The Unexpected: Finding Jesus in the Temple as a Baby - Luke 2:22-40 (Christmas 1)

Merry Christmas! Jesus Christ is born! I hope the joy, hope, love, and peace of the season visited your home this week. Maybe you have the next week off until the New Year to relax. Hopefully, you haven’t taken down your tree yet. This is only the third day of Christmas - we have nine more to go! In my family, we keep the tree up until Epiphany - January 6th, just to enjoy the fullness of the season.

After the celebrations this past week,  today might be kind of a letdown. You may also be surprised that it’s not one of the pastors giving the message today, but they have had quite a year, so hopefully, they can relax a little bit, too, knowing they didn't need to prepare for Sunday after a Thursday service.  The gospel message this week is also kind of a letdown - there are no shepherds, no wise men, no singing angels or stars to follow to a manger. But don't think that I have a light message for you!

If advent has been about waiting, the preparations have paid off because the Christ child is here! Hallelujah! We have opened our hearts to joy, love, peace, and hope, and the baby is here. Everyone loves seeing a new baby. There are so many expectations during the nine months leading up to the birth. But only the parents know what happens the first month after you leave the hospital - chaos ensues. There's a new vibe in the house; all the norms have been thrown out the window by this tiny little dictator who sleeps at all the wrong times. Many of you know my two kids - Alison & Aaron - I remember taking the week off after each of them was born because the level of mania was overwhelming. Sleep is thrown off, days and nights go upside down, and it can be a very stressful time for sure. You think it’s going to be so... silent night... and it’s more hark the herald angels scream. 

The Holy Family experienced remarkable things in the midst of normal life. This can be seen in this week's Gospel message: 

Luke 2:22-40 says: 

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 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

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. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. 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, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, 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."And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 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 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed--and a sword will pierce your own soul too."

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, 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. 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.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

So - maybe I'm oversimplifying here, but it just kinda sounds like a normal week. Here's what we know - about six weeks after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary went to the Temple for Jesus to be presented or dedicated to the LORD.They're starting their 3 day walk on back to Nazareth from Bethlehem, but probably figured that since they had to go through Jerusalem, they should stop by the temple and get all the sacraments done.This ceremony is prescribed in the laws of Moses, which Luke reminds us that the Holy Family followed closely. He brings it up at five different points in our section. They were being faithful and diligent in remaining in the Lord, even though they knew who their baby was. The temple (being an ordinary place in an ordinary week) shows us that Jesus comes to where we are. There was nothing special about the week Jesus visited the Temple. There were no banners presented, welcome parties, or even a cake. They appeared from the outside to be a normal Jewish family with a baby, which is nothing that would draw attention. 

Let's dive in and look at the rituals more closely - the presentation of the first-born son is a rite in Judaism that goes back to the time of Moses. In Exodus 11, 12 & 13, the Lord sent a plague on the firstborn sons because Pharoah would not let his people go. This also sets up the reason for the Passover - the night when believers are to give an offering of a lamb and take the blood on the tops of the sides of the door frames. When they do that, God’s Spirit will - Passover - the house and not take the firstborn son - both people and animals. Once the Israelites were out of Egypt, they celebrated this with a ritual of presenting the firstborn son at the temple and giving an offering so they could redeem their son from that judgment of the past. 

It’s also curious how he brings up how adherent or how faithful they are in staying in compliance with the Laws. In Galatians, Paul writes, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child, then also an heir, through God.” There’s a lot more to unpack here, but I just want to highlight God sent his son so we might receive adoption as children - of God. Jesus was sent to build community, build a family; 

Now that we have talked about why the Holy family is in the temple, who is Simeon? He is an awesome character that I was relatively unaware of up until I noticed it was in the lectionary. He’s not Paul, who has some sort of miraculous transformation; he’s not one of the disciples, plucked out of obscurity to walk with Jesus, but he does have interesting qualifications. Luke writes that Simeon is a righteous and devout man, full of all the things in Advent we have been talking about - joy, hope, love, and peace - who takes the baby from the parents and lifts him. I imagine, in my mind’s eye, this is like Simba being presented in The Lion King. Simeon has been waiting for this moment longer than he can probably imagine. The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die until he saw the Messiah! How affirming is that? How would you like to be a fly on the wall for that conversation...  *chills*  

We know that Simeon lives in Jerusalem and that he is old. He is waiting for the Messiah, just like every other devoted Jewish believer. He says that the Holy Spirit moved him to go to the temple that day. He was waiting around until he saw the family and approached them. He then took the child, praising God, and blessed him. He could have gone up to them with some unsolicited parenting advice - like what are you doing at the temple with a one-month-old? Or some other comments that those who become new parents hear. He could have scolded the parents for improperly dressing him, or wondering why they don’t have a stroller, or could they keep their kid quiet, 

No - Simeon does none of that. The Spirit shows him this is the Messiah - and Simeon embraced him and blessed him, saying you are what I’ve been waiting for all of my life. I can die in peace now that I have put my eyes on my Savior. What an awesome feeling that must have been!

Simeon begins a wonderful blessing for this child. He starts, in verse 29, Now you let your servant die in peace...” meaning that Simeon has finally received his reward for being faithful and unyielding. “I have seen your salvation which you have prepared for ALL people”. Notice Simeon didn’t just say to the Jewish people or to the descendants of Moses or something of the like... Other translations mark this as the “salvation for the Gentiles and the Jews”. Since it seems as if he is old, I’d like to think of him as a bridge between the Old and New Testament, like one of the latter-day prophets. Simeon’s blessing is also rather interesting - the first bit of it is rather famous - it’s used in some monastic prayers at the end of the day. But Simeon blesses the child by acknowledging and affirming what the child will do. “For my eyes have seen your salvation...” as with fulfilling the promise that Simeon’s been anticipating since the Spirit first came to him. But he continues - which you have prepared in the sight of ALL nations; a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory to your people Israel.” This savior the Jewish people are expecting is for their salvation alone, but Simeon swings for the fences and announces right there that his child is here for the salvation of EVERYONE - Jews, Gentiles (or non-Jews); for EVERYONE! 

