Sermon Luke 2:22-39 People in the Church

Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches

Sermon Luke 2:22-39 People in the Church

December 28, 2014

The church consists of people. Each person in the church is given specific gifts from God. These gifts are used together to do what churches do. New members of a church are constantly bringing new gifts into the church. Long term members have shared many gifts over the years. Today we will look at two long term members of the church. Their names are Anna and Simeon. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

In you, O God, I will greatly rejoice: in speaking, I will greatly rejoice; in silence, I will greatly rejoice; in travels, I will greatly rejoice; in resting, I will greatly rejoice; in working, I will greatly rejoice; in leisure, I will greatly rejoice; in duties, I will greatly rejoice; in freedom, I will greatly rejoice. O God, my whole being exults in you, and my life shall evermore declare your praise, my light, my love, my joy. Amen.”¹

Luke 2:22-39 ²² 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 ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), ²⁴ 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." ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: ²⁹ "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. ³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation, ³¹ which you have prepared in the sight of all people, ³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." ³³ The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

³⁶ There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷ and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. ³⁸ Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. ³⁹ When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.

Let’s start by looking at Anna. You could find Anna in the temple at any time. She was there day and night. She must have loved talking to all those people who came for temple sacrifice. Obviously she loved to talk. Luke says that she talked with everyone there. And she loved to tell stories. She told Mary and Joseph about her father, and tribe, and about her husband who lived just seven years. In addition to telling stories she spent a great deal of her time fasting and praying. And when you spend enough time in prayer something happens to you. You begin to develop a relationship with God. God speaks to you. And you can discern God working in the community around you. This is what has happened to Anna. She has spent so much time in prayer that she now sees God at work everywhere she looks. Other people have begun to recognize Anna’s ability. They call her a prophet.

Churches need prophets like Anna. They need people who have been in the church for a long time and remember the old stories. Churches need people who pray a lot and come to the church often because over time these people develop the skills a church needs to see God at work in the world. Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek are blessed with prophets, members who have been here so long, have prayed for the church year after year, and therefore can see God at work in Pocomoke.

Now let’s turn to Simeon. Simeon is a worker at the temple. Simeon is not a priest, but he is there for Mary’s purification after childbirth. Luke tells us that Simeon was “righteous and devout”. My guess is that he has been doing things around the temple for years. Maybe he started lighting the wood stoves when he was a kid. Maybe, over the years, he had delivered tables to the marketplace or gathered food for the poor. When you spend enough time doing things around the church something begins to happen. According to Luke, Simeon was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Churches need people like Simeon. Not only do they do much of the work around the church like picking up supplies, leading the choir, teaching the kids, or passing out food, but they also begin to understand where God is leading the church. With Simeons in the church we know where we have been and where we are going. Simeons are needed when change occurs in the church because their steady hands and long experience guide the church into an uncertain future.

A church is blessed by God when Annas and Simeons are present because they see what God is doing in the world and they know where the church is headed.

Now let’s turn to Mary and Joseph. We all know Mary and Joseph. These are Jesus’ parents. We have just come though Advent when the church talks about these two a lot. But let’s look closely at these two because they have undertaken a long and difficult road to get themselves to the Jerusalem temple.

If you asked Mary and Joseph, “where are you from?” they would probably answer, “Nazareth”. But if you pressed them a little they would say “Bethlehem”. My home is here in Pocomoke. But it would not take long for you to find out that my home is really Washington DC. That is where I grew up and where my Dad lives. I have only been in Pocomoke for five years. So, why did Mary and Joseph live in Nazareth not Bethlehem? The king at that time was Herod. Herod wanted his kingdom to be not just a province of Rome, but a rival to the splendor and majesty of Rome. He embarked on massive building programs. The Jerusalem Temple doubled in size and he built a palace for himself right next to it. Around 4 BC a city was being built in the far north province of Galilee called Sephorous. Workers were needed from all over the kingdom. Some of the workers on this city settled in a nearby town called Nazareth. Mary and Joseph were probably the children of the immigrant construction workers who settled there

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As immigrants Mary and Joseph were subject to harsh government policies. According to Luke all immigrants were required to return home to be registered. We often think of this as a census, Mary and Joseph had to fill out a few forms. But in reality it was more like deportation. There were forced to make the long difficult trek all the way back to Judea and their home town of Bethlehem.

Compounding their problems was Mary’s pregnancy which had entered the ninth month, and Mary and Joseph had yet to marry. After arriving in Bethlehem the couple could not find a place to stay and slept with animals. Mary gave birth to a son and placed him in a stone animal feeding trough we call a manger. But Mary and Joseph remained observant Jews and had their son circumcised according to law, and now they have taken the Samaritan route back home so that Mary could have her ritual cleansing, a month after giving birth to a son, in the Jerusalem temple.

We have families like Mary and Joseph living in Pocomoke who are suffering. They are poor. They are unable to find jobs. They struggle to pay rent and utilities. Many are black or mixed raced. I wonder if we would welcome a poor family into our church the way Simeon and Anna welcomed a poor family into their church.

For many years we have been a church of Annas and Simeons in a community of Marys and Josephs. For this church to thrive in this neighborhood it must be a church that brings Mary and Joseph together with Simeon and Anna. So let's open our doors and welcome the community in.

I can remember a Christmas Eve several years ago. Two men who had never been to church came in for an evening service and stayed for dinner. One of the men told me that he had grown up in that community and played basketball behind the gym. In the 1970s when the community began to change and became more Hispanic his family moved away. He returned to the neighborhood recently, and came to church for the first time. Sitting next to him at dinner was man who came to the community in the 1970s from El Salvador. I realized that these two had feared each other for 40 years. But that night they worshiped and ate together. What brought down the walls that divided these two? It wasn’t me or the beautiful music or even the food. What united these two men was Jesus Christ who, since he was just one month old, has been bringing diverse people together into church

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When Simeon saw Mary and Joseph bring their baby into the temple he realized that everything had changed. Simeon had been waiting for Israel’s messiah, a messiah who would come and overthrow the Romans restoring the Davidic dynasty to Israel. But as he looked at the one month old Jesus, old Simeon knew that the messiah had come, but not to overthrow Rome. No, the messiah had come as a savior for all people, of all nations. The messiah was going to reveal God not just to Jews, but also to the all Gentiles including the Romans. This was a revolutionary thought. Christ had come not to throw the Romans out but to bring them into the worship of Israel’s God.

As the church of Jesus Christ we are about the business of breaking down walls. Here in Pocomoke we have an excellent opportunity to see what Christ can do with a church that removes the walls that separate people. This is not our church or their church. This is Jesus’ church, and Jesus is the messiah for all people from all nations. Christ has come to unite us in one faith, one church, Mary and Joseph and Anna and Simeon worshiping together in one place one God.

Let's pray with Simeon:

Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace:

your word has been fulfilled.

My own eyes have seen the salvation

which you have prepared in the sight of every people;

A light to reveal you to the nations

and the glory of your people Israel. Amen.

1Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year B, Volume 1 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p52.