by Dr. Ray Pritchard

Gospel: Luke 2:25-35

If Jesus were born today, would it be any different than it was 2,000 years ago?

It's a good question, isn't it? We like to think the answer is yes, that we would be ready, that we wouldn't make the mistake of turning the Son of God away. There would be room in our inn, we confidently say. We'd find room, or make room, or maybe we'd throw somebody out of their room, but in any case, we'd be ready if Jesus were born in Chicago, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles or Kerala.

But is that the truth? Are we any more prepared for the coming of Christ than they were in Bethlehem? That really is the crucial question.

It seems when you read the Bible that most people weren't prepared for his coming. Herod certainly wasn't, nor were the scribes (even though they knew where he was to be born). The rich and powerful of Bethlehem (assuming there were such) don't seem to have paid any attention to the young couple from Nazareth. The rulers of the world never knew he was born. Many never knew he lived or died. By the standards of the world, his birth was only a slight blip on the radar of history, a peasant child born to peasant parents. In Rome they paid no attention; in Athens and Alexandria no one took note. In China and India no one knew a thing.

For the most part Phillips Brooks had it right: "How silently, How silently, the wondrous gift is given." He came silently, quietly (as quietly as a newborn baby boy ever arrives), without fuss or ruckus, without making a stir or announcing his presence. He came in the same way all babies come, and most of the world paid no attention.

The Apostle John put it this way: "He was in the world, and although the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him." (John 1:10-11) His own what? His own world, his own people, his own nation. The very people who should have been happiest to see him, instead paid no attention at all.

The Quiet In The Land

But that's not the whole story. While it is true that the nation as a whole was not ready for his birth, there were some who were ready. The Magi are a good example. They came all the way from Persia to greet the infant King. They represent a great number of Gentiles who were ready to receive the Lord Jesus with joy, honor and reverence. But even with Israel, there were those who believed the time was drawing near for God to at last keep his promises and send Messiah to the earth.

Among those was a group known as the Quiet in the Land. They were a group of loosely organized people who eschewed political intrigue and violent action. They refused to get involved in movements to overthrow Roman rule. Through godliness and prayer, they hoped to be ready when Messiah at last came on the scene.

Luke tells the story of one man who may have been a part of the Quiet in the Land. His name is Simeon. He had been waiting for years to see the Messiah, and when he meets the baby Jesus, he knows his long wait is finally over.

The Days Of Purification

We pick up the story in Luke 2:21-24.

On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, 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."

Three different aspects of the Old Testament Law are intertwined in these verses:

1. The Law required that all male children be circumcised on the eighth day after birth. That's verse 21.

2. The Law also required that women wait 40 days after the birth of a son before presenting themselves in the temple for their purification. That's verse 22.

3. The Law also required that a mother and father present their firstborn son before the Lord to be "redeemed" by the offering of a sacrifice. That's verse 23.

All three things are happening in these verses. Verse 21 takes place 8 days after Christmas, and verses 22-23 take place 33 days later. The circumcision could have taken place in Bethlehem, but the presentation and redemption had to take place in Jerusalem. The purification was in fulfillment of Leviticus 12 and the redemption was in fulfillment of Exodus 13.

Two Doves Or Two Pigeons

These verses, although somewhat incidental for our purposes, show clearly that Jesus was born into a god-fearing, law-abiding home. They illustrate the truth of Galatians 4:4 that when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, "born under the Law." They also illustrate our Lord's own words in Matthew 5:17, "I did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it." Jesus was no law-breaker, as some of his opponents would suggest many years later. He was born under the Law, lived his whole life in obedience to the Law, and kept its precepts to the very end.

Verse 23 also tells us something about the financial situation of Mary and Joseph. You might read right over the mention of "two doves or two pigeons" without thinking a thing about it. But Leviticus 12 tells us that when a woman came for her purification she was to bring a lamb as an offering. If, however, she could not afford a lamb, she could bring two doves or two pigeons instead. That made it possible for even poor women to obey the law of purification. All of which confirms the fact that Mary and Joseph were very poor, since lambs were not considered a luxury item. Our Lord was not born into an upper-class home. He was not born into a comfortable middle-class home. He was born into a loving, godly home that would at best be considered lower middle-class. Jesus knew poverty and hardship from the very beginning.

