Senior Saints and the Christ Child

We read the examples of elderly Simeon and Anna in Luke 2:22-40. History records that Simeon may have helped translate the Greek version of the Old Testament often quoted in the New Testament. Yet the most important thing about his life is that Simeon was the kind of senior who had lived a "just and devout" life, the kind of man who we should all learn from. Anna devoted many decades of her life to the service of God in the Temple. She seems to be a model of the expectations of a widow in I Timothy 5:5-9.

Why did Jesus teach us to Pray to Our Father? (Luke 2:40-52)

The idea of God as our Father offends a society which is abandoning Patriarchalism in favor of Feminism. Male leadership is called evil and female leadership good. God does not have gender, but described both male and female as very good. Feminine and masculine metaphors are used of God, but Jesus taught us to pray to Our Father in heaven. God is a Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit in one. Reducing creation to a competition between sexes insults God who created male and female to complement each other. Calling God our Father emphasizes his not being dependent upon any other for his identity, since the Son is generated by the Father and the Spirit proceeds from the Father.

Did Jesus Obey His Parents? (Luke 2:51-52)

To alleviate the fears of parents on earth, and to negate any kind of cultish ideas where family is ignored to follow a religious leader, the narrator reminds us that Jesus returned to Nazareth with his parents and obeyed them. Yet, here at age twelve, Jesus’ future mission is becoming evident to the reader. We are told that his parents didn’t know what to think, yet Mary stored these things in her heart, perhaps treasuring the extraordinary nature of her son’s encounter with learned teachers and wrestling with its significance.  Particularly, she may have been just as amazed as were those teachers at his understanding and his answers. Verses 40 and 52 reveal his growing favor with God and people.

Who is Your Father? (Luke 2:49)

The phrase I must be “in my Father’s house” in verse 49 actually refers to more than the Temple in Jerusalem. Many translations say “in my Father’s house” but the King James and others also legitimately translate it as “I must be about my Father’s business.” The words “house” or “business” are not in the Greek, but the phrase may be legitimately translated as something like, I must be involved in the things of my Father. So, the word house may be understood as household affairs or business. As we are converted, it is called being born again, or born from above. We are to honor our earthly fathers, but the Father who takes precedence is God our heavenly Father.

Did Jesus disobey his Parents? (Luke 2:40-52)

The narrative does not record that Jesus disobeyed any parental instructions. It does however, make a different point, that Jesus’ commitment to God’s purposes transcended even the expectations of a righteous household. We know that both Joseph and Mary obeyed the law by attending Passover, but Jesus’ calling was to eventually become the true Passover lamb. He would ultimately institute new elements at Passover, the bread and wine. So, it is that we find him given incredible wisdom at such a young age, able to hold his own with Jewish teachers highly educated in the Holy Scriptures. Notice a subtle shift in emphasis, from parents to child, but he returned to Nazareth with them and he was subject to them.

Having Simeon’s Eyes

Can we have eyes to see the things of God like Simeon (Luke 2:22-40)? There is something that we can do and something that only God can do. Hebrews 11:1 helps us understand that faith sees things that the eyes do not. But, all good gifts come from God. Can we do something that helps us build faith or do we just wait passively on him? Romans 10:17 seems to indicate that there is something that we can do, listen to the words of Christ. Listening is not reading. Attending a church where especially the words of Christ are preached each week is an important way to allow God to build faith in us. The second part of our question is that none of us can see anything unless God chooses to open our eyes to see.

Simeon’s Praise & Blessing

When Simeon saw Jesus he took him in his arms and praised God for a personal revelation that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah (Luke 2:22-40). He also said that many would speak against Jesus so that their hearts would be revealed. Do we realize how our hearts are revealed in conversation? When we judge and criticize others, are we not judging and criticizing the One who forgave them all their sins? Simeon blessed Jesus’ parents and told Mary that a sword would pierce her soul. Does a sword pierce our souls every time Jesus’ name is cursed or he is belittled in the media? We are not told how the Holy Spirit revealed these things to Simeon, nor how he recognized salvation in a small baby, only that he was moved by the Spirit.

