Read Luke 2:22-52
I have very fond memories of the passage in today’s text where Jesus gets presented at the temple. That was the passage preached on the day out daughter Anna was dedicated. As always God’s timing was perfect as we heard about another Anna from our pastor at that time, Paul Beck. Our Anna was a squirmy irritable 18 month old who could care less about the Cheerios Pastor Paul had in his pocket to try and calm her down. The Anna in our text today was just a tad older and I’m sure far less irritable; although she had been waiting for a while. Anna was a prophetess who was at least 84 (depending on how that passage gets interpreted). After her husband died she obviously had made a decision to spend her life in worship, fasting, and praying to the Lord. So much so that it says she never left the temple. This either means the temple was quite large and also had many rooms and it’s possible that as a prophetess she could have been allowed to live there, or it means she pretty much spent every waking hour there and then she would go home to retire for the night. Either way, there’s no mistaking that this was a woman of God. And as a woman of God she was given a great privilege. To speak about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. She could say with confidence, this baby is the one. The one we have been waiting for. This is one of those instances in scripture where I find myself wishing we knew more. What exactly did she tell them? Did she know that Jesus was going to be much more than just a political Messiah? My inclination is to say yes, I think so. Like Simeon, Anna was a righteous and devout person who had fully given her life over to God. Unlike Simeon, the Holy Spirit isn’t directly referred to with Anna, but I have no doubt that the Spirit was moving in her too as she spoke about the redemption Jesus would bring; a complete and full redemption. Simeon before this referred to that redemption being for the Gentiles and the people of Israel. In case you were wondering that covers everyone; everyone who accepts who Jesus is and what He came to do, that is. Simeon would later say to Mary that Jesus is a child appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel. We too will either fall or rise based on what we do with Jesus. We can rise to the occasion and accept His life giving message and live for Him, or we can deny His life giving message, falling away from His goodness, mercy, grace, and love.
I have very fond memories of the passage in today’s text where Jesus gets presented at the temple. That was the passage preached on the day out daughter Anna was dedicated. As always God’s timing was perfect as we heard about another Anna from our pastor at that time, Paul Beck. Our Anna was a squirmy irritable 18 month old who could care less about the Cheerios Pastor Paul had in his pocket to try and calm her down. The Anna in our text today was just a tad older and I’m sure far less irritable; although she had been waiting for a while. Anna was a prophetess who was at least 84 (depending on how that passage gets interpreted). After her husband died she obviously had made a decision to spend her life in worship, fasting, and praying to the Lord. So much so that it says she never left the temple. This either means the temple was quite large and also had many rooms and it’s possible that as a prophetess she could have been allowed to live there, or it means she pretty much spent every waking hour there and then she would go home to retire for the night. Either way, there’s no mistaking that this was a woman of God. And as a woman of God she was given a great privilege. To speak about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. She could say with confidence, this baby is the one. The one we have been waiting for. This is one of those instances in scripture where I find myself wishing we knew more. What exactly did she tell them? Did she know that Jesus was going to be much more than just a political Messiah? My inclination is to say yes, I think so. Like Simeon, Anna was a righteous and devout person who had fully given her life over to God. Unlike Simeon, the Holy Spirit isn’t directly referred to with Anna, but I have no doubt that the Spirit was moving in her too as she spoke about the redemption Jesus would bring; a complete and full redemption. Simeon before this referred to that redemption being for the Gentiles and the people of Israel. In case you were wondering that covers everyone; everyone who accepts who Jesus is and what He came to do, that is. Simeon would later say to Mary that Jesus is a child appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel. We too will either fall or rise based on what we do with Jesus. We can rise to the occasion and accept His life giving message and live for Him, or we can deny His life giving message, falling away from His goodness, mercy, grace, and love.
Prayer –
Dear Lord, let me rise to the occasion of your love for me. You gave that young child who was presented
at the temple over 2000 years ago so that my sins could be forgiven. You gave Him not only for the world, but you
gave Him for me. I Praise God for your
love.
Lent Update
– If you gave something up for Lent this year I hope it is going well for you and you are finding it to be meaningful and worshipful.
So far so good for me on the “no dessert” front. Like many I take Sunday’s off. It reminds me to take some time to celebrate
what I know is coming; Jesus’ resurrection. Although this week I swapped my Sunday off for Friday night because my wife and I went out for a nice Valentines dinner and the restaurant had some nice looking desserts. You should do Lent in whatever way works best for you. I'm more flexible with it, because the last thing I want to be is legalistic.
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