First Sunday after Christmas Day

“An Ancient Witness”

Luke 2:22-38

Luke 2:22–38 NRSV

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 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” 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. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 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, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 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 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” 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, 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. 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.

Legal Definition of witness - (Heb. ayd; Gk. mahr´to̅o̅s) - “in the legal sphere, one who speaks from personal experience about what happened to oneself or another.”

I once was called to be a witness in a court of law. It was a very odd situation as I had not been involved nor had I had I been present to the supposed event at the center of the case. I think I was only called because I was a friend of the accused, and it might had been expected I would take their side. However, I could only give witness to that I did not see or hear anything that was part of the case.

Another time, I had been present when an accident occurred at an intersection. I gave a statement to one of the officers that responded to the scene. That time, I was able to say that I saw the gentleman in the big, old Buick ran through the Stop sign and smashed into the El Camino that was going through the intersection at the time.

Today, another type of witness is important to us.

For Christians the term has a specialized meaning in the NT - “a person present at the ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus (Luke 24:48; Acts 1:22) or to one who attests to the truth about God (John 8:18; Rev. 1:4; 11:3)

I have been called to be this kind of witness as well. In fact, every baptised Christian is called to be a witness to the person of Jesus Christ, the truth about God as revealed to us in the ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

Simeon is an elderly man, a faithful man, one who had an intimate relationship with God through residing with God in Spirit and Truth. He was waiting for the promised savior, the Messiah, like much of Israel. In waited for the fulfilling of the prophet Isaiah’s words in chapter 40, “Comfort, comfort my people says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”

Anna was an 84 year old widow, as faithful as Simeon who longed for the Messiah. She too lived closed to God and was even used by God to speak to His people. Through the Spirit, Anna received one last revelation, that she was in the presence of the one whom she worshiped in this child, who was the reason for her faithfulness in fasting and prayer.

In particular, this is becoming a story about suffering. Simeon is waiting for God to comfort Israel. Anna is in touch with the people who are waiting for the redemption of Israel. They are both living in a world of patient hope, where suffering has become a way of life. It now appears that God’s appointed redeemer will deal with this suffering by sharing it himself. Simeon speaks dark words about opposition, and about a sword that will pierce Mary’s heart as well.1

1 Tom Wright, Luke for Everyone (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 25–26.

In the child Jesus, God is fulfilling Israel’s “God-ordained goal” - “bearer of promise, the nation in and from whom the true world ruler would arise: ‘A light for the revelation to the nations, and glory for your people Israel.’ “ - Wright.

Luke paints a picture of a multi-generational cast of characters that shout out no matter your age the story of Jesus (the gospel) can become your story if you submit to the power of it. Then it becomes your calling. You continue to have a role in God’s plan - your time to continue to be part of the fulfilling of God’s plan is not over. It will not matter if you are praying behind the scenes are on the front lines of ministry, you still have an opportunity to be part of something new that God is doing here in Frederick and Warren County.

Mary and Joseph needed Simeon and Anna, and Simeon and Anna needed them.

Another teaching I have received this year from the story of the Incarnation this year is that it is a story of witness.

Angels witness to what God intends to do through this young girl Mary.

Angels appear to the shepherds, who in return visit the child, and go to be witnesses themselves

The magi come and go as witnesses

Ambrose “Christ received a witness at his birth, not only from prophets and shepherds, but also from aged and holy men and women. Every age, and both sexes, and the marvels of events, confirm our faith. A virgin brings forth, the barren becomes a mother, the dumb speaks, Elizabeth prophesies, the wise men adore, the babe leaps in the womb, the widow praises God … Simeon prophesied; she who was wedded prophesied; she who was a virgin prophesied; and now a widow prophesies. 1

1 John Peter Lange and J. J. van Oosterzee, A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Luke, trans. Philip Schaff and Charles C. Starbuck (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 47.

What if Simeon and Anna are expressions of what the Church could be, especially in times of quarantine and isolation due to the scourge of pandemic, the sin of racism, and the loss of a feel for the common good? Though they both do not know each other and have spent their long years in different circumstances, they have a common good in their heart - the good of a God of steadfast love who made a covenant promise to Abraham that he would be the seed of a people who were to set apart by God for the blessing of the nations.

Now they both step forward with a united witness that God is fulfilling the covenant in becoming flesh in this child that all of the cosmos would be redeemed and all things would be made right in God’s time. Isn’t this being the ecclesia/church? To witness to God’s presence already in the world that fulfills the prophets words with new life that all might come into the triune relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Isn’t it being church to be the lifted prayer in the night? Isn’t it being the church to be the one single vessel of hope in the midst of a dry land where hopelessness is the norm rather than the exception?

My friends I ask you to consider this week the story of Simeon and Anna as your story in this place and time and how you remain faithful as the body of Christ for the transformation of the world.