First Sunday after Christmas, December 31, 2023: Isaiah 61:10-62:3; Psalm 148; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:22-40
In today’s gospel we leave the intimate scene in the manger that dominates Christmas images. With his parents, we travel the short distance to Jerusalem. There his parents follow Jewish law and present their first born son at the Temple and dedicate him to the Lord. At the temple, Luke reports that Jesus was recognized by two people. Simeon was elderly, “righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.” He had been told he would not die before he saw the Messiah. When Simeon holds the infant, he proclaims thanks to the Lord, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
Following Simeon’s hymn, the prophetess Anna, who was 84 and “never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day”. She saw the infant, she praised God and spoke of the child to everyone “looking for the redemption of Jerusalem”.
I am struck by the response of these two elderly people. Maybe we have Christmas all wrong. We talk about the magic of the day for children, but children have little difficulty creating magic in their lives. It is those of us who are older, who have lived with the griefs and challenges of life, who know how difficult it will be for the children we love, who most need Christmas. We need the reminder that life is not just work and hardship, but that there is salvation and hope. Our work at Christmas is not just for the children, but to remind ourselves of the hope that
Both Simeon and Anna see the child, and know hope. They announce that hope to those around them. It may be difficult among the busy-ness of preparing for Christmas, doing all the things that need doing, that it is about hope. May we listen to Simeon and Anna. As we listen to them, we can admit that we welcome the hope of salvation that has arrived with Jesus.