The Real Wise Guys
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”), 24and they offered a sacrifice
according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or
two young pigeons.”
25Now 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. 26It had been revealed to him by the
Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27Guided 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, 28Simeon
took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 29“Master,
now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; 30for my eyes have seen your
salvation, 31which you have prepared in the
presence of all peoples, 32a light for revelation to the
Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” 33And
the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34Then 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 35so that the inner thoughts of many
will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” 36There 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, 37then as a widow to the age of
eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and
prayer night and day. 38At 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. 39When they had finished everything
required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of
Nazareth. 40The child grew and became strong,
filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
Many thanks to Pastor Donna and all of you terrific
Community Church folks for allowing Emsworth U.P. Church to crash your
after-Christmas gathering this morning.
I know that Pastor Donna appreciates the day off just as much as I will
appreciate the day off next Sunday when our congregations join again to mark
the celebration of Epiphany.
Christmas is not officially over until then, so I am not too late to
wish you a very Merry Christmas.
Santa has come and gone, but Jesus’ birthday celebration continues for
another week. Thanks be to God!
And what a great day to be together, most particularly
to witness the Sacrament of Holy Baptism with Mason and his family. Thank you for the privilege of being
here to celebrate the newest member of God’s family here at Community Church.
I do have to ask, however…did anyone notice if Mason's parents brought in a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons
– maybe the cages are somewhere in the back. Jean, are the birds hiding around here somewhere?
Well, whether or not they brought in a sacrificial gift, Mason’s parents have walked a well-worn path this morning. The path of faithful parents carrying
the treasure of their hearts into a holy space and dedicating a treasured son
or daughter to God. Just like Mary
and Joseph in our reading this morning.
I didn’t know there would be a baptism this when I picked this
text. But it is a fitting one,
don’t you think?
After he is born on Christmas, we do not hear much about
Jesus’ childhood in Scripture, unfortunately. We receive just three tiny glimpses in the Gospel of
Luke. First, Jesus’ circumcision
is briefly mentioned in the two verses before the ones we just read. Then, in this passage, his parents
travel with him to Jerusalem for the purification rites and presentation of the
child in the temple 40 days later.
After today’s text, we don’t see Jesus again in Luke until more than a
decade later when he stays behind in the temple, scaring his mother half to
death.
But this text today is a curious thing, isn’t it? After all the hoopla of Christmas, with
angels and annunciations and all manner of holy visitors proclaiming Jesus as
the Messiah, the Son of God, Mary and Joseph still make the journey to fulfill all
the religious requirements for a firstborn male. You would think the Son of God and his family might be
exempt, right? You would think
that Jesus would be holy enough all on his own to not need the affirmation of
the temple. A lot of people have
wondered the same thing about Jesus’ baptism, too. Why would someone like Jesus, who was born without sin, have
to be dedicated or baptized at all?
Perhaps this detail from Luke is here to remind us that
this fully divine Jesus was also born fully human, into a particular time and
place, and into a particular community of faith represented by the temple. Perhaps we need to remember that Jesus
was not born unto himself, to be God all by himself, but into a family to be
raised by particular parents surrounded by other people, friends and
relatives. Perhaps, despite the
scant scriptural detail, we need to remember that like every human baby before
or since, the fully human Jesus could not raise himself. Luke reminds us that it will take a
village of faith to raise God’s son.
It takes a community to remind us who we are, and to whom we belong.
And the first people of the village to recognize Jesus
are Simeon and Anna. And unlike
all the people we heard about on Christmas Eve, Simeon and Anna recognize who
Jesus is without any of the heavenly host helping them out. There are no angels in this story. Only the two stalwarts of the
temple, both of them getting way up there in years, but both of them blessed
with the eyes of the prophets.
Simeon and Anna are often left out of our Christmas story, and they do
not show up in our manger scenes, but if you ask me…Simeon and Anna are the
real wise guys in this season.
Simeon is a paragon of the community’s hope. For years Simeon had been waiting and
hoping for the consolation of Israel, for the assurance that God had not
forgotten the people waiting in darkness to see a great light. Simeon is all about the hope that
doesn’t dim with age or experience, but seems to grow stronger and stronger
with each passing year.
Anna is the paragon of the community’s faithfulness. Despite widowhood and the struggles
that most certainly entailed, Anna fasts and prays day and night, staying
deeply in relationship with God.
Anna is all about faithfulness that digs in its heels and hangs on
through every storm, no matter what.
Both of these characters are not only wise, but also
true pivot points in the story of Jesus.
Simeon and Anna take us out of the anticipation of Advent, the giddiness
of Christmas, and into the hard work of Epiphany. The hard work in which we try to keep our eyes open for the
Christ that is here, dwelling among us, full of grace and truth, even when the
Christmas star has dimmed and moved on.
And as we leave Christmas Day, the first thing we see in
Luke is this poignant encounter. -- two exhausted young parents, in over their
head, and two elderly people who have been waiting forever for this day. In this moment, we see the family and
the elders exchange gifts in honor of the baby in Mary’s arms. Mary and Joseph receive the gift of
knowing that despite the struggle of the last 40 days, they are not alone in
facing the task before them. They
are surrounded by a community of faith who will help their child grow and
become strong and be filled with wisdom.
And Simeon and Anna receive a glimpse of heaven. Simeon and Anna see that God has kept
God’s promise. They have the
wisdom to see both the glory of this miraculous birth and the challenges ahead
for this very human family. The
elders understand the risks of God’s Incarnation, and the price that Mary will
pay when her child of light is opposed by the darkness of the world.