Enter Simeon

Forty days have passed since the birth of Jesus. Here come Mary and Joseph into the Temple precincts, ready to "redeem" their firstborn son. There was nothing outwardly to distinguish them, no marks or signs that indicated they were anything other than another poor young couple coming with their newborn son.

At this point Simeon enters the story. Aside from what we are told in Luke 2, we know nothing about him. We don't know his background, his hometown, his education, or even his occupation. We assume he was a priest—although the text doesn't explicitly say so. We also assume he was an old man—but even that is not a certain fact. He simply appears on the stage of history as a bit player in the drama surrounding the birth of Christ. After his part is over, he fades from the scene, never to be heard from again.

Here comes Mary, here comes Joseph, and here comes Simeon. He has never seen them before, they have never seen him before. But a divinely-planned encounter is about to take place. Luke tells the story this way:

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 Christ. (Luke 2:25-26)

These verses tell us several key facts about Simeon.

First, he was a righteous man.
Second, he was a devout man.
Third, he was waiting for the Messiah to come (that's what "waiting for the consolation of Israel" really means).
Fourth, he was a Spirit-filled man.
Fifth, and most importantly, he was eagerly awaiting the imminent appearance of the Messiah.

That last part is fascinating. The Holy Spirit had told him, "You will not die before you see the Messiah."

"Is This The One?"

What a promise that was. If Simeon is now an old man (as seems likely from verse 29), then he's been waiting in the Temple for many years. Day by day he had prayed for the Lord's Christ to finally appear. Year after year his prayers were to no avail. As he grew older, his anticipation grew stronger because he knew he couldn't live forever. Perhaps he is now 70 or 75 or even 80 years old. Perhaps he has a long gray beard, stooped shoulders, wrinkled face, bushy eyebrows, and trembling hands. If so, then he knows it can't be long. The Lord's Christ must be coming at any moment.

Can you imagine the scene? Early every morning Simeon goes to the Temple, watching and waiting for the Messiah to come. How would he know him? What should he look for? Did he know to look for a baby? Or was he looking for a teenager or a strong young man? No one knows the answer to those questions.

Day by day he kept watch over the throngs coming into the Temple. Each time a young couple came in with a baby, he whispered, "Is that the one?" If he saw a fine looking teenager, he would say, "Is that the one, Lord, or is it someone else?" Each day he watched, and looked, and questioned. Each day the answer came back, time and again, "No, that's not the one. Keep looking. Keep watching. Keep waiting."

Here comes Mary holding the baby in her arms with Joseph by her side. Jesus is only forty days old. Never was there a more unlikely couple. He is a poor carpenter from Nazareth, she is a peasant girl carrying a little baby boy. They are obviously from the country. They obviously don't have much money. If you were people-watching, you wouldn't give them a second glance.

Not educated. Not part of the intelligentsia. Not from the upper-crust. And here they are in cosmopolitan Jerusalem, timidly walking onto the Temple courts. When Simeon sees them, he asks his question for the 10,000th time, "Is this the one?" And the Holy Spirit says, "Yes."

"This Is The One"

Suddenly Simeon's heart leaps within him. The long days of waiting are finally over. The Lord's Christ is before him. Here is the One for whom the nation has been waiting. He walks over, introduces himself, and says, "Do you mind if I hold your child?" As Mary gives the infant Jesus to Simeon, the thought hits him, "I am holding the salvation of the world in my arms."

At that point Simeon breaks out into a song of praise, a song that is so beautiful that it has come down through the centuries to us as the final and climactic song of Christmas. The song is called the Nunc Dimittis, the title being taken from the first two words of the Latin translation of Simeon's words.

What follows is first the song (vv. 29-32) and then a personal word of prophetic blessing to Mary (vv. 34-35). The song goes like this:

Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.

Simeon's first thought is that he is now ready to die. The word "dismiss" is a military word, used to describe a sentinel who has stood watch during the long hours of the night. Now at last as the sun comes up over the eastern horizon, he knows his work is done, and he goes to his commanding officer to be dismissed. Once dismissed, he goes back to his barracks to sleep. That's the way Simeon feels. The long wait is over, the years of anticipation have been fulfilled, his sentry duty is finished, for he has seen and personally held "the Lord's Christ."

Sometimes we hear stories of terminally ill patients who say, "Doctor, I'd like to stay alive until Easter." Then when Easter comes, they quietly slip away. Or they say, "I'd like to stay alive until my granddaughter gets married." They live long enough to see her down the aisle, and then they are gone. Doctors see it happen all the time. Once the goal is reached, life is complete and death comes quickly.

