MEDITATIONS ON THE MUSIC OF
CHRISTMAS: Simeon & Anna
Luke 2:21-38
December 28, 2008 ~ 1st Sunday of Christmas - Rev. Janet Robertson Duggins
The conclusion of Luke
2 and Luke’s Christmas story, not as familiar to us as the earlier part of the
story, but a beautiful and thought-provoking scene in which two wise and devout
elderly people meet the baby Jesus and are part of his welcome to the world.
read Luke 2:21-32
I read recently that the whole story of Jesus’ birth, as
told by Luke, is punctuated with prayers.
I looked back through it, and I guess that’s true, although I might be inclined to say instead that
it’s punctuated with songs – praise songs,
to be more specific – because it’s very clear that the words of the prayers
included in this story really poems or songs (and certainly they have been set
to music many times). In other words, you might say the story of
Jesus’ birth is kind of a musical! It’s true that the early episodes – where the
angel appears first to Zechariah to tell him about the birth of the child who
will be John the Baptist and then to Mary – there are no actual songs, but we
do have an angel speaking there… and I
kind of associate angels with music. I
rather imagine that an angel would deliver his message in a musical way. Then Mary goes to visit
Simeon is a good and devout man, who, we are told has lived in hope that he would see the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem and heal his people. He has steeped himself in the scriptures and they have shaped his understanding of God’s intentions for the world. Simeon is also a person of faith and hope; in spite of living in circumstances that undoubtedly led others to give up on God’s promises, Simeon continues to hope, because he knows God. The Holy Spirit has revealed to him that he would not die before he had seen God’s promised messiah… and something has led him to come to the temple on this particular day.
This story we are looking at today is simply a continuation of Luke’s Christmas story, which is not meant to be the sentimental tale we sometimes see it as. It is about God sending Jesus into the world, and what that means. The question Luke is primarily concerned with is “how do the people he came for receive him?” Luke is particularly concerned with showing how ordinary and humble people recognized and received Jesus as one sent from God. Of course that’s not just an academic or historical question; it’s supposed to prompt us to think about how Jesus is received into our world, our time, our lives. Luke’s intention is inviting his readers to recognize and receive Jesus alongside Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, Anna, and Simeon.
“Song of Simeon”
Lord
God, You now have set Your servant free
To
go in peace as promised in Your word;
My
eyes have seen the Savior, Christ the Lord,
Prepared
by You for all the world to see,
To
shine on nations trapped in darkest night,
The
glory of your people, and their light.
(Words from Luke 2:29-32, para. Rae E. Whitney, music by Orlando Gibbons arr. Ralph Vaughn Williams . #604 Presbyterian Hymnal)
What does it take for someone to leave life in peace? Perhaps it has to do with having done what is most important. Perhaps it has to do with having some hope for the future of the world. Perhaps it has to do with trusting oneself into God’s hands. All of that, and more was true of Simeon. It’s an enviable way to feel, near the end of life, what everyone hopes for, I think. That’s perhaps why those words of Simeon have long been part of funeral rituals in many Christian traditions. “Lord, let your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation….”
But what was it Simeon saw, when he saw and held the baby?
Lest we think of this as a sentimental scene of senior citizens cooing over a cute baby as a symbol of hope, the story goes on:
read Luke 2:33-35
What Simeon has to say makes it entirely clear that there’s a very serious side to this story: the brokenness of the world goes deep, the ripple effects of sin are widespread… Simeon knows all this, and that’s why it means so much that God has not given up on the whole thing but has kept the promise of reconciling with human beings. But because the wounds are so deep, God’s redemption of the world will be costly.
I find it really poignant that Simeon says these things to Jesus’ mother. It‘s not so very appropriate - I mean, the conventional thing would be to say, ‘Congratulations, Mrs. Joseph, what a lovely baby, he’s got your nose; looks like he’s going to grow up to be big and strong!” But if he said any of that sort of thing, Luke doesn’t say; Luke is interested in the purpose for Jesus’ life, the reason for which God sent him into the world.
That purpose, Simeon says, is not going to make everyone happy. His life will reveal truths some would like to keep hidden. Some people will oppose him. There will be a cost, there will be pain. What a thing to tell a new mom! But of course, who else will understand the importance of it all like Mary will? If there is anybody who can see the beauty and power of fragile humanity and divine love united in a baby as well as Simeon sees it, it will be Mary… but she will also grasp the inevitable conflict and cost involved.
We often set the Christmas story apart from the rest of the gospels, see it in a sweeter and more sentimental light than that in which we view other parts of Jesus’ story – say, when he calls the leaders hypocrites, or tells us to love our enemies, or when he goes to the cross. But that’s us; it’s not Luke. For Luke, the whole story is of one piece, and there are hints even in the Christmas story, of the nature of the sacrifice that was inherent in God becoming one of us.
I think maybe the fact that it makes those connections is one of the reasons I find this new Christmas song so touching and meaningful. I especially love the idea that Jesus “wrapped our injured flesh around” him. It acknowledges the same truth that Simeon acknowledged – that the wounds of our lives and our world are deep, and that the process of healing may be painful. And like Simeon, it focuses on this baby as the healer. Like Simeon’s words, the words of this song challenge us to allow ourselves to be healed.
“Welcome
to Our World”
Tears
are falling, hearts are breaking, how we need to hear from God.
You’ve
been promised, we’ve been waiting,
welcome,
holy Child, welcome, holy Child.
Hope
that you don’t mind our manger, how I wish we would have known.
But
long-awaited holy Stranger,
make
Yourself at home, please make Yourself at home.
Bring
your peace into our violence, bid our hungry souls be filled.
Word
now breaking heaven’s silence,
welcome
to our world, welcome to our world.
Fragile
finger sent to heal us, tender brow prepared for thorn,
tiny
heart whose blood will save us,
unto
us is born, unto us is born.
So
wrap our injured flesh around You, breath our air and walk our sod.
Rob
our sin and make us holy,
Perfect
Son of God, Perfect Son of God.
Welcome
to our world.
(Words
and music by Chris Rice; copyright 1995 Clumsy Fly music; recorded by Michael
W. Smith )
read Luke 2:36-38
One of my favorite things about Luke’s gospel is that he makes the women of the story visible. Certainly there’s no doubt that women are part of the story of God’s people in every age… but some of the writers who tell us that story leave them in the background. Not Luke. By the end of the first chapter, we have already met Mary and Elizabeth – one young, one older - strong, wise, faithful women. And here before the end of chapter 2 we meet Anna.
Anna is a prophet in residence in the temple. Simeon may be righteous and devout but Anna’s dedication is total and constant. She worships God day and night, prays, and fasts. We may reasonably conclude that her habit of constant prayer has cultivated in her a level of wisdom and spiritual insight and awareness of Gods presence that makes her able to easily recognize what’s special about this baby. Luke doesn’t record any words, but only says that she began to praise God and to tell about this baby to everyone who was waiting for God to intervene and help the people in their lostness and oppression. It’s unlikely that Anna had any special qualifications – other than prayer and faith – to go around sharing what she experienced and understood as she encountered Jesus. She was certainly not young and strong, probably didn’t have many resources. But she did understand that people around her had a longing for God’s presence and healing in their lives. Her way of receiving Jesus was first of all with praise to God, and then to share the good news with others, because perhaps it would be good news for them, too. Luke’s unspoken challenge to his reader is, “how have you received the good news? how have you shared it?”
We can only imagine what Anna’s words of might have been. I think the substance of her praise must have been very much like what it says in this, one of our most theological Christmas carols, and also one of those which acknowledges most straightforwardly the needs and longings Jesus comes to fulfil. All that, along with the most heartful, joyful praise there is:
“Joy to the world, the Lord has come. Let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare him room.” Amen.