Speaking of Simeon and Anna
In todays reading there is a lot of law thrown about. Literally Luke mentions the Law 5 times.
“Luke shows his skill at creating atmosphere.
Five times it is mentioned that Jesus’ parents observe the law, and
Simeon and Hanna, another couple straight out of the old testament, reinforce
this picture.”[1]
Luke uses the old testament differently than Mathew does in
the Christmas story. “He does not use a prediction-fulfillment formula. Indeed,
he does not even quote a verse from the old testament. He does however,
proclaim the continuity of Jesus with Israel and his fulfillment of Gods
promise to Israel in more than one way.”[2]
Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan in their book the first
week explain that “We see the theme of fulfillment with great clarity in the
song of Mary, Zechariah and Simeon, the Canticles known by millions of
Christians as the Magnificat, the Benedictus, and the Nunc Dimittis. Although most scholars think of these as
ancient Christians hymns, perhaps we should think of them as ‘chants’ – hymns
sung repetitively.”[3]
So, these three different verses from the narrative of the
Christmas stories may have been early hymns of the church. These were likely
sung before the Gospel was even written.
Marcus Borg speaks about how they are used but first gives us a bit of
history about these canticles.
“as early Christians hymns, they are neither reports about
what Mary and Zechariah and Simeon said nor Luke’s free creation. Rather, they
are a pre-Lukan Christian Canticles…it is intriguing to think that we are
hearing ‘pregospel’ Christian communities at worship in these texts. This is what gospel, ‘the good news,’ of
Jesus meant to them. And by including
these in his Christmas story Luke affirms that this is what the gospel of Jesus
meant to him.”[4]
What Luke does, as opposed to quoting old testament, he uses
echoes of old testament. He uses phrases
that parallel familiar readings from the old testament to proclaim Jesus as
fulfillment of the old testament.
“Both the tone and the specific language of these hymns
express the theme of fulfillment. The
tone is Jubilant, ringing with the conviction that God’s promises are being
fulfilled.”[5]
Listen to the words of the three canticles. The canticle of
Mary also known as the Magnificat. States “My soul Magnifies the Lord and my
spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly
servant.”
What joy abounds in that simple phrase.
In the song of Zachariah also known as the Benedictus we
hear; “Blessed be the lord god of Israel for he has looked favorably on his
people and redeemed them. He has raised up for us a mighty savior.”
Again, great Joy and affirmation that the people have been
redeemed by the savior.
And Finally, todays canticle the song of Simeon also known
as Nunc Dimittis states; “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation.”
Simeon proclaims a great peace in the fulfillment of a
promise through witnessing the arrival of salvation in Jesus.
Earlier I mentioned much of this passage is about the law. First Luke wants to show that Joseph and Mary
are good Jewish law-abiding parents.
“the passage we see, it gives us a glimpse at what kind of
parents God entrusted baby Jesus to. They were people who feared God. The angel
told them to name him Jesus. They obeyed and name him Jesus. God’s word told
them to circumcise him on the eighth day. They obeyed the law and had Jesus
circumcised on the eighth day. In fact everything we see Joseph and Mary doing
in verses 21-24 is written in God’s law found in Leviticus 12. According to
God’s law a woman becomes ceremonially unclean for seven days after giving
birth. If she gave birth to a boy she must wait 30 days to be purified from her
bleeding. If she gave birth to a daughter she must wait 60 days to be purified.
Mary and Joseph obeyed this law. Once the woman is purified, the Law of the
Lord says the baby must be brought to Jerusalem and presented to the Lord. They
are not to go empty handed. They are to present to the Lord a lamb. If they
can’t afford a lamb they are to present a pair of doves or two young pigeons.
According to God’s law the purpose of this sacrifice was to redeem the first-born
son and to offer atonement for the woman’s uncleanness. … We see our great
Savior Jesus was entrusted not to rich parents but to godly parents. “[6]
This again is all in accordance with fulfilling the law in
order for Jesus to be that fulfillment we must also see that the law is fulfilled
for him by his parents.
“Luke has apparently taken this old idea of the first-born
son being dedicated to God’s service and made it fruitful for his narrative.
The Torah contains no requirement that the first-born son be presented at the
temple. However, Luke alludes to the story of Samuel. When Hannah, who had no
children, prayed to God for a son, she vowed that, if she had a son, she would
give him to God for all his days (1 Samuel 1:11). And indeed, after Samuel was
born, Hannah brought him to the temple, and he was “lent” to the Lord for life
(1 Samuel 1:24-28). It is clear that Mary in Luke takes the role of Hannah (cf.
Luke 1:46-55 with 1 Samuel 1:11; 2:1-10) while Jesus takes the role of Samuel
(cf. Luke 2:40, 52 with 1 Samuel 2:26). Thus when Joseph and Mary present Jesus
to the Lord in Jerusalem, they are in effect dedicating his life to God (no
redemption money is given). Jesus will be “holy to the Lord” (Luke 2:23). With
these words Luke subtly alters the language of Exodus 13:2, 12 from a command
to consecrate (hagiazein) the first-born to God to a declaration about Jesus.