Let me press the question home. What is Jesus to you? Not who is he, but what is he to you? Is he life or is he death to you this morning?

That's what Simeon is saying. This little baby who is the glory of Israel, who is the light of the world, is also the great divider of the human race. You're either on one side or on the other regarding Jesus. No one stays forever in the middle.

The way you respond to Jesus reveals what is in your heart. Think about that. The way you respond to Jesus tells us who you are and what you are and what is in your heart. But that's not all. The way you respond to Jesus tells us where you are going and how you are going to get there. And most of all, the way you respond to Jesus tells us where you are going to spend eternity.

Jesus, the great divider of mankind!

And was it not our Lord himself who said, "I came not to bring peace but a sword." (Matthew 10:34) Simeon saw it from the very beginning.

First there was Herod and the Wise Men. One tried to kill him and the others worshiped him. Then later there was Peter who repented and Judas who committed suicide. Then there was Pilate who tried to wash his hands and the centurion who said, "Surely this was the Son of God." Then there was one thief who blasphemed and another who believed. From the beginning of his life to the very end, Jesus divided the human race.

What is he to you this morning?

When Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms, he said, "Lord, I'm ready to go home now. I can die in peace." But no one is ready to die until they have seen Jesus Christ with the eyes of faith. You're not ready to die until you have seen him and known him and trusted him as your Savior.

Once you have seen him, death is no longer an enemy. It's true that you may live your life and you may come to the end not having been as successful as you like. You may live in some frustration because you haven't accomplished all your personal goals. But (and this is a very big but) if you can come to the end of your life and say, "I have seen the Lord's Christ," then you have had a good life.

If you come to the end, and you've never seen Jesus, you've basically wasted your years upon this earth.

He is the great divider of mankind. Everyone who reads these words is on one side or the other.

The Only Thing That Matters Is Jesus

Earlier this week I received a phone call from a dear friend who is going through the experience of watching a loved one die. That's not easy to do at Christmastime. While everyone else is singing and laughing, you watch someone you love slowly slip away from you. When my friend called me, he made a very telling comment. "At a time like this you realize what's really important. When you watch someone die before your eyes, you realize that the things of the world aren't that important. The money and the power and the big career, they all just wash away. At the end the only thing that matters is to know Jesus Christ."

It's Christmastime. Do you know him?

• He's the Messiah of Israel. Do you know him?
• He's the Savior of the World. Do you know him?
• He's the Great Divider of Mankind. Do you know him?
• It's Christmastime. He came for you. Do you know him?

Father, we thank you that you didn't do what you could have done. You didn't leave us alone in our sins. You could have forgotten us, you could have written us off as hopeless. But you didn't leave us alone. You came for us! And you found us. You sent Jesus to rescue us. Thank you for coming for us, that we might be safe now and saved forever—in this life and in the life to come. We thank you in Jesus' name, Amen.

There was a married couple who had to wait 16 years before their first child was born. Over those years, nothing weakened their hope or anticipation of this joyous event. You can imagine how they radiated joy when they held their long-awaited child in their arms for the first time.

What are you still waiting for to happen in your life? Are you looking for fame, security or prosperity? Or are you longing for your life to be transformed by God's presence?

Some people think that they can experience God just as easily on a golf course, or walking around a lake, as in church. The problem with this claim is that no-one actually "worships" God on a golf course, and how many have had a life-changing experience of God while boating on a lake that led them to tell others about God and to love and serve their neighbors better? Those who truly love God, have most often found His encouraging and motivating presence in the Lord's House. Here we're challenged to no longer live for ourselves, but for our Saviour Jesus Christ and our neighbors and fellow-church members He loves so dearly.

The Christmas story concludes with women and men in the temple, where God can impact on their lives. As soon as possible, Jesus was brought to the temple, to be in His Father's House. There Jesus is met by two people who have waited all their lives for this moment, Simeon and Anna. Anna had never missed a Service. She was from the least, lost tribe of Israel and was a well-known figure at the temple. Anna is called a prophetess, a title of rare distinction, given to only seven other women in the Bible. She used the tragedy of her young husband's death as an opportunity to grow closer to God. She filled the vacuum in her life with praying for others and living for the day when Jesus would come to the temple.

