Christmas morning - what can we be?

It’s 5:30 am, Christmas morning, here in Carbondale and our home will soon be flooded with family, young, old and one in the womb. This year I’m reminded of two people who are usually forgotten in the whole sweep of Christmas and its following days. Luke 2 tells the story of Jesus’ first days on the earth and on day eight he meets Simeon and Anna.

 

“In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:

 

God, you can now release your servant;

release me in peace as you promised.

With my own eyes I've seen your salvation;

it's now out in the open for everyone to see:

A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,

and of glory for your people Israel.

Jesus' father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,

 

This child marks both the failure and

the recovery of many in Israel,

A figure misunderstood and contradicted—

the pain of a sword-thrust through you—

But the rejection will force honesty,

as God reveals who they really are.

Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fastings and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.

When they finished everything required by God in the Law, they returned to Galilee and their own town, Nazareth. There the child grew strong in body and wise in spirit. And the grace of God was on him.” Luke 2:25-40

Can we be like Simeon with those we encounter today and this coming year? Can we be long-term faithful? Can we patiently wait for the Lord’s promises? Can we bless our friends and even strangers? Can we see the potential for greatness in a child and the potential for pain in a mother? Can we see the purposes of God in a young life?

 

Can we be like Anna who worships night and day? Can we be as single-minded as she? Can we have hearts so full that we break into song as we recognize the Lord’s presence? Can we talk with everyone we encounter about the true source of freedom?

 

Can we be like the child Jesus? Can we grow strong in body and wise in spirit? Can we carry the grace which the Lord God puts upon us?

 

I pray we can be such on this day, on day 8 and on each remaining day of our lifetimes. Merry Christmas to one and all. Bless you, my friends.