Simeon

“There was a Man by the Name, Simeon …”

 

There will come a time when neither you nor I are in this world. We do not know the date, but we know it will happen – maybe when we are young, maybe when we get old. This became even more real two weeks ago as a shooter killed 20 children and six adults in a school. 

·         What is there that you would still like to accomplish before that time comes?

·         Maybe you would answer the question light-heartedly, saying you’d like to win the lottery (just once!), or sky-dive, or walk on the moon.

·         But others of you may be more thoughtful: perhaps you’d like to write a book, or visit Norway, or shoot your age in golf.

I asked my mama that question once, in 1984, shortly after my dad died. Sitting in the living room, I posed the question to her: “Mama is there anything you’d like to do while you are still able?” Her response did not come immediately, but she finally said “Yes, there is; I’d like to visit Ireland.” She has always been interested in Ireland and England – she has countless books on the countries.  I regret, by her choice, my mother is not going to go to Ireland.  She had tickets and a trip planned once, but turned them in. And yet, that experience has alerted me to the fact that a life without regret might include making a list of the things which I might want to do in my life before my life is over.

 

 

There are two more parts of the Christmas story – one today and then one next week. Our story today is about two people who had only one wish before they died – one thing they wanted to see happen before they left this world for the next.  There is a man in Jerusalem whose name is Simeon.

·         He is a very righteous Jewish man.

·         He has been promised that he would not die until he sees the Messiah face-to-face.

 

This event occurs on the eighth day of Jesus’ young life.  As a young Jewish male, Jesus is being dedicated to God through circumcision. Mary and Joseph, being in Bethlehem, only a few miles from Jerusalem, have brought him to the Temple for his dedication to the Lord. Jesus appears to Simeon in his mother’s arms. Simeon responds by telling God that it is now okay for him to die; he has met the Savior face to face.

 

But that’s not the end of the story.  The story continues with a woman named Anna; eighty-four years old, and she too is looking for and speaking of this Savior who is to come.

·         The Bible says that she never left the temple;

·         She stays there day and night, fasting and praying and eventually seeing this One whom God has sent to redeem Israel.

·         Again, God brings them together at the right time, and Anna prophesies that this child would redeem Israel.

·         All her years of watching and waiting and fasting suddenly came to an end, as she tells the people in the Temple who this child is.

 

We see in these stories of Simeon and Anna, evidence that the religious life is not a brief sprint, as we sometimes presume, but it is a marathon. And this is the most significant aspect of Simeon and Anna; the legacies they left behind. Rather than asking “what would you like to do?” perhaps I should be asking “how would you like to be remembered?” What do you want your legacy to be? What shall we write as an epitaph on your tombstone? What should be written on mine?

·         “There was a man named Mike …”

·         “There was a man named Terry….”

But notice: Luke does not leave these stories in isolation – he connects them to something taking place almost twelve years later … Why? Why place these stories together? Listen, "(Jesus') parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover."  Did you ever notice that part I just read, "Every year"?  Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem every year for Passover. 

 

                Travel is so easy for us today that we forget how difficult it used to be.  I mean how many in this church traveled hundreds, if not thousands of miles this past week?  It will take the mission team just over a day to travel half-way around the world to Cambodia on January 24. Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth to Jerusalem every year for the Passover.  When we read that, we may think of Joseph taking a couple of days off work, hopping into the city for a night or two, and returning home.  It wasn't like that.  It wasn't like that at all.  Remember, travel to Jerusalem is an eight-day journey from Nazareth––each way!  Mostly it was walking!  They walked.  They spent several days in Jerusalem observing the Passover, and then another eight days getting back home. 

·         Three weeks away from home! 

·         Three weeks on the road! 

·         Three weeks sleeping wherever they could!  

·         Three weeks eating the simple fare that they could carry with them! 

·         Three weeks without a paycheck! 

·         Three weeks of extra expenses! 

Luke says that they did that every year! Not occasionally! Not once in a full moon. I am sure that this trip to Jerusalem is the closest thing to a vacation that Joseph and Mary ever got.  It cannot have been much of a vacation. 

                Why did they do it? 

·         Simeon – waiting at the gates. 