In God's service, there's no age limit. St. John wrote our fourth Gospel while in his 80s. Now in her 80s, Anna becomes an exuberant witness to our Savior's coming. She knew sorrow, but had not grown bitter. Anna hadn't grown old with the sense of dejection and dependency that afflicts many older men and women today. Anna served God with heroic fidelity. She knew God doesn't let His faithful servants shed a needless tear.

After wrestling with God in prayer for many years, Anna now sees God's likeness in the face of His Son, Jesus. Any pastor can tell you of elderly Christian widows aglow with the joy of salvation. Anna cannot restrain her joy at seeing our Saviour. Bubbling over with joy and gratitude, she shares with everyone she meets the arrival of salvation from fear and guilt, from sin and death, in the Son of Mary. Years later, many people remembered what Anna, with a youthful exuberance, had told them about the greatest day of her life. It's as if being in her Savior's presence has made her feel young again and given her new energy to sing our Savior's praises.

The gift of salvation is worth singing about, worthy of a full-bodied celebration, as Simeon shows. His joy too knows no bounds as he sees for the first time the whole reason for his existence. In an unforgettable picture, Simeon takes the Christ-child in his arms and sings a hymn of praise to God for the precious gift of Jesus. Simeon's song is one of the treasures of our Holy Communion liturgy. What a moving overture and personal expression of thanksgiving this post-Christmas hymn is. Simeon was given a greater promise than he'd asked for. He confesses more than is visible to human eyes.

Simeon's song contains no narrow reference to just himself. He sees the good news of Christ extending to every nation, over all the earth. In fact, he mentions the Gentiles (all non-Jewish nations) before his fellow-countrymen. What a magnificent, universal vision so soon after Christmas Eve! Having reached the highpoint of his life, the zenith of his existence, he savors the fulfillment of his fondest dreams. There's nothing secretive about our Savior's existence. His death for all people was a public event and not something for some super-spiritual elite.

Light is a symbol of security. Jesus is a Light to the Gentiles because only in Christ can all people find a safe and secure future before and after death. Although our salvation came at great personal cost to Him, our Saviour Jesus believes we are worth saving. Instead of employing force, Jesus surrendered His life to save us from all that would ruin us in this life, or in the life to come after death. Jesus brings us salvation now from distress and despair, defeat and disappointment. The New Testament speaks frequently of salvation in the present tense. Salvation is a present experience of our Saviour's help and companionship, love and protection. Salvation is our Lord's sovereign act of rescue, that can be tasted here and now, and fully enjoyed in the life to come. Jesus saves us from the corrupting influences around us in our community, so that our lives are shaped week by week by His transforming presence.

Simeon can depart in peace because salvation brings peace with God, peace like nothing on earth. His peace fills us with a cheerful contentment, because it alone meets the deepest longings of our hearts. To taste Christ's gift of salvation is to experience His goodness and grace in our lives, week by week. It is knowing that all you do for your Lord is never in vain. Simeon shared St. Paul's motto: "For me to live is Christ, and to die is more of Christ." In the presence of Christ, the Lord of life, death loses its terror.

The Lord's Supper is called a "Means of Salvation", because in this priceless sacrament, we receive the blessings of salvation now. Simeon's song is part of our Holy Communion liturgy, to remind us that we receive the benefits of the birth, life and suffering of our Saviour in this life-giving, life-enriching sacrament. In Holy Communion, we receive the same Saviour whom Simeon held in his arms. Christ's presence in the bread and wine is as real to us as it was in Simeon's arms.

The work of Christmas continues in the Lord's Supper. Holy Communion enables us to face the future free of fear, because of the pledge and assurance of our salvation this sacrament so boldly bestows on us. For hundreds of millions of Christians throughout the world today, receiving Holy Communion will be a privilege they receive with trembling joy and gratitude. Why? Because as our offering song "Let the vineyards be fruitful" says, all who love our Lord are given "a foretaste of the feast to come."

Truly, our salvation is worth singing about and celebrating with hearts overflowing with thanksgiving. We pray:

O dearest Jesus, here I pray:
Within my heart now make Your stay
That I, like Simeon of old
By faith, may gladly You enfold.
Amen.

by Rev. Fr. Jose Daniel Paitel, Malankara World Board Member

Gospel: Luke. 2: 22-35

Mayaltho is the third out of the ten obligatory feast of Holy Universal Syriac Orthodox Church. This is the third obligatory one we celebrate after the feast of Christmas. We celebrate Mayaltho on the 2nd of February that is the fortieth day after Christmas. Special Holy Mass should be observed on that day if it does not fall on a Sunday. And that day should be observed like Sunday, the Lords day. Failure of attending the church worship on Mayaltho will be considered as a sin and that should be confessed. Even though it is bounded by an Old Testament tradition, exclusively observed by the Israelites, we are also obliged to celebrate it without hesitation because of our Lord and our savior followed it to establish His Jewish lineage.