Luke’s wording is reminiscent of Luke 1:35, where the angel Gabriel tells Mary
that her son will be “holy” and will be called the “Son of God,” because he
will be conceived by the Holy Spirit. Luke’s wording is perhaps also (though
more distantly) reminiscent of other stories that speak of Jesus as a “holy
one” with a special relationship to God (e.g., Mark 1:24). The story thus sets
the stage for Jesus’ life dedicated fully to his heavenly Father (Luke 2:49).”[7]
Here again Luke doesn’t make a direct reference to the old
testament however he is creating a narrative that alludes to it in order to
show that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old testament and has a unique relation
to God.
The next scene does hit me as funny, you see here we have
Luke speaking of the law, his parents are fulfilling the law. But as visitors to the temple suddenly a
strange man takes their child and starts proclaiming thanks and fulfillment. If
that were to happen today Mary would be screaming Joseph would be yelling a
crowd would be gathering and soon Simeon would find himself arrested.
All we know about the life of Simeon is found in this verse.
He was righteous and devout, and he was waiting for Israel’s Comfort: and the
Holy spirit was on him. And it was revealed by the holy spirit that he would
not die till he saw the coming of the Christ.
Upon entering the temple, he is with the Holy spirit takes
the child and Blessing God affirms that Jesus is the fulfillment of the
prophecies. But Simeon is not alone in
this. We are also introduced to Anna.
One commentator writes;
“Luke introduces us to Anna the Prophetess. She, like the
Shepherds, the Magi, and Simeon, confessed Jesus as the Christ, our Incarnate
Lord, even before He celebrated His first birthday on earth. And yet, even
though she is an invaluable witness to Jesus Christ, we cannot really recount
her actual encounter with Jesus.
Luke gives us valuable information about the scene. We can
read the very detailed account of Simeon confessing Jesus as the Christ. Then
Anna arrives in the Temple while this is happening, but Luke decides not to
explain any further details. Simeon appears in 11 verses, 9 of which describe
His encounter with Jesus in the Temple that day. We know Simeon held Jesus in
his arms, we can pray the same prayer he prayed, we know how Mary and Joseph
reacted and what Simeon says directly to Mary. In contrast, Anna gets only
three verses, and only 1 verse alludes to her being in the Temple at the same
time as Jesus. What exactly happened? We cannot say. The specific information
we do have about Anna and the silence about her encounter with Jesus are both
startling, and intentionally so. There is barely a description of her encounter
with Jesus. Just where she meets Jesus, Luke decides to fall silent.”[8]
It is interesting that we know of anna’s history a bit. We know she is in the temple always. We know she encountered Jesus, then she
stands, praises God and speaks about Jesus to all who were waiting for the
redemption of Israel. Affirming that Jesus is the redemption.
“Based on the information Luke does give us, we can spell
out a lot of the significance of Anna. Luke provides specific details about who
Anna is, and they teach us how to think about Anna. Following Luke’s lead, we
can fill out the meaning of his thought-provoking silence.
Luke mentions two people who bear witness to Him in the
Temple: Simeon and Anna. The Bible advises, and for specific cases in the Old
Covenant Law even requires, the evidence of two witnesses to establish an
important legal charge (Deuteronomy 17; 19). Simeon and Anna are the two
witnesses here, a complimentary pair. Both are pious and patiently waiting for
Israel’s redemption. They represent the whole human race, male and female.
Simeon is the male witness, and Anna the female witness. The man comes first,
but it is not good for him to be alone, so the woman comes second, joins to the
work of the man, and together they complete their service to the Lord.
Simeon is a prophet, because God includes him in divine
council, and Anna is the prophetess, because God blesses her with this grace.
Both confess Jesus is the Christ. Their combined evidence is greater than if only
one confessed this truth. Simeon confesses Jesus as the Lord’s Christ, and Anna
confesses Jesus as the Redeemer of Israel. They both hoped he was the one to
redeem Israel, and they were both on target. Jesus grew up to redeem God’s
people.”[9]
The commentator goes on about all the innuendos and possible
double meanings one can read into who anna is where she is from and who her
father is I believe some were a stretch but two are often referred to one is
anna also sometimes called Hanna the commentator states;
“Anna is the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. The meaning of each name is important. The name Anna, or as some translations
render it, Hannah, reminds us of the other famous Hannah in the Bible. Hannah
presented her son Samuel in the temple as a boy before God, so also, now, Mary
is presenting Jesus in the temple as a boy before God. …
Why does it matter that Anna is from the tribe of Asher?
Asher was a northern tribe of Israel conquered by Assyria. Asher became known
as one of the ten lost tribes. What once was lost is now back
“Simeon and Anna appear as devout Jews who are awaiting the
fulfillment of God’s promises of consolation and redemption for Israel. These
sections of Luke’s story are drenched with the language of Deutero-Isaiah (cf.
