IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME: SIMEON AND ANNA

 

Luke 2:22-40

Are you familiar with the carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas?”  Well, that song is about the season of Christmas – the twelve days beginning with Christmas Day and ending on January 5, Epiphany, the day that the Visit of the Magi is celebrated.

From the first Sunday in Advent to Epiphany, starting with the story of Zachariah and Gabriel to the tale of how three wise men followed a star to Bethlehem, we watch the glorious, miraculous unfolding of the fullness of God’s time.

 

MESSAGE

If a story begins with “in the fullness of time”, it’s pretty much a given that it’s going to be about a person or a group of people who have been waiting for something to happen for a very long time.  To be exact, humanity had been waiting since the snake and apple incident in the Garden of Eden when God cursed the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

The prophesy of Isaiah 9 was given during a time when the people of Israel was suffering under a rule of a succession of “bad kings,” kings who had turned away from God and were leading the people to their destruction.  There has been some speculation that Isaiah expected to see God fulfill the promise of the prophesy in a year or two.  And yet, Isaiah 61 is given to a people living in the darkness of exile and captivity in Babylon.

All this is to say that when it comes to the delivery of humanity from sin and eternal death, God is in it for the long haul.  It’s a reminder to us, the followers of Christ, that we, too, are in it for the long haul.  Our prayers of today may be answered in a tomorrow that comes after our life here is over.  We may sow seeds of the Gospel, but we may not be present when they are harvested.

In this story from Luke, I believe Simeon and Anna represent all those generations before them who hoped and prayed for the Messiah.  Simeon, a priest in the temple in Jerusalem, is described as a “devout and righteous man.”  All his life, he had kept vigil, praying and watching for the child who would be called Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace and the Everlasting Father.  Anna, also, had been waiting and watching.  Since the death of her husband unto her 84^th year, she had been praying for the day when God would send his anointed one.

With devotion and respect for God’s law, eight days after Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple.  There, Joseph would offer the sacrifice for a first-born son of two turtle doves.  Then Jesus would be circumcised. 

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, went to the temple that same day.  When the young couple arrived with the Christ child, Simeon greeted them with rejoicing and took the child into his arms.  He blessed Mary and Joseph, and then, speaking to only Mary said,

 “This child marks both the failure and
    the recovery of many in Israel,
A figure misunderstood and contradicted—
    the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
But the rejection will force honesty,
    as God reveals who they really are.”

                             Luke 2:35, The Message

Through Simeon’s words to Mary, we are pointed toward a future that includes a cross.  The Christmas story is not a traditional folk tale that ends with “And they all lived happily ever after.”  The significance of Christmas is that it is the beginning of one chapter in the story of God’s mission of salvation which ends 30 or so years later with the promise that through Jesus, we may all live eternally ever after.

Anna confirms Simeon’s witness with her own.  As the shepherds did eight days before, she hurries out to share the good news that the Messiah, the promised child has been born, the salvation of humanity has come to rule with justice and compassion.

God’s mission continues to this day and beyond.  God is in it for the long haul.  Until that day when Christ returns, God will continue to come into this world, pouring out his grace and touching lives every day.

And every day Christ calls us to: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”    (Matthew 28:19-20)

As disciples of Jesus, we are in it for the long haul. It’s not going to be easy.  Some days, it will feel like we’re wandering around in the wilderness not sure we’re going.  Those are times we walk one day at a time with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

There will be seasons when we feel like we’re being held captive in a foreign land because of outside circumstances we have no control over.  That’s when we’ll be sustained by the abiding strength and presence of God with us.

And in all times, we can rejoice, for being faithful in our calling, we can proclaim, “We have seen the salvation of God, Jesus Christ.  We are filled with peace and the strength of the joy of the Lord.”

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