Luke 2:22-40 "Old and New"
Pray
Luke 2:22-40 "Old and New"- a Christmas story that doesn’t get all the fanfare- there are no angels, no kings from distant lands- just a couple of elderly people holding a baby. When I read this story, I had to wonder why Christians and our culture hasn’t lifted this story up as one of the central stories of Christmas- it was, after all, only eight days after he was born, where the wise men visited Jesus months or maybe even two years after his birth
So let us hear this story again or maybe for the first time
Luke 2:22-40
When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."
33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
(from New International Version)
A pastor was leaving his area and was saying farewell to his congregation at the Church doors for the last time. He shook the hand of an elderly lady as she walked out. She said "Your successor won't be as good as you."
"Nonsense", said the pastor, in a flattered tone.
"No, really", said the old lady, "I've been here under five different ministers and each new one has been worse than the last."
Knowing the future- is closely linked to understanding the past
How do we look forward?
Today we are learning from the story of Simeon and Anna and the Holy Family- and I believe there is something for us to learn- something from Anna and Simeon- how did they see the future for the baby Jesus?
I saw an article today, the headline read 2006 Economy looks strong- how do they know it was Dec. 28th when I read it, in the 2005?
Predicting economic activity is of course different than identifying the Christ child
But they have something in common- economic predictions are based heavily on the past- on past performances- on trends
They determine the news- by looking at the old- and making educated guesses
In the story of Anna and Simeon- they were old folks- on the verge of death
Their lives prepared them to see Jesus this day
Looking at Simeon’s Name and Life- and his part in this story
Gen 29:33- Leah’s second child, her first was Reuben, was Simeon. 33 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon
He was named after a second child- he may have been a middle child- beyond this we don’t know much about his name or family
- A person of the Holy Spirit- he was righteous and devout
- Had convictions, specific convictions- for example he would see the Christ before he died
- Though he was a person of the Spirit- a spiritual person- he was not always at the Temple, but indeed the Holy Spirit asked him to go to the temple on that day
- From the story it appears that Simeon was welcomed at the temple and he must have been near Jesus’ circumcision- possibly as a witness, or as an elder- but the text tells us he was because he had been moved to be there by the Holy Spirit.
-"For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people"
Simeon is impressed with the incarnation- the location of God on earth
- Simeon was living just to see the hope of God- and seeing the infant was enough for him, he was ready to die at that point
- Simeon’s words were not all sweetness and light- they were reality, he said, "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
This the order of Simeon’s action that day:
1. Waiting
2. Moved by the Spirit to go to the Temple Courts
3. Took baby Jesus into his arms
4. Praised God saying, "Sovereign Lord..."
5. Parents were marveled- then Simeon said a blessing to them both
6. Spoke directly to Mary, ""This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
Could Joseph not bear to hear this difficult news?- We don’t know
Simeon’s thoughts cont...
7. Sum- encouragement and grounding-
Looking at Anna’s Names and Life- and her part in this story
Anna’s names have some history-
- Leah was Jacob’s first wife, her father, Laban had tricked Jacob into marrying Leah first
- Then Rachel had her maidservant Billah have children with jacob. Leah- was temporarily done with having children, so she had her servant- Zilpah have children with Jacob= Zilpah’s second son, a son of Jacob was named Asher (Jacob’s eighth son)- this is Anna’s tribe
- The name Anna- is related to the name Hannah- the mother of Samuel- the root word for Hannah and Anna means favor or "to bow to"
- Phanuel is really the Peniel- Jacob called the place where he wrestled God, "Peniel" because he saw God face to face- Phanuel= face of God
Anna is from an "average" tribe- her personal name comes from the mother of the prophet Samuel= and her father’s name means the face of God- though she was not a biological mother- she was a favored woman who held the God-child in her arms and saw God face to face
Anna’s identity:
- She fasted and prayed for DECADES=
- She was likely taken care of by the generosity of others- maybe family
- She came up to the "holy family" "the very moment" when Simeon was blessing them
Her ability to see the Christ- came from her preparation and her identity as being one in love with God
The old- Simeon and Anna- were indeed "new" thinkers
- They were old in age
- But they were willing to see that God was doing a new thing, through this infant- that this Christ was to be for the Gentiles and for Israel
A promise has two ends- the hope and the fulfillment
What is the point of this story?
God is encouraging Jesus’ parents- they needed it- think of their situation
You’ve heard the proverb, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
Well there is a Spanish Proverb, "An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest."- Anna and Simeon were being used to give confidence, encouragement to Mary and Joseph
In a real sense- Anna and Simeon are Jesus’ God-parents- they are charging his parents to raise this child as the Christ
Jesus being the Christ wasn’t obvious to everyone
Jesus was normal (following traditions)- 2 pigeons- a sacrifice of poor people and not normal- not just another ooh your baby is cute
Simeon and Anna were devoted Yahweh followers- not religious elite- they were the personally devout- God is using his everyday- elderly church folk to be his prophets-
How does this story relate to my life? How do we see into the future?
