And 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 male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said 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, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, "Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel." And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed." And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
- Luke 2:22-38 ESV
Pastor Justin Kim
Who is this man, Simeon? The passage does not give a lot of detail. He doesn't appear in other places in the Bible. He was a righteous man awaiting the consolation of Israel. This was not a popular thing and many had likely stopped waiting for the coming of the Messiah. Simeon was informed by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he saw the coming salvation. When the baby Jesus comes to the temple, Simeon picks up the child and worships God. We can only imagine the satisfaction after such a long wait. But here's the rub, consider the wait. The struggle with doubt and restlessness... Year after year after year.
Anna's response
Anna was also waiting and had been waiting for a long time as well. So when Jesus appears, she worships and goes to inform the others. There may not have been many who were waiting, but there were some. But these people may have been waiting for something else. Consider what their reactions would have been to being informed that the Messiah had come ... This baby of a carpenter. Surely not what they would've expected. But Anna recognized Jesus as a result of diligent faithful living. This wasn't from just living from emotional, spiritual highs. This wasn't because it was December, you know, time to celebrate Jesus. It was mundane daily living in faith.
Our response
Does your life reflect that Jesus is the most important thing? It is ironic that all the traditions and hubbub around Christmas can often obscure the reason for all these things in the first place. We cannot force ourselves to be excited about Jesus coming. We can't just tell ourselves to be excited. We should respond to the goodness and steadfast love of God. That is what Jesus symbolizes, even in the most difficult of circumstances. We can still rejoice in God's faithfulness to us. Faithful waiting will result in more joy in Jesus. We are also waiting for Jesus, more specifically, His second coming. We celebrate Christmas, but we should eagerly & faithfully await the new heavens and new earth. We should not let beholding Jesus pass with the passing of the Christmas season.
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