Presentation of Jesus in the temple (Simeon & Anna)
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21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
Jesus Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, 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 on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 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 may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”33 The child’s father and mother marvelled 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 prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, 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 worshipped 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 on him.
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The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period. 3 On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. 4 Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. 5 If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.
6 “‘When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. 7 He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl.
8 But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”
Today we are looking into the presentation of Jesus at the temple. Officially it is the end of the festive season! In some countries people take their decorations down at this time. It is thirty three days after Jesus’ circumcision. We read about that ritual in Leviticus 12.
Drama: Dave discovers Candlemas
[KB to Dave] What is a Candlemas?
[Dave] No idea. Massive Candles?
[KB] Candle-mas because some Christians bring candles to church for blessing today – A symbol of Jesus the Light of World.
Officially the end of the Christmas season! On the 8th day the boy is to be circumcised. Then the woman must wait thirty-three days.
[KB to Dave] It’s also known as the day of the Purification of Mary.
[Dave to KB] What is the purification of Mary?
[KB] I’d rather not say.
[KB to Dave] It’s also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the temple.
[Dave] What? Like the presentation of a trophy?
[KB] No, presented as firstborn to the Lord, for a blessing to the Lord and to the people.
[Dave] So Jesus, Light of the World, was revealed to the people.
[KB] That’s right, shall we listen to the reading
[Dave] Yea!
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21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
Jesus Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, 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 on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 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 may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marvelled 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 prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, 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 worshipped 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.
Our reading in Luke 2:21 begins:
‘When the time was right, on the eighth day the child was circumcised, he was named Jesus.’
[KB to Dave] What did you think of the reading?
[Dave] Some big words in there
[KB] What like?
[Dave] Devout, Righteous, Consolation.
[KB] Shall we look at some of those big words?
[Dave] Nah, I’m a bit tired, feeling sleepy - I think I’ll have a rest.
OK, so you are leaving me to talk about some of those words.
Bye Dave.
I will focus on the lead characters in the Drama – Simeon and Anna and, of course, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.
Simeon
‘Simeon was righteous and devout… and the Holy Spirit rested upon him….’
In this drama, Simeon is the best supporting actor. ‘Simeon righteous and devout. man….the HS was upon him.’
From these verses what do we know about Simeon –
Luke 2:25ff ‘Simeon…was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 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….
What a privilege! Simeon held Jesus in his arms. God’s answer to a world gone wrong and Simeon held him! God’s response to darkness…the Light of the world. Simeon had waited years expecting and believing.
Simeon Luke 2:25 was righteous and devout… and the HS rested upon him…’ Let us look at these words and phrases and conclude each stanza with a prayerful response. ‘Our Father in Heaven - Make us more like Jesus.’
Simeon was righteous
and devout…
and the Holy Spirit rested upon him…’
Righteous
If we are to be open to the Lord’s promptings in our lives we must be righteous. [v25] Righteous is referring to the way Simeon relates to other people.
Nice or righteousness is not something we can do of ourselves... and because of that we must learn to recognise when we fall short of his righteousness and come to the Lord quickly and often, asking for cleansing, forgiveness, a new start. Asking for the Lord to grow the fruit of his Spirit in us.
Fruits of: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control — Galatians 5:22
Christ in us is our righteousness and the more we come to the Lord, the more we will become a people who are readily available for needy people around us and in our needy world. He will prompt you to notice the needs of those around you. Needs he wants you to do something about. Sometimes there are so many needs around us that we can feel swamped but it’s a different thing to know the Holy Spirit wants you to do something.
So let us pray for righteousness of the way we relate to others and to the fruit of the Spirit in us.
Prayer: Lord forgive us for not loving others as you would like us to do. Our Father in Heaven
All: Make us more like Jesus
Devout
If righteous is referring to the way Simeon relates to other people, then devout is referring to the way he related to God.
Simeon was so close to God that he was able to be at the Temple (at the right place and right time) to hold the baby Jesus and be led by the Holy Spirit to speak God’s words of prophecy over the Christ child for all to hear.
I want to be that type of person who is in the right place right time to do what God wants me to do, dont you? Let us pray that we will be devout.
Prayer: Lord help us to be fully committed to you. Our Father in Heaven
All: Make us more like Jesus
Waiting
Waiting is hard, there’s nothing to show for waiting, it can be painful.
What are you waiting for? Money, health all clear, a healing, a reconciliation with someone, waiting for salvation of a loved one, waiting to die (chaplain are often privileged to wait with people as they go to be wityh the Lord). Simeon waited with hope. Hope knows that God’s promises merge with our prayers to fulfil his purposes. In church waiting is not a passive waiting - but active waiting in our daily lives, loving God, loving neighbour - praying ‘your kingdom come.’
Prayer: Lord we are waiting and trusting in you. We pray for your kingdom to come in our parish and in our world. Our Father in Heaven.
All: Make us more like Jesus.
The Holy Spirit Rested on Him
The Holy Spirit upon him like a blanket cover. When I see the insight Simeon received my heart cries out to the Lord saying ‘Holy Spirit come upon me like that.’
If you have come here feeling spiritually cold the Holy Spirit can rest upon you like a blanket. Not like a warm fuzzy feeling but to empower you to minister for him. Let us pray and ask HS to cover us today... so we can spread his love to others.
Prayer: Lord I ask the HS to rest upon me today. Our Father in Heaven.
All: Make us more like Jesus.
Anna: Worshipped night and day, fasting and praying
Anna did not depart from the temple but served God with prayer and fasting day and night…..at that moment, she came and began to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. — Luke 2:37-38
In the presentation of Christ at the temple, Anna was the best supporting actress!
All we know about Prophet Anna is contained in three verses Luke 2:36-38. We know her father’s name was Phanuel and we know her tribe is Asher.
We read that she was married for seven years before her husband died and she was a widow of 84 years. Anna was constantly in the Temple and ‘served God with prayer and fasting day and night (v38).’
What can we learn from Anna?
Anna worshipped – day and night… 2 Chronicles 7v14 ‘If my people will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.’
Anna prayed & fasted. When we commit time to prayer the Holy Spirit brings to mind those people and situations he wants us to pray for.
Like Anna, we can pray and worship in our everyday life.
What an example Anna is. Any who have faced a bereavement or a crisis (for e.g. in health). These are times to hold tight to God, trusting in him.
Let us pray to be worshipping, praying bible reading people.
Prayer: Lord make me a worshipping, praying bible reading person. Be close to me when hard times happen. Our Father in Heaven.
All: Make us more like Jesus.
Anna: Spoke about the child
Luke 2:38 At that moment she came and began to speak about [Jesus] to all.’
Anna was fully committed to God. I wish I could be more like her – speaking to all about Jesus. Let us pray for opportunities to speak about Jesus.
Prayer: Lord help me to speak boldly to others about you and the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Our Father in Heaven.
All: Make us more like Jesus.
