“The Season of the Great Resumption"
Luke 2:22-38
December 31, 2023 - First Sunday After Christmas
Simeon and Anna were both filled with expectations. For both, their expectations rested not in the cycle of the Temple but rather in the promise made by God to Israel – to raise up the messiah through the line of David. So, Simeon and Anna waited. Anna waited in the Temple for the coming of the Lord. Imagine spending day and night here in the Chapel, waiting for the Lord to be presented, not knowing what to be on the lookout for. Simeon relied on the Holy Spirit to tell him when he might go to the Temple to find what. A mighty warrior? A well-skilled politician? A baby enters the Temple for the first time so the child’s parents can offer “a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord.”We read that the child’s parents offered “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” signaling to us that the family presenting Jesus was not of extravagant means.