The Syriac term Mayaltho refers to the dedication of baby Jesus in the temple of God. According to the scripture the parents Joseph and Mary brought baby Jesus to the temple of God to fulfill the sacrifice of purification. According to the Law of Moses, first born male baby should be dedicated before the temple of God on the fortieth day of his birth. This is customary to every first born offspring from the Israelites. Jesus has to be dedicated to the Temple of God to the observance of the scripture. There are certain scriptural evidence supporting the celebration of these feasts altogether.

Ritualistic importance of Mayaltho consists on the redemption of the first born. It was an inevitable ritual for all the Israelites since the exodus of Israelites from Egypt. Commencement of this ritual was based on the commandments of God through Moses, the chief of the prophets. As the first born offspring of Mariam, baby Jesus has to be brought forth in the Temple of God for to be qualified as a legitimate Israelite following the commandments of his tribe. It was based on the redemption of the first born among the children of Israelites from the tragic carnage on the Passover night.

There are three important ceremonies observed in connection with the great Passover.

First one is the feast of Passover. That is a week-long feast, with restrictions in regular food habits. That should be celebrated deliberately by everyone among the Israelites following Law of Moses. Certain restrictions for the food on that festival week are in connection with the memory of eating the bread without yeast.

Then Moses said to the people, "Remember this day - the day when you left Egypt, the land of slavery. The Lord used his mighty hand to bring you out of there. Don't eat anything made with yeast." - Exo.13:3

"The meat must be eaten that same night. It must be roasted over a fire and eaten with bitter herbs and unleavened bread." - Exodus 12:8-9

"Don't eat any of it raw or boiled but roast the whole animal over a fire." - Exodus. 12:9

"The whole community of Israel must celebrate the Passover." - Exodus 12:47

Second one is the sanctification of Levites, the third one of Jacobs's family as the tribe separated for priesthood for the favor of the firstborn of every family of Israelites from the Egyptian massacre.

"Out of all the Israelites, I have taken the Levites to be substitutes for every firstborn male offspring among them. The Levites are mine, because every firstborn is mine. The day I killed every firstborn male in Egypt, I set apart as holy every firstborn in Israel, whether human or animal. They will be mine. I am the Lord." - Num. 3: 12-13

Third one is the 40th day dedication of the first born male before the temple of God. That is exclusively observed by every tribes of Israel regardless of their ethnicity.

Sacrifice every firstborn male offspring to the Lord. The firstborn male offspring of each of your animals belongs to the Lord. - Exo.13: 12

Every firstborn male, human or animal, that is brought to the Lord is yours. But you must buy back every firstborn son and the firstborn male of any unclean animal. - Num.18: 15

"Tell the Israelites: When a woman gives birth to a boy, she will be unclean for seven days. This is the same number of days she is unclean for her monthly period. The boy must be circumcised when he is eight days old. Then she must stay at home for 33 days in order to be made clean from her bleeding. She must not touch anything holy or go into the holy place until the days needed to make her clean are over. - Leviticus 12: 2-4

"When the days needed to make her clean are over, she must bring a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a pigeon or a mourning dove as an offering for sin. She must bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. - Leviticus. 12: 6

Joseph and Mary were not rich enough to afford a lamb for the sacrifice and they choose the birds for the prescribed sacrifice.

Mayaltho is the service of cleanliness and purification that was observed for Jesus and Mother Mary in the temple of God.

The service observed for Jesus was especially important for Christians because God himself became a redeemer for our salvation. He brought us back from the mighty hands of Heavenly Father by dedicating himself as a true sacrifice. Jesus became a true sacrifice like a lamb before the Holy Altar of God. He himself became obedient before the Law of His heavenly Father. He proved that the observance of the law of God is inevitable to each and every human being born out of flesh and blood.

The adherence to the law of God is not enough for us to be counted as a creation that is valid in the eyes of God. The Israelites could earn it by being in the lineage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For Gentiles, salvation can be inherited only if we are saved by the victorious cross of our Lord. Jesus, himself a true Israelite and promised son of Abraham, could be bought back by the sacrifice of a lamb or a turtle dove instead. Those who were born out of the Abrahamic lineage would be adopted to the same lineage through the salvific act of our Lord. That is the New Testament law of Christ who abides in us.

