February 2, 2025 at St William and St Agnes & St Peter Churches in Naples, FL
Malachi 3: 1-4 + Psalm 24 + Hebrews 2: 14-18 + Luke 2: 22-40
Is this about Jesus or about Mary and Joseph? It could be about the Temple and keeping the rules. It might also be about the Holy Spirit. Scholars have focused on all of these options as Luke closes this introduction that we call, “The Infancy Narrative.” It may be a bias I have after moving well into my 80s, but I’m beginning to pay more attention to these two old-timers who appear at the end of this introduction, and as I look around in here, that might not be a bad idea for many of you too. At the same time, some of you who still enjoy some measure of youth might just take a closer look at these old-folks here and in this Gospel. It is not by chance that Luke began this story of Christ’s birth with two old-timers, Elizabeth and Zechariah and then closes it with two more: Simeon and an 84-year-old named, Anna.
Theirs is a story of patient hope, of promises fulfilled, and it all happens in the Temple. In this story we learn about how universal salvation is found in Jesus Christ. Every barrier gets abolished: ethnic, racial, social, political, economic and religious. In Simeon’s song, the light of revelation bursts upon all people, and it all starts because an old couple who seemed too old to bring life show what can happen when commitments are kept and there is obedience to God’s will. Even a little doubt or hesitation on the part of Zechariah at the start cannot stop the Good News Simeon and Anna proclaim.
Those of us, like those old ones before us, know that this Gospel story, is our story and it is not all sweetness and light. There is falling and rising, brokenness and healing, sorrow and joy. We know that none of this can keep us from the glory of Christ who lifts us from the waters of Baptism to feed us on his very Body and Blood. We come to this Temple again and again because we know that this is the place where we shall see our salvation.
Younger people, look at us. Listen to this Gospel, to Anna and Simeon. There are old people in this church whose lives bear witness to every terrible thing Simeon and Anna predict. Some have been abandoned by those they love, some have buried their children, some have faced hunger, war, and terrible sickness. Yet, they are here because they know something they want you to know. Just like that new young mother and Joseph found their way to the Temple, so must you if you want to see God’s promises fulfilled. Those two young new parents learned something from those two old people.
There are some who look and laugh at older folks who don’t seem to know how to find their way around the internet, take selfies, or answer a text. But they know something greater and much more lasting. We long for and hope for a day when young people will quit looking at the little screen on their phone expecting love and intimacy to be found there, and learn what we know, that this is the place and this is the people where forgiveness and mercy will always be found even without a Wi-Fi connection.
This is a day of rejoicing. It is a day to be moved once more by the Holy Spirit so often revealed in Luke’s Gospel. May that Spirit still alive in the hearts of God’s faithful inspire the lost and the lonely, the shy and the fearful, to grow and become strong, filled with wisdom because the favor of God rests upon us all.