy Spirit at work within Mary and Elizabeth, and here is Simeon, touched by the Holy Spirit apart from any interaction to Jesus.

Simeon recognizes Jesus immediately! There are no details on how he would be recognized, no angel telling him to that the baby would be wrapped in swaddling clothes or being carried in a specific way… but the Holy Spirit does put people in the right place at the right time. He takes Jesus into his arms and gives away a lot of details. Details that will be important to anyone just learning of this man called Jesus.

The first detail is that Simeon was now able to die at peace, for he had seen God’s salvation. While it is unclear how many would have known what this meant, we can presume Mary and Joseph did in fact know what he was talking about. Despite the popularity of “Mary Did You Know?”, She absolutely did know who Jesus was.

The other important detail is that Jesus was not just for Israel, but for all peoples, including the gentiles. Though Simeon was specifically waiting for the consolation of Israel, when he speaks, he speaks of Jesus being a light for revelation to the gentiles. This was NOT part of what most of the Israelites would have been thinking when they thought of their Messiah. Their messiah was to be a king for their nation, that being Israel, and if their nation ruled over others like say, the Persians had centuries before, then well enough, but that was not the purpose of THEIR messiah.

Yet Simeon spoke of one who would be a light of revelation to all peoples. The Holy Spirit does not allow him to blunt Christ’s future ministry or limit it in any way. Simeon further speaks to Mary that Jesus will cause the rise and fall of many in Israel. These words point to something very uncomfortable for the people of Israel, for their messiah would NOT simply take over the established order cleanly, but instead would upend it.

The powerful feared the messiah for this reason, as they were not ready to lead their coming rebellion against the romans. They needed time to get their affairs in order, and to do it their way, and not be pushed aside by some “Messiah” born of a carpenter from the countryside. Such outsiders lead to no good ends, with the prophets being the perfect example. No wonder King Herod ordered the massacre of the innocents…

Speaking of prophets, we get another encounter of the infant Jesus with the prophetess Anna. She was an old woman. The text is a bit unclear whether she was 84 years old, or 84 years a widow… plus 7 years married off being a virgin so roughly 104 years old. Even at her age, she regularly kept to fasting and prayer all day and night. As a prophet, her role in society was to speak of God’s will into the world. This goes beyond a priest, who manages God on behalf of the state, but rather a prophet speaks for God to whoever they are sent to speak to. She was sent to the temple, not as a priest but to speak on behalf of God to those who could hear. If you are imagining a particularly effective Sunday school teacher, you probably aren’t too far off.

While we do not see her pick Jesus up, or even point Jesus out directly, she does speak of “him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” This being the messiah, that the messiah had come. I like to imagine she’s giving a talk off to the side away from the big receiving line of the temple, and she starts talking about a Messiah being there and giving thanks, but she does not point out who said messiah is, all while Simeon is off in the receiving line holding up Jesus and celebrating that he can finally die.

…

These two events are odd. They don’t really fit in very well with what we expect of Jesus. Jesus is not really the active participant here, yet we have very holy people proclaiming that the promised messiah has come in the center of religious life in Israel. Sure, many people had made such claims before, but two separate proclamations, happening simultaneously? That should raise alarms for any sceptic, especially within the temple, for anyone paying attention.

Yet this event does not reach the priests, or the powerful, or the important. Anna was an old prophetess. People still cared about what she had to say, but often people take what a prophet has to say and go about their daily lives, unless they are in trouble and in serious need of advice. Even then, the last thing most people want to do is pay close attention to someone who claims to speak on behalf of God, for if they speak to you, then God has noticed you, for good or for ill. You have to do something then, which forces people out of their daily lives and routines. We wouldn’t want religion to do that now would we?

Simeon, on the other hand, never utters the word “messiah,” but instead speaks of revelation to the gentiles? Who in Israel cares about that? The Israelites wanted the gentiles out of their province, especially the Romans and the Greeks. No way the messiah would care about them, he must be speaking of some new religious movement, like the Maccabees or some new convert religious movement. Best keep our heads down and follow the law and make the sacrifice in the temple like originally planned… who KNOWS what crazy thing the old man might say to me as he goes down the line.

Yet God still is telling us something here. Christ was born in terrible conditions: in a barn feeding trough. Jesus was first revealed to the shepherds and those looking for signs. And now he was being revealed to holy and righteous individuals that he was important, and that God had not abandoned them or his promise to Israel.

Though most people would not have understood it, God lovingly brought peace, joy, and hope to Simeon and Anna, in a time when such things seemed in short supply. The world Jesus was born into was an uncertain one. Though Rome would rule for centuries past this, Israel would also try and fail a rebellion. The Israelites would be scattered throughout the empire, and a new religious movement would overturn the whole social order within 300 years. And in the middle of all these factors, came a savior who taught us that God does not have to play by our rules. That God keeps his promises, but often in ways we are not prepared for or may go unnoticed unless we are focused in on God. And through all the upheaval going on in the world, Jesus came to those that needed him the most. First the poor and lowly on Christmas, then to these two holy people in the temple, and eventually the whole world would know his name.

Likewise, Christ comes to us, regardless of where we are in life. God cares enough about us to meet us where we are, whether that be working the graveyard shift or in Church going about our business. We can meet Christ in the darkest times of our lives, or just as a matter of course for being born and raised in a Christian household. Regardless, God has given us a savior unlike anything our preconceived notions might have expected. What we must do in the coming year is be open to whatever call God has put on our hearts, going where the Spirit leads us, and learn from Christ about the kingdom that is not of this world.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (Washington, DC: National Council of Churches of Christ, 1993), Lk 2:22–40.