If we were not redeemed or brought back by His blood, we could not become the children of God. We were not being able to stand among the congregation of the first converts who are enrolled in heaven.

We will be kept unclean like the sheep or any unclean animal as described in the Law of Moses. - Heb. 12: 23

Setting Aside First born Males for God You must dedicate every firstborn male from your herds and flocks to the Lord your God. Never use a firstborn ox for work, and never shear a firstborn sheep. If a first born male donkey could not be brought back by its master that must be killed. - Deuteronomy 15: 19

By Rick Brand

Gospel: Luke 2:22-40

"What in the world are we going to do with those two old people? They are always here. They know more about what goes on in this place than anybody else, and yet they never seem satisfied. They go through the motions and they participate in the service, and yet it never seems to be enough. It is like they keep waiting for something special to happen. Yom Kippur isn't enough to cleanse their sins, they act like what they want is that burning coal on the lips like Isaiah. The choir sings magnificently and they are pleased but you still get the feeling the only think that would make them really happy is to hear the angels themselves sing. What is wrong with them? They just never seem to be satisfied with anything!"

Ah, so you have met Old Simeon and Anna. Nobody knows for sure how long either one of them has been here. Somebody has said that Anna has been here more than 84 years, but nobody knows if they are counting from when she became a widow or from when she became a woman. But they are harmless. They won't bother you any. Although I will confess that sometimes it does get to be a little unnerving to have them wandering around mumbling that stuff about longing and hoping for the consolation of Israel all the time. You and I could repeat old Anna's prayer ourselves because all she is ever talking about is praying for the coming of the redemption of God's people.

I used to resent them and the way they always were hanging around and sharing in the worship and then, is you suggest, kind of throwing a wet blanket on all of our successes. Just when we had one of the largest and best days in the temple, there would be Simeon and Anna still with that look in their eyes and that longing in their hearts for that something more that you and I would never be able to give them. And over the years it has slowly begun to dawn on me that they are best that all our devotion could produce.

You see that young family over there bringing that young boy here to be dedicated? If you were to ask them why they are bringing their child to the temple, they would tell you in order that He might grow up according to the Law, that he might be shaped and nurtured according to the traditions of God, that he might become one of the children of God, that he might have his life structured and sustained by the Word and Promises of God. They might not say it that way, but that is why they come and Old Simeon and Anna are the best the system produces.

You may find that hard to believe but the one thing that makes it so is the very thing that disturbs you the most. Old Simeon and Anna have lived all their lives waiting on the promise of God to bring about the redemption of His people. That one hope, that one vision, that one dream, has been the center of their entire lives. They have refused to settle for anything less. No matter how close it might have been, no matter how helpful it was, no matter how powerful it is, no matter who told them something, they have focused their lives on the coming of the consolation of Israel. They have been waiting the coming of God's act to bring His Kingdom on Earth.

The most remarkable thing about them is that they have been able to participate in the Temple, to be nurtured in the Torah, to be fed by the traditions and the prophets, to be immersed in the benefits of all that we as priest and prophets are able to do and yet still to know that nothing we have been able to do was enough to satisfy. You said it well, Nothing we ever do satisfies them, for nothing we do is God's act to bring in His kingdom. All we are ever doing is preparing, bearing witness to, pointing in that direction.

But they have never rejected the Torah, the Temple, the liturgy, the prophets. They have had that wisdom to be able to see through all that we do without rejecting what we do, because somehow they know that every miracle needs some kind of support system, every moment of ecstasy has to have some kind of routine way of expression, the way the great passion of love has to have an ordinary kind of marriage ceremony to express it. Old Simeon and Anna have been able to know that there was so much that the temple, the rituals, and the routine can do, but only so much and yet they have not rejected us because we could not do everything.

In your brief career as priest surely you have seen those who come to the Temple expecting all of our rituals and Law and prophets to give them God, to put God in their mouth, to make things right with God and when they discover that all we can ever do is point them in a direction, we can clear away some trash that gets in the way, we can show them where and how God has been at work in the past so that they might be prepared to see Him in the future when they discover that is all we can do, they drop out and quit. Simeon and Anna never quit. And yet never in all their years were they willing to settle for what they could have. They have lived always awaiting, looking longing for that moment when God moves in their lives.