·         Anna – waiting at the gates. 

·         Mary and Joseph, yearly, headed to the Temple. 

Joseph and Mary went every year.  Scripture indicates a good Jew should make one pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but they loved God so much that they were willing to go above and beyond the call of duty observing Passover. 

                I believe Luke wants to tell us what kind of people had influence in Jesus’ life.  They are people devoted to God.  That makes sense, doesn't it! 

·         God would not have chosen Mary had she not been that kind of woman. 

·         Joseph would not have been in the picture had he not been that kind of man. 

·         God chose them, God chose Simeon and Anna because they are the kind of people who would take Jesus to Jerusalem every year for Passover. 

 

                It made a difference!  Jesus grew up in a family that is devoted to God, and it makes a difference for him.  Jesus is human, and he needed the nurture that his human family offered.

·         When he came from heaven to earth, he accepted the limitations of human flesh. 

·         He began life as a helpless infant. 

·         His parents had to diaper him. 

·         He caught colds. 

·         He got ear aches. 

·         He experienced all the miseries and all the joys of a normal Jewish baby. 

·         And he grew. 

By the time he had grown into a twelve-year-old boy––very different from the helpless infant of the manger.  He was bright!  His insights amazed people!  But Jesus wasn't finished growing yet.  Luke tells us that this twelve-year-old boy grew in wisdom––and he grew in stature––and he grew in his relationship with God––and he grew in his relationships with other people. 

                Even as a very bright twelve-year-old, Jesus had lots of growing yet to do.

·         He did that growing in a family who journeys to Jerusalem every year for the Passover. 

·         He did his growing in a family who goes beyond the call of duty to honor God. 

·         He did his growing in a family who helps him to develop strong ties to his Heavenly Father. 

Life in that kind of family made Jesus strong.  It prepared him for life.  It prepared him for death.  It prepared him for whatever he might face. We will see that in a few weeks.  On February 17, the First Sunday in Lent, we will see Jesus begin his ministry.  Do you remember how Luke continues to describe the story?  Jesus begins his ministry with the temptation in the wilderness! 

·         Satan tries to get Jesus to make bread from a stone.

·         He tries to get Jesus to take the easy way and to worship Satan.

·         He tries to get Jesus to jump-start his ministry with a spectacular stunt.

But Jesus passes every temptation.  He counters every temptation with scripture. 

                Where did he learn those scriptures?   He learned the scriptures from Mary and Joseph in their home.  He learned the scriptures in the synagogue, where Mary and Joseph took him to worship––and to learn.  He learned the scriptures in Jerusalem, where Mary and Joseph took him every year to observe Passover. 

                So when the test came––Satan's temptations––Jesus is ready.  When the test comes, Jesus passes it with flying colors.  He is able to pass the test because he had grown strong in a family that goes to Jerusalem for Passover every year––in a family that goes beyond the call of duty to honor God––in a family that worships in the synagogue every Sabbath––in a family that gives thanks at the dinner table––in a family that prays together––in a family that told him about a man named Simeon and woman named Anna. 

                What does that have to do with us?  It gives us a model of a family.  It gives us a model for growing strong kids.  It gives us a model for growing kids who can handle temptation. 

·         It is NOT a kid-centered family. 

·         It is a GOD-centered family. 

Parents in kid-centered families think that they need to give their kids everything.  No, give them yourself.  Give them your time.  Give them your love.  Give them your faith. Do what you can to help them to adopt good values.  Do what you can to help them to learn that God is their loving Father––and that Jesus came to Earth to save them––to save them from ordinariness––to forgive their sins.

                Jesus didn't grow up in a KID-centered family.  He grew up in a GOD-centered family.  He grew up in a family that sacrificed nice-to-have things so that they could observe Passover in Jerusalem every year.  Growing up in a family like that made Jesus strong.  It gave him the strength to resist temptation once he was on his own.

                Someone put it this way:  To discover what you are to leave behind – our true place in life, we need to discover, not WHO we are, but WHOSE we are.  Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple when he was eight days old and then again, year-after-year. I helped Jesus to learn WHOSE he was––to whom he belonged. Only then could Jesus know what he wanted to do before he died.