Luke 2: 36-38
Christmas 2007

Luke has given us in his Gospel and in Acts what he terms “an orderly account” in chapter one, inasmuch as “many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us” (in the RSV).  He is not denying that other accounts have been useful and accurate, but he clearly has something he wishes to emphasize.  One of these things, at least, is revealed in his use of the Greek work peplerophoremenon, translated “accomplished” in the RSV, but better translated as in the NIV “fulfilled,” implying not so much “work done” as “plans carried out.”  One might understand from the word “accomplished “ that Luke was merely compiling a list of achievements; but “fulfilled” carries the idea of an order given or, obviously in our case, a prophecy coming to pass.  It is this idea of fulfillment in both senses that gives us the context for the details Luke relates in the story of Joseph and Mary’s travel to the Temple (he says “they had done everything required by the law of the Lord“), in the prophecy of Zechariah, and in the stories of Simeon and Anna.  Luke wants us to see that the birth and life of Jesus were part of the particular history of God’s people Israel -- this was not an interruption of history but its fulfillment.

So we are given the foretelling of the birth of John, then of Jesus, with echoes of Isaiah and Jeremiah; then the birth of John, his circumcision and naming, Zechariah’s song of praise to God for having performed “the mercy promised to our fathers.”  Then the birth of Jesus, of whose prophecies we are so familiar.  His circumcision and naming -- and then the travel to Jerusalem “according to the law of Moses.”  All of these things have been done, insofar as Luke is concerned, either as direct obedience to general Law or as the fulfillment of prophecy -- in both cases manifestations of the close care of God for His people and the birth of Christ as central to that. Christ was for Israel -- predicted and made incarnate according to the eternal purpose of God in every detail.  Remember this now, as we look briefly at Simeon and then at Anna.

Simeon was not a priest, but he had the characteristics of Old Testament piety: justice, fear of God, and longing expectancy of God’s fulfillment of His promises (he was “righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel”).  And Simeon had a personal promise, the fulfillment of which took place by the Holy Spirit as Joseph and Mary sought to “do for Him (Jesus) according to the custom of the law.”  Simeon had been led there by God and took the babe up in his arms (imagine the joy, the deep joy, of this moment, yet the bewilderment of Joseph and Mary ).  And Simeon says that he can now depart in peace “according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples”…and at that very moment Anna walks up and hears Simeon’s praise. 

Let’s briefly note two things about Anna’s background that were important to Luke as he sets up this scene.  She was a prophetess, and she was of the tribe of Asher, the daughter of Phanuel.  The tribe of Asher was known in Israel’s tradition for women of “beauty and talent -- qualified for royal and high priestly marriage.”  Is it possible that her short marriage was of that kind?  And her connection to this tribe and to Phanuel demonstrate that the so-called “lost tribes” were not completely lost, and that the genealogies were being maintained; and particularly for Luke, again, we establish a connection and thus a legitimacy to the testimony of Anna.  The other way in which Luke establishes this legitimacy is in declaring her a prophetess.  Whether this means that she actually foretold the future, as prophets did, or instead that she had unusual wisdom and insight, Luke intends to grant authority to her and put her more clearly in the line of “speakers for God” that appear throughout both Testaments. 

Presumably Anna knew Simeon, knew his character, had known him for many years (after all, Anna is at least 84, and Simeon is able to “depart in peace”and so presumably old, also.)  They were both regularly in the temple, both devout, both looking for Israel’s promised hope, and both had discernment by gift of God’s spirit. 

So, again, by the purposes of God Anna walks up just as Simeon is declaring who this child of Mary and Joseph is, and the only action Luke gives us (everything else is background) is that she “gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” 

I would like to make five points about Anna as portrayed by Luke from which we can make application for our own lives as we consider the details of the story.  (You knew that was coming, didn’t you).

First, she had an unfailing hope in spite of long years of waiting for a fulfillment that was delayed and delayed.  Can you not imagine -- this one who had seen her father’s people display the effects of the captivity in Egypt, the dispersion, the Babylonian exile; the lamentable history of Israel -- all of the Old Testament drama -- all the things taught her as a child; can you not imagine the difficulty of hope?  And she herself had seen a part of that history played out during her long life.  The capture of Jerusalem, the tenuous position of the Jews in Rome at that time, the Hellenizing of the city and even of the Temple itself.  So we, too, live in a culture and at a time that would destroy hope.  The larger society of which we are a part (and I take for granted the scope and power of the internet) is devoted to a short-term materialist/acquisitive view of life, and the church on the whole is barely better in many quarters.  How much this is like the situation a believing Jew found herself in at the time of Anna; Roman and Greek culture and gods, and Hebrew rationalism and pharisaical pragmatism claiming to speak for the one God.  You and I must resist the false descriptions of God and the blasphemous worship of His creation and instead be faithful to what He has called us to.