Don't you know lawyers who are out there who once had a great passion for justice, for truth, for doing the right, who over and over again discover that the law could not and did not give justice, truth or the right. That all the law could ever give was some poorly worked out compromises between self-interests.

Slowly they gave up that passion for justice, and decided to settle for the law and now all they do is offer to be the best legal adviser around. They no longer are alive with a flame of righteousness, they have settled for being legally correct. Why hold out for justice when you know you will never be able to achieve it? Why not simply settle for what can be done and do what is legal?

Doctors, who began with a great passion for helping and healing and giving life, and life more abundant, have discovered that all the science they know can really only give longevity to body functions and so they have made that their passion. They just keep people alive as long as possible without much regard to life. Teachers, who began excited about learning, curiosity, and sharing, slowly realized that what they wanted to do couldn't be done in the context of where they teach so they settle for presenting the information and keeping discipline and even that is not easy.

Old Simeon and Anna are the best our religion can produce because they have not rejected the ritual, the temple, the Torah because it could not give them what they wanted and they have never compromised and agreed to settle for only what the system could offer. They have found that worship and the temple were able to keep alive and burning in them the deep flame of expectancy. The Law did not fulfill that hope, but it did keep that flame alive, and they refuse to accept and be contented with any second best. They would not abandon the hope for the best to be satisfied with something less.

It has taken me a long time to realize it but Old Simeon and Anna are the finest example of our Jewish piety. They are awake to, eager for, zealous for the coming of God's truth, God's peace, God's justice, gifts which no human effort can achieve, which none of our sacrifices, none of our social programs can make happen. Wherever and whatever we do, we are simply being the channels through which God's gifts of love, peace, justice, and grace are passed on. Old Simeon and Anna know that so I have a lot more patience with them after all these years.

All of which makes their reaction to that baby seem so strange and mysterious. They start singing and praying and shouting as if they had seen what they were waiting for. A child, a gift of God to that family, and they suddenly have a contentment that they had never found before. Both of them act now like they could die tonight because they have finally seen what they were waiting for. They don't seem to be preoccupied with wanting to be here to see all the wonderful things that would happen, having seen that child, Whom they declare is the act of God to redeem His people. Just having seen it is all they ever wanted. They are as happy as the baby at the mother's breast.

And it is strange how as they saw that child they realize for the first time, that if God comes to bring His redemption -- the consolation of Israel -- it will have to be the consolation of the gentiles as well. That if God moves in history to save the Jews, that salvation will have to involve the whole world, all creation. That God cannot hide His light under a bushel, that He who comes as light to the Jew will be light to all who look upon him, to all who know they live in darkness and are hungry for a light. The one who comes as God to redeem will be making redemption possible for all who desire redemption. Old Simeon and Anna begin talking radical changes in their old expectations and hopes from the moment they see the child. Their happiness at seeing him was deep enough even to be happiness despite the realization that this child -- this Messiah -- will not be a child of undiminished joy.

Funny how the moment they see the child it suddenly dawns on them that wherever the light comes it will have a divisive effect. The act of God's grace has a way of dividing those who are ready for that grace from those who do not want it and think they do not need it. The act of God's love is an intrusive love which comes in this child and is either welcomed or resented. At the moment when Old Simeon and Anna are singing and rejoicing they immediately start talking about the pain, the suffering, the burden of sacrifice the child will have and his followers will have as they offer goodness and mercy in a world which often prefers its darkness.

Funny, one kind of thought that Old Simeon and Anna were so set in their ways that they were going to die looking and longing for the Messiah. Now they are acting like teenagers and claim they have seen what they have been waiting for in a baby. That one glimpse at that baby filled their understanding of the grace of God with a universal note it seldom had before and it put a tear of pain and sorrow in that Messiah that most of us had never considered.

Ah, it is time for the service, let us do what we know while we wait to see what happens.

by by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

"Lord, let your servant go in peace;
Your Word has been fulfilled."
Because we've seen your saving grace
We know that all is well.

Through all the sorrow, pain and death,
We dare, O God, to sing.
For you once sent your Son to earth -
And that changed everything.

There's much we cannot understand,
Nor order, nor control;
We place our lives into your hands
And trust you'll make us whole.

Lord, let your servants daily know
That we are not alone;
And may we find, where'er we go,
You'll lead us safely home.