Luke 2:22-40
Today, the 40th day after surviving childbirth, Mary brings her infant firstborn to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord and make an offering in thanksgiving for his birth and Mary’s safe delivery. Mary and Joseph are new, still figuring out the parenting thing and the marriage thing, but this is one thing they know- they are faithful people of the covenant, and they keep the Torah as best they can. Like most people of good faith, they will choose the best offering they can afford to make. On the sliding scale of options for sacrificial offerings, their pair of turtledoves places them in the lowest income bracket, but still they make the journey and present their sacrifice with dignity. Mary leaves the baby with Joseph as she enters the mikvah, a ritual cleansing in which she is tended by other women and welcomed into a new season of life.
But before any of this can happen, before any of the rituals or sacrifices or prayers, there is Simeon.
Simeon is one of my favorite characters in the Bible. He is a righteous man, a devout man of God who has lived a very long life and is closely acquainted with the Holy Spirit. God has promised Simeon that he will see the Messiah in his lifetime, a lifetime that has already been longer than many of his peers and family members. He lingers, awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promised consolation, until the moment the Spirit leads him on a collision course with the Holy Family.
Can you imagine being a tired new parent bringing your newborn into a cathedral and a random old man makes a beeline for you to take your baby in his arms and start shouting? Setting aside what we know now about the immune systems of babies that young, this is a strange thing now and it would have been a strange thing then. The words that Simeon says are just as strange as his actions—the familiar words of the Nunc dimittis, sung and prayed at the close of the day in churches and monastic communities all over the world. Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word. Mary and Joseph have no context for this, but we know from Luke’s description of him that Simeon is predicting his own death. Not only predicting it, but accepting it, rejoicing in the fulfilled promise that he would not depart this world without seeing the savior. Simeon takes this baby in his arms and praises God that he’s about to die, while the baby’s parents look on in amazement. It’s a bizarre thing to do, and I love Simeon for his willingness to make a scene for the Good News of Jesus.
In the same moment, we meet one of my other favorite people in Scripture. The prophet Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, a widow who has outlived her husband by at least half a century. Anna has dedicated her life to a ministry of prayer, worshipping the Lord and prophesying in the Temple night and day. Luke is careful to include Anna’s lineage and personal history, acknowledging her as a prophet without caveats or hesitation. Her age, her wisdom, her lifetime of devotion to God place her in a unique position to recognize the inbreaking of the divine. When Simeon starts shouting about a light for revelation to the Gentiles, Anna is right there with him, praising God. She goes a step further, bringing the good news to those she knows have been looking for hope. Anna has lived 84 years, and most of that time she has spent in direct communication with God. When she encounters God in the flesh, her first instinct is to do what Jesus will one day call his disciples to do—go and tell about it. Anna the prophet becomes an evangelist in her own right, an elder proclaiming the dawning of a new age, a new generation that will change everything.
An infant, two young parents, and two elders, all caught up in an epiphany, a divine revelation. Three generations, drastically different walks of life, all brought together by the Holy Spirit for this brief moment. It never would have happened if Mary and Joseph had decided to stay home. Maybe they considered it for a few moments in the exhaustion of diaper changes and late-night feedings. They could forego the long trip up to Jerusalem for now, make an extra offering on the next major feast. I’m sure it wasn’t uncommon, especially in a time that travel could be so treacherous and time-consuming. But if they hadn’t shown up, if they hadn’t dragged their exhausted bodies and overwhelmed minds into the Temple on that 40th day, they might never have crossed paths with Simeon. They might have missed Anna, who had already long outlived most of her peers.
If Simeon had not heeded the movement of the Holy Spirit, had not listened to that quiet inkling that led him up the hill to the Temple, who knows how long he would have waited to see the promised Messiah. If he had not spent a lifetime listening to God’s voice, he might not have heard it when God called him to meet God’s Son. If Simeon had not shown up, he could not have departed in peace.
If Anna had not been there, night and day, faithfully fasting and praying and speaking in the name of the Lord, she could not have spoken of Jesus to those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. She might not have had the opportunity to offer that spark of hope to someone who was despairing, might not have had the chance to give someone a reason to keep the faith right as they were succumbing to doubt. If Anna had not shown up, Simeon’s words may never have been repeated, never reaching the ears that needed to hear them most.
All of this happened because people of faith chose to show up. Mary and Joseph chose to make the journey, to fulfill their religious obligations, to go to church and say thanks to God even if Mary’s body was still healing and Joseph’s back was sore from the trip. Anna chose to dedicate her life to the household of God after enduring a great loss, bringing her grief with her to the altar and finding a home prepared for her in God’s house. Simeon chose to show up and greet the young family at the door, celebrating their presence there like it was the last thing he’d ever do.
The promises of God are sometimes given to one generation and kept through another, and it is only in bringing the generations together that we can see the fullness of God’s faithfulness. The wisdom that comes with age is a priceless gift to be shared with the young, and the mere presence of little children is often enough to reveal the face of God. The faith of those like Anna who have survived loss can be a comfort to those who, like Mary, will know tragedy and grief. The joy of those like Simeon who rest in the Spirit can teach us how to embrace a holy death at the end of a long life. The stories of Mary and Joseph and Anna and Simeon show us that God can and does speak into the lives of individuals. Mary and Joseph saw angels. Simeon experienced a personal revelation from the Holy Spirit. Anna heard the voice of God. But the story we’ve told today, the Presentation of Our Lord, shows us that often God speaks most clearly when we come together, when we show up for one another. Thank you for showing up today. Together, our eyes have seen salvation.
Mother A Writes 