One thing that I have treasured from my seminary training is that Scripture is best read and interpreted as a diverse community. This brings fresh insight, broad experience, and recognizes that none of us are alone on this journey. As I work on expanding this to a new blog, I would like to experiment this week with an open-source, wiki type forum to hear what you see in this weeks lectionary text. I am excited to see new preaching formats that are moving from 'monologue' to a dialogue format that welcomes the whole community into the discussion. As I prepare to move towards this type of preaching, I also would like to welcome your input and story into what you see with Simeon.
This Weeks Text:
Luke 2:22 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”), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
Luke 2:25 Now 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. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided 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, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
Luke 2:33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then 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 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Luke 2:36 There 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, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At 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.
Luke 2:39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
I am particularly drawn to the faithfulness of Simeon. This is the kind of faith that doesn't have all the answers, but yet he waits patiently and steadfast. He respects the tradition, but is open to something new. Life and death are united with a tension that is not focused on a salvation that is distant and removed from this life, but one that finds salvation with the restoration of community through being open to see the Messiah. What is it to be faithful and still have questions, or not have full clarity, and with these questions, how are we to respond? It is upon being open to receiving and obeying the Spirit that Simeon finds peace.
Further, I am drawn to Joseph and Mary's faithfulness of observing the tradition of traveling to the temple on the eighth day, and they offer a sacrifice of the poor with turtledoves or pigeons. Here they are bringing the King of Kings to present to the Lord, and make a sacrifice of the destitute. Further, I like the tension of the foreshadowing of bringing the lamb of God to the temple in Jerusalem, already bringing the ultimate sacrifice, while making a sacrifice of the poor.
Finally, Simeon makes a prophecy that "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed...". This is the opening of the great Gospel in Luke that plays out by showing those that accept and those that reject Jesus. Ironically, those that reject him end up being all of the insiders...not the outsiders that religion so often focuses upon. The insiders are the devout Pharisees and Scribes, and the disciples themselves who scatter when Jesus needs them most. What are we to take from this, when the inner thoughts will be revealed includes those that are closest, and yet this is why ultimately Jesus comes back to Jerusalem...to redeem those that scatter.
Help share your stories? I see a faithful Simeon who faithfully waits and recognizes a savior, and a foreshadow of what this means for the community of faith in the greater story. I welcome your input, your personal stories of someone that remained faithful without having all of the answers, and any other input.
I am totally up for a dialogue but I have to wonder, what about Anna? She was not only having a prophetic moment, it seems that she also was evangelizing.
ReplyDeleteThen I have to wonder, was Simeon the focus of this story? Was Anna? I don't know, I think part of it could be that people knew who Jesus was, the magnitude, of Jesus being God incarnate, even before everyone else had put all the puzzle pieces together. I suspect that the gospel authors were likely trying to gather together a body of evidence for Jesus being of the divine. Where better to start then in his childhood, when even then, people recognized that he was the messiah?
I do want to also mention that I appreciate your observation about the faithfulness of Mary and Joseph because it is not something that initially struck me and it is interesting to think about.
I believe Simeon and Anna are important in the story to help show the patience of waiting and faith balanced with trust that didn't require all the details. They didn't know exactly what they were waiting for, but they were open to something new. I really like the contrast they bring to the story of upholding tradition without being so entrenched that they recognized the Messiah in an 8 day-old baby.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great follow up to the birth narrative. We focus on the Advent season for preparation and waiting, and then it seems like as soon as Christmas day is over, we can't wait to put everything away. Simeon helps show a lifetime of waiting and then the peace and joy when the waiting pays off.
There are many other important areas including the foreshadowing of the rising and falling of many, yet this is balanced with a Simeon and Anna's faithful waiting. Simeon says (and Anna) with the authority because of what they do.
What about the payoff of our waiting for the second advent of Christ?
ReplyDeleteAn interesting aspect in this passage is the law (which is mentioned no less than five times)and the manner in which Jesus not only fulfills it, but in doing so is breaking through its divisive barriers of race, class, gender, age, and social status. Simeon is "not" a preist yet look what he does in the presence of Christ-announces that salvation has came to "all"; Anna, an "elderly widow woman" is proclaiming the Good News. Luke even combines the purification (which would have fallen on Mary's shoulders alone) with the presentation of Jesus. As a forty day old infant, Jesus has already rocked their world. He has brought with him a new reality that cannot be denied. Yes, Simeon and Anna had expectantly waited for the coming of Messiah, but one can't help but wonder if this was truly what they were expecting to happen when Jesus came into their lives. The pericope leads us to question what does it mean to have God with us as well as how we as Christians respond to that presence.
ReplyDeleteRob and/or Lori, Eight day or forty day old infant? Can we go into how you know how old Jesus was? Is it possible to entertain the idea that Luke got the basic idea but maybe didn't get this precise detail completely accurate...perhaps it's irrelevant? Or perhaps it does speak to how such a small thing (a baby no less, Jesus) can make such a big shockwave. Second question, Rob do you see in Anna and Simeon the ability to be engulfed in their faith but not so much so that they miss the very real presence of God right before their eyes? Is that something of value to pull from their presence and perspectives? Jim, very interesting with the second advent inquiry. I think that depends on who you ask.
ReplyDeleteSophisticated, Why the 8 days is important for the story is because of how this fits with the faithfulness that represents adherence to the law. There are many details in this section that unite adherence to the law and a faith that is open to something new. This new doesn't replace this old, but gives it greater clarity and meaning. While Simeon and Anna remained faithful, they were not privy to the details, yet they united obedience to a faithful obedience to the law with an openness to a new interpretation.
ReplyDelete