Isaiah 40:1; 42:6; 49:6, 13; 52:9, 10). Simeon and Anna thus become spokesman
and spokeswoman for the salvation and redemption that is to come through Jesus.
Simeon gets a glimpse of the salvation that one-day the whole world (“all
flesh”) will see (cf. Luke 3:6, Luke’s addition to Mark): forgiveness of sins
and deliverance from eternal death (Acts 13:38-39, 46-47). That is the ultimate
meaning of Christmas, the incarnation of the Son of God.”[10]
The incarnation of God, in other words God with us, Emmanuel. This whole analysis of this part of Luke’s
Gospel may lead one to say, so what or better yet, now what? What do I do with this knowledge of the
fulfillment of the Old testament as testified to by Simeon and Anna? How does this relate to the here and now?
Many look at the Gospels and the life of Christ as leaving
us waiting. Many Christians spend their
time looking for the time of Christ’s second coming. They look for signs and
symbols and numbers and patterns in the sky. Actually, I do not know what they are
looking for. I really am not concerned as it goes back to you shall neither
know the time or place.
I want to live as Simeon’s canticle says;
“Master now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word; For my eyes have seen your salvation.”
You see we have seen God’s salvation. We have seen and
studied God’s salvation in Christ and now, and everyday, we are called to live
into that salvation. We are called to
find better ways to spread the Good News that God became incarnate and taught a
message of radically inclusive love for all.
Now we are called to live into that message and to be that
message. We look for God in the everyday
and in every way. We seek out ways to find God in our lives in the hope that we
may just be the message of God’s hope to others.
I recently read about a small church in a small town in
Michigan. It was a church of 35 members
just a few years ago now their Sunday worship is around 135 they are literally
bursting at the seams. They even have a
new church start a couple of towns over because people were driving quite a
distance to be part of their community.
What did they suddenly start to do differently than they had
done before? For one they learned the
history of the UCC as a denominational movement. How we are a church of firsts and we have a
radically strong rich history that we are a part of.
Then they started to get out in their community. The pastor said they just started to go to
everything. I am not sure what
everything included but they became visible.
They became a very visible part of their community.
“’As we've been growing, people want to take our mission and
bring it outside of the church. It's more than Sunday morning," Sapienza
said. "We started a Steven Ministry program, partnering with a national
organization and thousands of churches. Several members of the congregation
have become trained to minister to others in our community. They meet with
someone once a week, to sit and listen, be a presence. Others have decided to
work with children at the elementary school, becoming volunteers in the school
tutoring program. We've become a creation justice church, to care for the
environment and have held recycling events and led beach cleanup on the shores
of Lake Michigan.’
Church members also march in the Gay Pride Parade, have
offered help in the Flint Water Crisis, and participate in Black Lives Matter
events.
‘By dramatically increasing their footprint in the
community, they have claimed their prophetic voice and embraced their diversity,’
said Gonzalez. ‘This is a story of engagement, vision and revitalization. The
congregation has begun to own their ministry and believe in themselves. It’s
been exciting to witness firsthand.’”[11]
I am not saying their way is your way, but it is a way. To intentionally seek out places that have
needs and be the church that feeds those needs.
As the new year is upon us I would like to hear from people who want to
do something, try anything, who want to explore what it means to be the church
in the 21st century.
It is your call as a congregation to listen for Gods still
speaking voice and find ways to answer the call a call that means reengaging
old connections or forging new connections I do not know what the answer is for
you but just as the child grew and became strong so is the church called to
grow be strong be filled with wisdom and seek the favor of God. We are called
to continue to proclaim the Canticle of Simeon and the praises of Anna, for the
redemption of the world has come and we are called to claim it, proclaim it and
to live out that proclamation and share the good news with the world.
[2] Marcus Borg and
John Dominic Crossan, The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach
about Jesus's Birth (New York: Harper One, 2007). Two authorities on the life of Jesus draw on
the gospels of Matthew and Luke to tell the true story of Jesus's birth and to
place its lessons in context with the modern world.
[6] University Bible
Fellowship, Faith of Simeon and Anna, 2006, accessed December 30, 2017,
http://www.washingtonubf.org/BibleMaterials/Luke2005/luke2b_msg.html.
[7] Stephan Hultgren,
Commentary on Luke 2:22-40, December 28, 2014, accessed December 30, 2017,
https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2258.
[8] Dave Shaw, “Anna
Asher,” theopolis Institue, February 12, 2015, accessed December 30, 2017,
https://theopolisinstitute.com/anna-of-asher/.
[11] Connie Larkman,
“Small Michigan Church quadruples in size by ministering to its community,”
united Church of Christ, December 20, 2017, accessed December 30, 2017,
http://www.ucc.org/news_small_michigan_church_quadruples_in_size_by_ministering_to_its_community_12202017?utm_campaign=kyp_dec26_17&utm_medium=email&utm_source=unitedchurchofchrist.
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