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 turtle-doves 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 for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped 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. When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him. Luke 2:22-40
This Sunday is the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. We meet two elderly people, Simeon and Anna. They were often in the temple but this day was different. This day the Lord came to the temple – not in power and majesty but as a small and vulnerable baby, not six weeks old. What’s that all about? Well, when God shows up somewhere it’s not always as we might expect: God can surprise us. Trying to pin God down to looking and sounding how we might expect God to look and sound isn’t going to get us very far.
Simeon and Anna look at this small baby in his mother’s arms and recognise the long-awaited Messiah, the one who would bring healing and hope, joy and peace, to the people, and glory to God. Somehow, they were able to look at a baby and see a Saviour, when everyone else just saw a baby. May we too have eyes and ears open to recognise God in whatever form God comes to us. Simeon and Anna were waiting for something to happen, expecting God to act, expecting God’s anointed one to come to them some day. They never gave up hope. It’s that sense of hopeful expectation that helped them recognise Jesus – that’s how they could look at a baby and see a Saviour. If we want to see God we need to be seeking God and expecting to find God.
And what of Mary and Joseph? That day they went to the temple to fulfil some important rituals: the purification ritual for a new mother, and the redemption or buying-back of the first-born from service to God. The sacrifice they offered was the one allowed for those too poor to afford a lamb: two turtledoves or two young pigeons. Jesus wasn’t born into a wealthy family. Mary and Joseph were there to do what so many other new parents had done before: on one level, them coming to the temple that day is nothing much out of the ordinary – it’s just people being faithful. And yet it made all the difference in the world to Simeon and Anna. Because of Joseph and Mary’s faithfulness, they got to encounter the long-awaited Messiah, the one they’d been looking for. Because of the faithfulness of two people, others got to experience God in a new way. How might our own quiet faithfulness open up possibilities for those around us?
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