Second-her hope manifested in prayer and fasting and presence before God -- this true worship, for her time, of which I have just spoken.  She “did not depart from the Temple.”  Her worship was shaped by the Temple and took place in the temple.  It was personal, as prayer and fasting inevitably are, but it was not private and individualistic.  She joined experientially and theologically with other worshippers and shared their doctrine and practice.  She could have declared, as many do today, that worship form is up to the worshipper and faith is purely a matter of the heart, and stayed at home.  But of course, she would have missed Christ altogether.  She chose instead to go to the place where God was and do the things He asked her to do in the ways He asked her to do them; in the presence of others.  Her good theology and good habits, then, allowed her to be present and to recognize the arrival of the hope of Israel. 

We, too, must meet with God on His terms.  Notice the title of Dan Orme’s book-God’s Appointments with Men.  God promises to meet with us when we gather with the faithful and worship in obedience discerning that long strand of truth brought to us by the faithful in all ages and the Word made present.

Thirdly, Anna was alive to a change -- a new work in a new way, as the saying goes.  All of her years of seeking God had enabled her to recognize in Simeon and the babe he was holding the promise whose exact time of coming, and shape, and manner, were unknown to her.  Many of her countrymen were looking for something else -- something more suited to their expectations and presumptions and desires -- not this poor child from a humble family from an out of the way place…  So Anna avoided the trap of clinging to the old or the familiar or the known, yet without giving up theological tradition, habit and ritual. She was looking for God, but she already knew Him -- so His incarnation -- his taking a new form--was a moment of continuity in a sense, but wholly new in another sense. 

It is important, today, to reject all that is false in Christendom.  But do not reject what is true and then miss Christ when He appears.  Do you know Jesus Christ?  Do you let the traditions and the hymns and the sermon and the fellowship lead you to Him?  Or do you see those things as ends in themselves?  Think about what you would find difficult to give up and why it would be so, and if you can’t agree that it is a direct commandment of God or a true means of grace, them prepare yourself to give it up -- and pray that God take it from you that He might give you himself in its place.  Don’t love the familiar only because it is familiar.

Fourth, Anna was bold! -- she “spoke of Christ to all” and yet wise -- she spoke to "all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem"(presumably as a metonymy for Israel).  She knew in an instant what the truth was, and she gave thanks for it, but she looked for something in her hearers that would indicate a readiness like her own and a joy in the good news. 

May I quote Alfred Edersheim, whose Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah I commend to you.

To her widowed heart the great hope of Israel appeared not so much, as to Simeon, in the light of “consolation,” as rather in that of “redemption.”  The seemingly hopeless exile of her own tribe, the political state of Judea, the condition -- social, moral, and religious -- of her own Jerusalem; all kindled in her, as in those who were like-minded, deep, earnest longing for the time of promised “redemption.”  No place so suited to such a one as the Temple, with its services -- the only thing free, undefiled, and pointing forward and upward; no occupation so befitting as “fasting and prayer.”  And, blessed be God, there were others, perhaps many such, in Jerusalem.  Though Rabbinic tradition ignored them, they were the salt which preserved the mass from festering corruption.  To her as the representative, the example, friend, and adviser of such, was it granted as prophetess to recognize Him, Whose Advent had been the burden of Simeon’s praise.  And, day by day, to those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem, would she speak of Him Whom her eyes had seen, though it must be in whispers and with bated breath.  For they were in the city of Herod and the stronghold of Pharisaism. (pg 200)

To return, for a fifth application, to Luke’s preface in light of Anna’s story, let us recognize that we in this room are in the middle of God’s plan being fulfilled in various ways just as Anna, and Simeon, and Peter and Paul, and all the saints have been.  And in some way that we cannot fully understand, our obedience, OUR fulfillment, is part of that fulfillment that He is working out.  Look for Him in those places and those ways He names, hear His voice in His written word, ask questions of those who have been in the faith longer than you to discover other ways in which He has fulfilled his plans for them. 

Do you ever feel the grandness, the breadth and extensiveness of His great plan?  You will, and you will be part of that cloud of witnesses freely and obediently worshipping out of joyful love.  Listen to Christ’s words Luke gives us at the very end of his Gospel (24: 50)  That joy is yours, like it was for Anna and these, if you are Christ’s.  May it be so.  Let’s pray.

Sermon by Lee Moody.