The events of this passage take place not long after our Lord’s birth. I would sum up this passage in two words: faith and faithfulness. You have the holy family: Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. Mary and Joseph are faithful, devout people. Luke goes out of his way to remind us, over and over, what they are doing is in fulfillment of the law. These are faithful people. Then we have Simeon and Anna. They have faithfully waited for the Messiah to be come. And behind all of this is God who is faithful to the promise and whose Holy Spirit is present throughout this passage. This passage is rich with examples of faith and faithfulness. So, let’s begin with the holy family.
We’re told they name the child Jesus, in obedience to the angel. They circumcise Jesus on the eighth day, in accordance with the law. At the appropriate time, they bring the child to the temple to dedicate him to God as their first-born son. Again, all of this is done because they are devout, faithful people. For us, this passage should bring to mind Christian parents who bring their infants to be dedicated to God through baptism, with the promise that their children will be raised in the faith and within the community of the faithful. That’s very similar to what is happening here. Mary and Joseph are taking the steps that were required by law, but they’re not just trying meet a set of requirements. The idea was that parents should immerse their children within the faith from the very beginning.
God’s design was that the faith would be a family faith, a generational faith, and ultimately the faith of the whole community. So, think of the Old Testament where God is so often referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those aren’t just random individual names. On the contrary, those names refer to a family. God is the God of the whole family: grandfather, father, and son; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And, the understanding was that the whole nation of Israel were members of that one family.
Spiritually speaking, as Christians, we are adopted (by grace through faith) into that spiritual family, into the spiritual house of God. Ephesians 2:19-20, “So…you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are…members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” So, we are members of the family of God, the household of God. Joseph and Mary are faithful people carrying on this tradition of raising their son, Jesus, within the family of faith. This brings us to Simeon.
Simeon was also a person of faith and faithfulness. We’re told he was righteous and devout, and that he was looking forward to the consolation of Israel, which is a reference to the coming Messiah. We’re told the Holy Spirit rested on him and had revealed that he would see the Messiah in his lifetime. In this sense, we can think of Simeon as a watchman. That was his God-given vocation, a watchman.
In the Old Testament, the watchman would stand on the wall that protected the city, and watch. That was their job, to watch for whoever might be coming. If an army was approaching the city, the watchman would call out to warn the people to get ready. Or, if the king had been away and was returning home, when the watchman saw the king coming he would call out to let the people know, so they would get ready for his arrival. Simeon had been appointed watchman to wait and look for the coming Messiah.
On that day, the Holy Spirit guides Simeon to the temple. When Mary and Joseph come to the temple to do what was customary under the law, Simeon sees them, takes the child into his arms and begins to praise 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.”
Simeon is an image of Advent fulfilled. Day after day he had been watching, waiting for the messiah to come. Now, as he holds the messiah in his arms, as he holds the Lord of the universe in his arms, he praises and thanks God for being faithful. First, God has been faithful to Simeon, letting him see the Messiah with his own eyes, as was promised. Now his service as watchman is complete. He is released from his duty. But, more than that, God has been faithful in sending salvation not only to Israel, but also to the Gentiles, just as the prophets had foretold.
But then, Simeon begins to prophesy. This prophesy is the first time we get a glimpse that the future of this child will not be quite what the people were expecting from the Messiah. This “consolation of Israel” will be opposed by some of his own people. Moreover, he will reveal their inner thoughts, and the gospels bear this out. The religious leaders, for instance, opposed Jesus and very often he would reveal their inner thoughts, much to their consternation. Then, Simeon says, even the soul of Mary will be pierced, no doubt a reference to the cross and the agony only she could know as his mother.
Next, we have Anna. Anna is a remarkable figure. Luke calls her a prophet. She had been married, but was widowed very early and has spent the rest of her life in the temple fasting and praying. The sense you get from the text is at the moment the words of prophesy are leaving Simeon’s mouth, Anna comes up and begins to praise God. She then goes around the temple telling people this good news that the consolation they had been waiting for has finally arrived. At this point, Anna is essentially serving the role of evangelist, proclaiming this good news that God has been faithful to the promise and the Messiah has come.
So, in this passage, we have these rich examples of faith and faithfulness. But, notice how they embody that faith and faithfulness in different ways. Mary and Joseph are faithful in observing the requirements of the law, and raising their son in the tradition of their faith. Simeon is faithful as a watchman, waiting for the coming Messiah. Anna is faithful in her practice of prayer and fasting, and also proclaiming the good news of the Messiah’s arrival. Behind this is God, faithfully doing what God has promised to do, God’s Holy Spirit is working through these faithful people. And all of this is centered around this child, the promised salvation come into the world.
Without stretching the text too much, this is a picture of us. They’re all faithful people, people of faith, and yet how each of them embodies that faithfulness is different. And, so too with us. Think about Paul for a moment. In numerous places throughout his writings, Paul will use the image of the body. The church is a body. We are all, together, one body and Jesus Christ is our head. Just as the body has various members (arms, legs, hands, feet) and each member has its own task and function, so do we.
What faithfulness looks like in my life may look different than faithfulness looks like in your life. The contributions you give in your daily living of the faith may look different than someone else’s. But, all of it is being used by God in service of Christ.
1 Cor. 12:4, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” No service is too small. No gift that we have to offer is insignificant. God is working through each and every one of us to brings about God’s purposes in this world. All we have to do is be faithful, putting one foot in front of the other, doing whatever it is that God has given us to do, and then wait and see what God brings out of it. God is faithful, and our proper response is faith and faithfulness.
No comments:
Post a Comment