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PENINSULA BIBLE CHURCH CUPERTINO Blessed are the pure in heart: Catalog No. 7293 SIMEON ANd ANNA Luke 2:22–39 John Hanneman december 19th, 2010 O little town of Bethlehem, comparison. Our prayer this morning is for God to cast out our sin How still we see thee lie! and enter in, be born in us today. Above thy deep and dreamless sleep Today is the fourth and last Sunday of Advent. Our advent The silent stars go by; series has focused on four pairs of people that we encounter in the Yet in thy dark streets shineth birth narratives of Luke and Matthew. In the past three weeks we The everlasting Light; have talked about Zechariah and Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary, the The hopes and fears of all the years shepherds and magi. Today, we conclude our series by looking at Are met in thee tonight. the story of Simeon and Anna. The common denominator of these stories is that when God came to earth in human form, the people For Christ is born of Mary, to whom God revealed himself and the people who recognized him And gathered all above, were not the high and mighty, nor the rich and powerful. The music While mortals sleep, the angels keep of God’s word had been playing in the background for centuries Their watch of wondering love. through the mouths of the prophets, but those who were occupied O morning stars, together with this world missed it completely. Rather God came and revealed Proclaim the holy birth! himself to the lowly and humble living in submission and obedience And praises sing to God the King, to him. He came to the poor in spirit, to the meek, to those hungry And peace to men on earth. and thirsty for righteousness, and to the pure in heart. Simeon and Anna were two people who were pure in heart, and as a result they How silently, how silently, saw God. Here is the backdrop to their story. The wondrous gift is given! When the time came for the purification rites required by the So God imparts to human hearts Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to The blessings of his heaven. present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, No ear may hear his coming, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to But in this world of sin, offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Where meek souls will receive him, still Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” (Luke 2:22-24) The dear Christ enters in. Joseph and Mary came to Jerusalem for two reasons, for Mary to O holy Child of Bethlehem! receive the rite of purification and to consecrate their firstborn son descend to us, we pray; to the Lord. They didn’t necessarily have to go to Jerusalem, but they Cast out our sin and enter in, were close by and stopped before returning home to Galilee. “The Be born in us today. Law” is mentioned three times and “the Lord” is mentioned four We hear the Christmas angels times, thus highlighting the fact that Joseph and Mary were living in The great glad tidings tell; humble obedience to God’s word. O come to us, abide with us, According to Leviticus 12, a woman became ceremonially unclean Our Lord Emmanuel! after childbirth. If she had a son she would be ceremonially unclean for seven days. On the eighth day the boy would be circumcised (as Philip Brooks was so overwhelmed by a visit to Bethlehem in 1865 Luke records in verse 21). Then she would have to wait thirty-three that he penned the lyrics to this familiar Christmas song. As we run days to be purified. If a woman had a girl the amount of time would to and fro preparing for Christmas we hear this song and many more be doubled. (don’t ask me why it is different.) When the days of like it—on the radio while we are stuck in traffic, in the shopping purification were over the mother would offer a sacrifice, a lamb mall’s hustle and bustle, and in the Christmas movies that we watch for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. every year. However, the music that proclaims the birth of our Lord If she could not afford a lamb, then she could bring two doves or and Savior Jesus Christ is playing in the background. If we aren’t two young pigeons. Then the woman would be clean. The fact that attentive, if we aren’t listening, we miss the message all together. Joseph and Mary brought two birds indicates they were poor. If our hearts are cluttered with worldly thoughts and self-serving The Law also required that a firstborn son be consecrated to ambition we cannot see the beauty and the glory of God revealed in the Lord. This was the Lord’s word in Exodus 13, when Israel was the birth of the Christ Child. brought out of slavery from Egypt. It was a reminder that Pharaoh’s My own heart is cut to the quick when I consider that the stubborn heart had led to the death of every firstborn person and splendor and majesty of the incarnation is so grand that everything animal except for those who had been passed over through the blood else associated with this time of year is mere prattle and trinket in of a lamb. The firstborn were set apart to serve the Lord. 1 Luke 2:22–39 Later, according to Numbers 18, every firstborn son was presented was either 84 years old or that she was a widow for 84 years, meaning to the Lord and redeemed from priestly service for the price of five that she was around 105. Luke tells us that Anna is a prophetess and shekels. The redemption price was used to support the priesthood. provides us with information on her lineage. Even though Asher was We hear echoes of Samuel, whom Hannah promised to give to the one of the ten tribes wiped out by Assyria, her heritage with the Lord for all his days. Luke fails to mention the purchase price, but people of God was important to her and to Luke. Luke also tells we see that everything happened to Jesus according to the Law. He us that she was present at the temple day and night, worshipping was a Jew under the Law so that he could redeem those under the God by fasting and praying. I have a picture of Mother Teresa in Law. my mind. Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was Joseph and Mary are young, married. They have their whole life righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of ahead of them. But Simeon and Anna are old, single, and alone. Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed They are at the other end of things. As T.S. Eliot says in his poem A to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had Song for Simeon they have “no tomorrow.” Old people like Simeon seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the and Anna are passed over in our society. We don’t give them much temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to regard. We get irritated because they drive too slow or take a long do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took time to cross the street. But Simeon and Anna are in on the action, him in his arms and praised God, saying: they are in the know, they have a front row seat to the greatest “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, show on earth - God’s human entrance at the temple in Jerusalem. you may now dismiss your servant in peace. The priests, the professionals doing spiritual work, didn’t hear the For my eyes have seen your salvation, music. But Simeon and Anna had eyes to see Israel’s consolation and which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: redeemer. In the heart of a busy temple area these four adults and a a light for revelation to the Gentiles, baby have a surprise rendezvous arranged by God. and the glory of your people Israel.” Rembrandt was so taken with this scene that he painted it eight The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about times and used his own mother as the model for Anna. Early in his him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: life he painted with a macro lens, including the temple in the scene. “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many But later in life he zoomed in on Simeon and Anna. At the time of in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that his death, an unfinished portrait of Simeon was found in his studio. the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will Now let’s add in a few more details about Simeon. We see in the pierce your own soul too.” text that Simeon and the Holy Spirit are well acquainted. The Spirit There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the is mentioned three times to balance the threefold mention of the tribe of Asher.

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