Having visions of the future- means living in God’s love in the present
Spend time this year in prayer- in fasting- in worship- being in God’s presence and you will have visions of what could be– what could be in your life, in you family’s life, in our church’s life- in the life of our community
God will use what has happened to you in the past and make it a foundation for you to stand on so that you can be His servant
A New Year= things can get better- this year you can see God face to face in your life- You can be held- captured by a vision of God to live a committed, devoted, righteous and loving life
Amen
Luke 2:22-40 "Old and New"- a Christmas story that doesn’t get all the fanfare- there are no angels, no kings from distant lands- just a couple of elderly people holding a baby. When I read this story, I had to wonder why Christians and our culture hasn’t lifted this story up as one of the central stories of Christmas- it was, after all, only eight days after he was born, where the wise men visited Jesus months or maybe even two years after his birth
So let us hear this story again or maybe for the first time
Luke 2:22-40
When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."
33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
(from New International Version)
A pastor was leaving his area and was saying farewell to his congregation at the Church doors for the last time. He shook the hand of an elderly lady as she walked out. She said "Your successor won't be as good as you."
"Nonsense", said the pastor, in a flattered tone.
"No, really", said the old lady, "I've been here under five different ministers and each new one has been worse than the last."
Knowing the future- is closely linked to understanding the past
How do we look forward?
Today we are learning from the story of Simeon and Anna and the Holy Family- and I believe there is something for us to learn- something from Anna and Simeon- how did they see the future for the baby Jesus?
I saw an article today, the headline read 2006 Economy looks strong- how do they know it was Dec. 28th when I read it, in the 2005?
Predicting economic activity is of course different than identifying the Christ child
But they have something in common- economic predictions are based heavily on the past- on past performances- on trends
They determine the news- by looking at the old- and making educated guesses
In the story of Anna and Simeon- they were old folks- on the verge of death
Their lives prepared them to see Jesus this day
Looking at Simeon’s Name and Life- and his part in this story
Gen 29:33- Leah’s second child, her first was Reuben, was Simeon. 33 She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon
He was named after a second child- he may have been a middle child- beyond this we don’t know much about his name or family
- A person of the Holy Spirit- he was righteous and devout
- Had convictions, specific convictions- for example he would see the Christ before he died
- Though he was a person of the Spirit- a spiritual person- he was not always at the Temple, but indeed the Holy Spirit asked him to go to the temple on that day
- From the story it appears that Simeon was welcomed at the temple and he must have been near Jesus’ circumcision- possibly as a witness, or as an elder- but the text tells us he was because he had been moved to be there by the Holy Spirit.
-"For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people"
Simeon is impressed with the incarnation- the location of God on earth
- Simeon was living just to see the hope of God- and seeing the infant was enough for him, he was ready to die at that point
- Simeon’s words were not all sweetness and light- they were reality, he said, "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
This the order of Simeon’s action that day:
1. Waiting
2. Moved by the Spirit to go to the Temple Courts
3. Took baby Jesus into his arms
4. Praised God saying, "Sovereign Lord..."
5. Parents were marveled- then Simeon said a blessing to them both
6. Spoke directly to Mary, ""This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
Could Joseph not bear to hear this difficult news?- We don’t know
Simeon’s thoughts cont...
7. Sum- encouragement and grounding-
Looking at Anna’s Names and Life- and her part in this story
Anna’s names have some history-
- Leah was Jacob’s first wife, her father, Laban had tricked Jacob into marrying Leah first
- Then Rachel had her maidservant Billah have children with jacob. Leah- was temporarily done with having children, so she had her servant- Zilpah have children with Jacob= Zilpah’s second son, a son of Jacob was named Asher (Jacob’s eighth son)- this is Anna’s tribe
- The name Anna- is related to the name Hannah- the mother of Samuel- the root word for Hannah and Anna means favor or "to bow to"
- Phanuel is really the Peniel- Jacob called the place where he wrestled God, "Peniel" because he saw God face to face- Phanuel= face of God
Anna is from an "average" tribe- her personal name comes from the mother of the prophet Samuel= and her father’s name means the face of God- though she was not a biological mother- she was a favored woman who held the God-child in her arms and saw God face to face
Anna’s identity:
- She fasted and prayed for DECADES=
- She was likely taken care of by the generosity of others- maybe family
- She came up to the "holy family" "the very moment" when Simeon was blessing them
Her ability to see the Christ- came from her preparation and her identity as being one in love with God
The old- Simeon and Anna- were indeed "new" thinkers
- They were old in age
- But they were willing to see that God was doing a new thing, through this infant- that this Christ was to be for the Gentiles and for Israel
A promise has two ends- the hope and the fulfillment
What is the point of this story?
God is encouraging Jesus’ parents- they needed it- think of their situation
You’ve heard the proverb, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
Well there is a Spanish Proverb, "An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest."- Anna and Simeon were being used to give confidence, encouragement to Mary and Joseph
In a real sense- Anna and Simeon are Jesus’ God-parents- they are charging his parents to raise this child as the Christ
Jesus being the Christ wasn’t obvious to everyone
Jesus was normal (following traditions)- 2 pigeons- a sacrifice of poor people and not normal- not just another ooh your baby is cute
Simeon and Anna were devoted Yahweh followers- not religious elite- they were the personally devout- God is using his everyday- elderly church folk to be his prophets-
How does this story relate to my life? How do we see into the future?
Having visions of the future- means living in God’s love in the present
Spend time this year in prayer- in fasting- in worship- being in God’s presence and you will have visions of what could be– what could be in your life, in you family’s life, in our church’s life- in the life of our community
God will use what has happened to you in the past and make it a foundation for you to stand on so that you can be His servant
A New Year= things can get better- this year you can see God face to face in your life- You can be held- captured by a vision of God to live a committed, devoted, righteous and loving life
Amen
posted by Palouse Fed. Church at 11:42 PM
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