Reflections from Ted & Hannah

Transcript:

I'm going to be reading Luke 2:21-38. “Jesus Presented in the Temple. 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 had been conceived. 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 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord’), 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.’ 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.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Moved by the Holy 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, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.’ The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him.

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, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed, and a sword will pierce your soul too.' There was 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, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 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.”

In reading the story of the birth of Jesus, I was impressed by the fact that so many different kinds of people were involved in it. And it started with an old priest, father of John the Baptist, the young couple, Mary and Joseph. The shepherds, who were basically farmers. And then we come to this passage, when a pair of old laymen are instrumental in introducing Jesus to the temple. And to the people. And to the people who are listening to them. We don't know that they are related to each other in any way, but they both were old laymen. And I'm impressed by the need and the role for semi-old, at least, laymen to serve in the church. And to propagate. We see that Simeon was under the influence of the Holy Spirit, as are we. And we can infer the same for Anna. We're told that she was a prophetess, and doubtlessly also under the influence of the Holy Spirit. So, I take the lesson that we too, I too, have a role to serve in the church spread and propagation of the gospel.