Summary: The presentation of the Lord shows multiple examples of faithfulness, service and doing God's will. We all have opportunities to do the same.
The gift of new life is always amazing and a blessing. In the United States, in 2023, there were about 3.59 million births.1 While that number is impressive, it is a 2% decrease from 2022 and the lowest rate since 1979. Still, a bit fewer than 10,000 babies are born every day in the US. And every one of those births has a story to go with it: Parents who barely made it to the hospital in time, first-time parents who will have so much to learn in the coming months and years and the parents for whom this is "not their first rodeo." Some babies are an answer to prayer, some are a surprise, some will be given up for adoption and some are simply the best thing that could ever happen to their families. And sadly, some will be unwanted and may suffer as a result.
Still, we affirm that every baby born is precious, and "that human life is sacred, and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society."2
But only one baby in all of history had his birth announced by angels. Only one baby was born of the Virgin Mary. And that one baby changed the world forever.
Usually, we must wait years to see what kind of person a baby will grow up to be. But in our scripture today we see the hand of God already at work even in Jesus' infancy. As Mary and Joseph presented the baby Jesus at the temple, we hear from two people of God, Simeon and Anna, who had each been waiting their entire lives for the Savior to come. When they saw the baby, they knew, prompted by the Spirit of God, that this baby boy was the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world.
Several things led up to this wonderful event, and it all depended on faith and faithfulness.
Many of us, from a very young age, heard the Christmas story in age-appropriate ways, including children's Christmas events where the kids play all the parts at the birth of Jesus, from the sheep and cattle to the angels to the shepherds to the innkeeper to the wise men (never mind that they arrived at a different time) and to Mary and Joseph.
As the kids played their parts with all the seriousness they could muster, they were starting to learn the important things too: that this was no easy journey for Mary and Joseph, that Joseph could have called off the wedding to Mary but didn't because God appeared to him in a dream and assured him that all was taking place according to God's plan and that Mary hid all the things God had revealed to her in her heart and obeyed God completely.
When the time was right according to the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to "present him to the Lord," and to offer the sacrifices required by the law.
At so many points along the way things could have gone awry, but they did not. Mary and Joseph had faith and acted accordingly ... to present Jesus to God and, in a real way, to present their baby boy as a costly gift to the world. Thanks be to God for their faithfulness.
Simeon is a shining example of faithfulness. Luke describes him like this, "This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the holy Spirit was upon him." That is, he was faithful, and he showed up. God revealed that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah. So, he trusted God and when the day came that he held the infant Jesus in his arms, he just knew that the promise had come true that day.
"Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation ...." It's significant, too, that Simeon sees that salvation as being prepared is the sight of all the peoples. Simeon then said a blessing over them and Jesus, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel ...."
We can only imagine their mixed feelings of both joy and fear at his words. Surely, the prophecy of Simeon stuck in minds as they watched Jesus grow and become the Savior of the world.
All of this happened that day because Simeon was faithful to the promise God had given to him and that he showed up.
Another example of faithfulness, of course, is Anna. Becoming a widow just seven years after getting married, Anna spent the rest of her life frequenting the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer "day and night." She was 84 when Mary and Joseph came to the temple with baby Jesus. Like Simeon, Anna recognized who Jesus was and "gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem."
Anna was faithful in her worship and service within the temple to the God she loved.
Mary and Joseph and Jesus returned to their own town of Nazareth. "The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him."
You can say, in one sense, that Jesus, as the Son of God, was going to grow and become strong and wise because the favor of God was upon him. But you can also say that these things happened as they did because Mary and Joseph were faithful in their holy calling to be the parents of the Savior.
So, faithfulness is a virtue. People are faithful to God. People are faithful to Christ. People are faithful to other people - their spouse, children, friends, and neighbors.
But people can also be faithful only to themselves, which can result in all sorts of harm to others.
Later in his life, Jesus was asked, "What is the greatest commandment?" His answer was twofold: "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind ...The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 3 Faithfulness then is a virtue when it has a lofty purpose that includes obedience to God and help to others.
There are many examples of serving God and others faithfully. Let me share two. The first is in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005. This deadly category 5 storm caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $186.3 billion.4 Help arrived from around the country and around the world. One church in Northeast Ohio sent a work crew of about 20 people three years in a row (2006-2008). Each year, at no expense to the homeowners, they completely cleared a house - taking each one down to the studs so inspectors could come in later and determine the viability of rebuilding. Working in the summer heat of New Orleans they did dirty, hot and necessary work to the glory of God for the benefit of the homeowners. All of this was paid for by the church and the people on the trips. Of the three houses they worked on, two were determined to be salvageable and one had to be torn down. There were tears and joys to share from each trip.
Here's another example: Phil and Nancy were married over 60 years. They lived modestly and both served as pastors in the Salvation Army for much of their adult life. After retirement they moved into a senior housing apartment, and both lived to be 94 years old. In her late 80's, Nancy began to show signs of dementia and she also had profound hearing issues. But living together, both Phil and Nancy were doing okay. Then at age 93 Nancy got out of the car - unassisted, because she forgot she was supposed to wait for Phil to help her. She fell, broke her hip, and even though the hip was repaired she never walked again, due to her mental inability to cooperate with the necessary physical therapy. Nancy was moved into a nursing home half a block from their apartment. For the next year-and-a-half, Phil walked over to the nursing home every single day and joined Nancy for lunch, feeding her when she could no longer do it herself. Phil took his vows seriously and served Nancy every day until she passed away.
We don't know what comes next in our lives. We plan and hope for the best, but we really don't know what's coming. What we can do, however, is to determine that come what may, because we love God and love others, we will faithfully do what's within our ability to help others and honor God.