Both Simeon and Anna are old enough to know better, but
they cannot help but rejoice in the redemption of the world represented by this
family standing in the temple.
This family. Mary and Joseph. So ordinary. So tired from the journey. So poor. So
young. So blown away by these
elderly strangers blessing their struggling family. Yet Simeon and Anna see
promise, even knowing that, like most things in life, no great joy comes
without a cost.
This
is a moment that belongs on our Christmas cards. Because, beloved community, Simeon and Anna’s job is also
our job after the carols fade and the Christmas tree comes down, and the manger
is tucked away in the storage room for another year. This is why we were born. This is why our communities of
faith exist. This is why Emsworth
U.P. Church and Community Presbyterian Church are called into being by
God. To lift up the poor and
struggling, and help them to believe that they too are children or God. Or even believe on their behalf when
they cannot believe themselves that God’s promise is for them too.
This is our task after the gifts have been returned and
the last cookies have been eaten.
To share with one other where we see Jesus in our midst, even in
astonishing places. To honor those
most vulnerable who still have something to teach us. To be the safe place for the ones in whom God finds favor,
despite all appearances to the contrary.
We are called to bless and be a blessing. That’s our job.
That’s our job in Epiphany and moving into the new year.
As I thought about Mason’s baptism, I remembered that
my oldest daughter, Rachel, was also baptized on the Sunday after Christmas in
my home church in Uniontown, Pa.
It was the only Sunday that my family could all be gathered
conveniently, and I remember it being a very hectic day, with a cranky baby,
tired parents and scores of relatives trying to celebrate – something. I’m not sure any of us at that moment
knew exactly what we were doing.
We just knew it had to be done.
But I do remember some months later, stepping back into
church life after a season away. I
knew, somewhere in my wandering heart, that our young family needed to connect
to something larger than ourselves.
Not just to Jesus, but to a community of faith that demonstrated and
taught and lived out the love of Jesus – the sort of community that had meant
so much to me when I was growing up.
All of us here have had the great joy of knowing many
Simeons and Annas in our lives – people who have loved us and encouraged us and
reminded us of who we are and to whom we belong.
But as I look at this portrait of the infant Jesus and
the elderly Simeon and Anna, I wonder also if we might see one more thing. As I’ve read this text, I’ve been
reminded that the late Vice President’s Hubert Humphrey once said, “…the moral test of government is how that government treats those
who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of
life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the
needy and the handicapped.”
Not to
usurp the words of a man I admire greatly, but I wonder if we might also think
of how we as Christians think about children in our communities and around the world. How do we value children beyond our
own? Can we see each child as
Simeon and Anna saw the Christ child?
A child of God? A child of
promise? Can we see each child born as gift?
I was reading an article last week that quoted
a UNICEF report which said that as many 15 million young people are trapped in
conflicts in the Central African Republic, Iraq, South Sudan, the Palestinian
territories, Syria and Ukraine.
Throughout the world, 230 million children are living in regions
destabilized by armed conflicts.
UNICEF executive director Anthony Lake said, “Children has been killed
while studying in the classroom and while sleeping in their beds. They have been orphaned, kidnapped,
tortured, recruited, raped and even sold as slaves…never in recent memory have
so many children been subjected to such unspeakable brutality.” In South Sudan, where I will be
traveling in 2 weeks, 750,000 children have been displaced, and 320,000 are
living as refugees. UNICEF says
that in South Sudan, more than 600 children have been killed, while 12,000 have
been recruited or captured by armed groups.
A physician in Boston who grew up in Pakistan,
writing after the massacre of the Pakistani school children 2 weeks ago, said,
“I was sitting in our Cardiac-Medical conference this morning, discussing cases
of complex heart disease and contemplating the fact that we devote prodigious
human and financial resources to saving the life of one child while others
somehow see fit to kill children at random…The smallest coffins are the
heaviest.”
2014 was a terrible year for children. Even close to home, in our own
country. Gun violence. Exploitation. Rape.
Abuse.
Yet, maybe, even in the midst of the evil we cannot escape no matter how
much we try, the only thing we have on this day is praise. Praise of our God
whose power is known and experienced in the vulnerability of humanity. Whose
love is felt in pain and loss. Whose hope knows no limits.
We desperately need Anna and Simeon this week. We need them to help us
utter the praise of God that simultaneously responds to God’s presence and
resists the presence of evil. We need them to model the reaction to the
convergence of waiting that seems to never end and fulfillment beyond our
wildest dreams. We need them to
give us the courage to trust in our God who is indeed present and powerful when
the world in which we live suggests otherwise.
The late Presbyterian pastor and poet David
Steele wrote about Simeon. In it, he imagines Simeon going back and forth
to the Temple every day in his final years, pronouncing that very same blessing
over all the babies presented to him. It's meant to be funny, this image
of Simeon, but then, suddenly, Steele turns and says this:
When I read the blessing
And thought about it,
I began to wish he was right,
About Simeon--and those babies.
And I began thinking about our babies.
And I wished someone,
Some Simeon,
Might hold my grandbabies high--
And yours--
The born ones and the not yet
Proclaiming to them
With great conviction,
"You are the saviors of the World!"
Meaning it so absolutely
Those young 'uns would live it,
And love it,
Thanks be to God. Amen.