Can you picture it  - a new family shows up, and Simeon (who I assume was a regular since he’s said to be righteous and devout) blesses this small, poor child out of nowhere. It probably seemed very strange. Imagine someone greeting a new family and giving this blessing in our narthex. And Simeon, according to the text, isn’t even a priest or church staff. He’s just another member. How revolutionary this must have been - to turn the structure on its head of where expectations were. The priests did not greet Jesus and may not have even known who he was,  but - this devoted and righteous man who could see the divinity of God in this nonverbal one-month-old child, I’d argue Simeon was the first evangelist! He didn’t even need the rest of the story, he knew - he believed - and that’s what his heart needed, and he felt like he could be released from his earthly tasks. We don’t know much about him after this either, but Simeon did have a little more to say. It was directed at Mary, and Simeon prophesied that the child would cause the falling and rising of many in Israel. Many people will reject him and a sword will pierce your own soul as well. That wasn’t as gracious as the first bit, but the words are very forward-thinking. This child would be the savior but would break Mary’s own heart. 

The last person in this small group (not knowing when she walked in on this conversation) was Anna. She is described as the daughter of Penuel, but more importantly, it’s actually a reference to Jacob. In Genesis 32, when Jacob wrestles God, the land where they wrestle is renamed Peniel. This is also the same place where Jacob’s name is changed to Israel, and later, his children create the 12 tribes of Israel - one of which is Asher. Asher lived in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which was overrun by the Assyrians and became one of the “10 Lost Tribes of Israel”. Jesus, even though he cannot speak, is finding the lost and being open to receiving her. Digging deeper this also helps connect & bridge the Old Testament to the New. Not much is said about her, except that she is getting on in years as well. It is said she is a widow and that she had been married for seven years, then she was a widow until she was 84. The language isn’t clear whether she was a widow for 84 years and is older than that (100+?), or if she is actually 84 years old. But much like Simeon, she is not a priest or anyone of significance. In fact, being a woman and a widow would have put her near the bottom of the sphere of influence in the Jerusalem social society. She may have been seen as past her useful years and as a drain on the resources of her family, if she had any at all. The text suggests that Anna may not have, since she spent day and night at the temple, worshipping day and night, fasting and praying. If that doesn’t sound like faith and devotion, I don’t know what does. 

Some of you may not realize, but these two witnesses are a recurring theme in this story. Over the past few weeks, we’ve talked about Mary & Elizabeth, Elizabeth & Zachariah, and the comparison of John the Baptist & Jesus - And I wondered if there was a reason why two witnesses were presented. According to Jewish law, two witnesses have the same weight in a courtroom as three or more. It could have been the whole courtyard of the temple was blessing the Christ child once Simeon began, but all it really needed (under the Law, so to speak) was two. And again, the exultation of the unexpected souls of Simeon and Anna was a choice made similar to even the Holy Parents themselves. Jewish society would have been unaware of the significance of the whole scene because of the players. Maybe it echoes the gathering of animals before the flood in Genesis (two by two) or the sending of the Apostles (two by two).

So, what’s the takeaway from our gospel message today? Jesus has come!  Emmanuel is with us; we must still come to Jesus with an open and faithful heart. Simeon and Anna are great examples of what this may look like. God is with us all - without conditions or for those who agree. For those who look, speak or worship differently than we do. For those who have different politics, different vocabulary, or different ways of celebrating. He came to restore a community of love, horizontally and vertically, between neighbors and with the Creator. 

Moving through this week, as you reflect upon this past year and the year to come, let us be real with what has been different, what has remained, and what we would like to change. May we challenge our own expectations of what is possible and where the fragile Christ child might be today. May we keep seeking him and be able to show up like Simeon and Anna, holding to the Spirit, waiting for the day our Savior is shown for us to worship. May we connect with our aged neighbors and our neighbors with young families. We know we are waiting on our messiah, but how do we know he isn’t already here among us? Among the poor, the sick, the incarcerated, or the grieving. Among the homeless, the mentally ill, the beaten, and the abused. It’s hard enough to be waiting for Jesus, but if we aren’t willing to listen when he’s in the temple, how are we going to know where to find him when he’s not there? Are you listening for the spirit?  Or are you expecting the baby Jesus to just show up on your doorstep like you ordered him from Amazon? Churches are losing connections with their communities because the church has become such a divisive place. We’ve somehow become a proactive force for how to walk the straight and narrow with increasing exclusivity rather than being reactive resources when a hand to hold is all someone needs. There are a lot of people who could use Jesus showing up in so many different ways. Can we show them Jesus is for them, too?

As the band is coming up - let me share a couple of quotes with you: James Cone, author and theologian, wrote:

By becoming poor and entrusting divine revelation to a carpenter from Nazareth, God makes clear where one has to be in order to hear the divine word and experience the divine presence.

And 

Howard Thurman, in "The Mood of Christmas", writes When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, the work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among people, to make music in the heart. 

The baby Jesus is here. He needs us. Let’s find him and praise him and do the work of Christmas. Come, let us adore him, indeed. Amen.