Seeing the Unseen

How did Simeon see God’s salvation (Luke 2:22-40)? It seems that what he saw with his eyes was a poor family that had just journeyed the 60 miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem. A popular saying is: seeing is believing, but that is not faith. Faith is the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). In faith, Simeon could see beyond the obvious. In what seemed like a daily scene at the temple, he saw God’s salvation. Those closest to Jesus could not yet see when, at age twelve, he went missing. When his parents finally saw him, they did not yet understand that he would have been in his Father’s house (Luke 2:48-49). Sometimes in churches those closest to the leaders do not see what others do, God’s salvation at work, seeing the sacred in ordinary people.

Simeon’s Bucket List

What is on your bucket list of things to do before you die? For Simeon it was to see the consolation of Israel, the Messiah. In his own words, he had seen God’s salvation (Luke 2:22-40). We say not to sweat the small stuff and it’s all small stuff. There is only one thing that is big in life, to see the salvation of the Lord. Everything else is small stuff, insignificant by comparison. If we see the salvation of the Lord in our lives, then even our worst fears like cancer or being killed in a terrorist attack are not so bad. Jesus said not to be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Cancer or terrorism cannot kill the soul. Have we yet seen that most important thing in life, salvation?

Jesus as a Jewish Child

In Luke 2:22-40 we learn that Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day. Thirty three days later his mother observed the purification rites (Leviticus 12:2-8). The family’s offering was doves or pigeons without a lamb because Jesus’ parents were poor. The consecration or dedication of a firstborn to God was replaced by the tribe of Levi serving as the ministers. However, the firstborn were to be redeemed by each family through an offering. There are three infant ceremonies in modern churches: 1) dedication is a historically recent idea modeled on the dedication of the firstborn in the Old Testament, 2) the blessing of a little child is modeled after Jesus’ blessing of the little children, and 3) infant baptism which among other things asks that the Holy Spirit be the major influence in the rearing of a child.

Real breeding in heavenly style

The wealthy flatter themselves that they have better breeding than the poor. Heaven may disagree. The announcement of Jesus’ birth was not made to the wealthy and powerful of this world, because God has different values than snobbery and selfishness. It is not because God is poor. He owns everything there is from here to the farthest reaches of outer space. But God understands true values. He announced the birth of the Christ to the lowest classes, among them unwashed and unkempt shepherds out in the field. Simeon was granted his dying wish to see the Christ child. He was a man whose only status was that he was righteous and devout. Anna had the privilege of announcing Christ. Her only status was that she worshiped and prayed night and day (Luke 2). Now that’s real breeding in heavenly style.

Have we lost Jesus?

Just like his parents lost him when he was aged 12, sometimes I wonder if we in the churches have lost Jesus. He told his parents who had frantically searched for him for days, didn't you know that I had to be in my Father’s (Luke 2:41-52)? The last word in the sentence is left out in Greek. It could be mean either house or business as different translations render it. When the church wanders off track engaged in affairs of this world, chasing trivial material or political pursuits of mere mortals, making the house of God into a market place, doing anything other than God’s business, Jesus will still be doing his Father’s business. If we have lost Jesus, it is important for us to stop what we’re doing and get back on track. What is Jesus doing?

Lost family members

Legal immigration to the United States cost me about fifteen hundred dollars with trips half way across the country and paperwork like a doctoral dissertation. How does it feel for those that we separate from their families because of unfair immigration laws?

We were in a large department store in a strange land enjoying time as family when suddenly we realized that a child was missing. Panic! Where was he? We searched all over when unexpectedly an announcement came over the loudspeaker that a little boy in blue jeans, cowboy boots and a red western shirt had lost his parents. We went up to the appropriate floor where he was in the good hands of a customer service agent.

Can you imagine how it must have been for Jesus’ parents after he had gone missing for days (Luke 2:41-52)?

Finding Jesus

Germany in the 1980’s was an innocent society. We were there on church assignment. Village life was idyllic and peaceful, without crime, no school shootings and no gangs. We used to send our pre-teen son down the street for groceries. We felt perfectly safe. Perhaps that was a similar feeling in the society in which Joseph and Mary lived as they traveled up to Jerusalem for Passover season. Perhaps that’s why they were not so concerned at first about Jesus’ safety as we might be, thinking that he may be among relatives. Still, they must have gotten just a little frantic until they found him in the Temple, talking things over with the same group of people who would later falsely accuse him and demand his death (Luke 2:41-52). Who was this boy, interested in theology at age 12?

Circumcision of the Heart

Although Jesus was circumcised as an infant (Luke 2:15-21) he gave no command for Christians to be circumcised in the flesh. Yet, the Old Testament spoke of a circumcision of the heart (Deuteronomy 10:15-17; 30:5-7; Jeremiah 4:3-5) which applies to both old and new covenants. God uses outward things for a lesson about more important inner things. What happens when someone is circumcised in the heart? Physical circumcision pictured what God really wants, a change in heart and soul, a different attitude (Romans 2:28-29). This is a focus on the things of the Spirit, not the letter of the law. We look to praise from God and not human beings. Belonging to a church or a special ethnic group does not impress God as much as a heart that loves him and our fellow humans.

Circumcision of Jesus

Like most Jewish boys, Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day (Luke 2:15-21). We may think of it as a bloody practice and that opinion is not new. Over three thousand years ago, Zipporah accused her husband Moses of being a bloody man because of their son’s circumcision (Exodus 4:24-26). Some may even believe that it is a primitive practice that society should outgrow. Yet, modern scientific and medical research continues to show how far advanced the ancients were in this regard. The World Journal of Urology [1] concluded that positive benefits include decreased risk of HIV infection. Web MD [2] suggests that circumcision provides a 50% reduction in HIV transmission, threefold reduction in HPV infections which can cause cervical cancer, reduced syphilis and chlamydia, about 10 times less infant urinary tract infections, and virtual elimination of serious penile cancers.

[1] World Journal of Urology, Male circumcision and HIV infection risk, John N. Krieger, Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA, Springer-Verlag 2011

[2] http://men.webmd.com/guide/circumcision-decision-weighing-risks-benefits

Political Salvation

When Jesus was born, the Jews were looking for political salvation from “corrupt and self-serving rulers” (N. T. Wright. Simply Jesus. 2011. Harper Collins. p. 55.). Does that sound familiar? People have not changed. We naively believe that salvation is within human ability. We look for a hero to be our national leader who can rescue us from government corruption and oppression by those with wealth and power. The only problem is that with each successive leader, we are equally disappointed, as they do some things right, but most things wrong. The whole world is ruled by highly educated, very intelligent people who cannot solve humanity’s problems. Luke 2:1-20 proclaimed a change that would make the difference. It was a birth in the most humble of circumstances, the arrival of a leader such as this world had never seen.

The Real Santa Claus

Nicholas, was born around 280 AD on the Mediterranean coast of what is now the Turkish Riviera. The only son of wealthy Greek Christians, Nicholas gave his inheritance away to the poor. As bishop of Myra, he suffered persecution under Diocletian. He was tortured and imprisoned. Emperor Constantine had the persecuted Christians released. One legend tells of a poor man who Nicholas gave three bags of gold as a dowry for his daughters, so they did not have to become prostitutes. Nicholas was also part of the Council of Nicea in 325 AD where he contributed to the Nicene Creed and condemned Arianism. Nicholas saved three innocent men from execution and reproved the governor for taking bribes to convict them. He became known for his secret gift-giving. The name Santa Claus is a corruption of the Dutch for Saint Nicholas.

Jesus is... We are Not

When the angel in Luke 2:1-20 announced the good news of Jesus’ birth, he was not using a new term. It was common at the time to announce Caesar’s various military victories as good news. His announcement also said that a Savior was born, the Messiah, the Lord. The announcement was in effect saying that this child is savior and Lord and Caesar is not. It would be the equivalent sense of saying today that Jesus is Lord and national leaders are not. Jesus will save us and puffed up, pompous science will not. Jesus is Messiah and the high priests of medicine are not. The joy of our Savior’s birth has nothing to do with temporary good news of worldly gifts and human abilities, but the permanent good news of peace on earth to all in him alone.

The Savior from Podunksville

The Caesars of this world’s politics and industry often hope to be Saviors. They make enthusiastic promises, but in the end they fail to deliver salvation to a suffering humanity. Interestingly, the true Savior’s birth is introduced in Luke 2:1-20 with a name, Caesar Augustus, known in his day by the title “Savior of the world.” What a contrast! Many so-called saviors of the day claimed to have been given birth by the gods, but they only saved themselves. Next, we are introduced to Quirinius, whose census just served to bully people into submission. A very pregnant Mary was given no mercy, but forced into traveling on a long journey. He too was not a savior, but born into privilege and abusive power. The true Savior would come from what we might call today Podunksville, a place of humility.