At a christening, everybody wants to hold the baby. At Jesus' circumcision, which was a lot more painful for him than a good old C of E christening, the same was true. Mary and Joseph had no sooner walked into the Temple with their little bundle of joy, than he was being fawned over by two elderly and saintly individuals.
Simeon and Anna gladden my heart. Two faithful people, who never gave up on God's promises, though they both had to wait very nearly a lifetime, were there to see the beginning of the fulfilment of God's word.
God had whispered in Simeon's ear that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah, and God whispered to him again on that fateful day.
Mary and Joseph knew what they had to do - every firstborn child, if it was a boy, belonged to God. It's alright - you were allowed to keep him, but you had to "buy him back" first. Every Jewish mother would have thought back to the story of Hannah (1 Samuel 1) and hoped that their son would be as famous as Samuel. All except Mary, that is, who already knew that hers would be famouser still. She and Joseph turned up with the poor people's payment - two birds - to watch their son circumcised and dedicated to the Lord.
But first, God's whispers brought Simeon hurrying up. He reached a hand to delay Mary as the young couple moved through the crowd to find a priest, and with their permission took Jesus into his arms.
I guess tears were in his eyes. How lucky he was to have been given this moment. But as he handed the baby back, the tears started for a different reason. He saw a glimpse of the pain that Mary would have to bear, and warned her that being Messiah's mother would hurt.
Before Mary could do more of her careful pondering, Anna bustled over to excitedly tell anyone who would listen how special this baby was.
How nice it must have been for Mary and Joseph to have been made welcome by two old, wise faces. Going into the huge Temple would have been an intimidating experience, but these two new friends must have put them at their ease.
I love watching elderly people in my church doing the exact same thing when a couple nervously bring their child for baptism. I'm so glad I don't need to remind them to do this important job, and I'm so glad they make the effort. Who knows what each baby will become? How precious each one is to the Lord!
How important it is that we make them all feel at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment