This sermon was delivered to Holy Trinity Church in Ayr,
Ayrshire, Scotland on the 2nd February 2025
(a Scottish Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Glasgow and Dumfries).
“Please join me in my prayer.” Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength, and our redeemer. Amen. (Ps. 19:14).
Introduction:
Today is Sunday the 2nd of February, where we celebrate the festival or feast of “the Presentation of Jesus our Lord”.
We Episcopalians (or Anglicans), are more familiar with the term Candlemas, where candles were traditionally blessed at this festival; to mark the end of the Epiphany season; (exactly 40 days after Christmas). … It is also known to others as the “Feast of the Purification of the Virgin”, … an important ceremony described in Luke’s Gospel where Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, to complete Mary's ritual purification after childbirth and … to perform the redemption of the firstborn, as written … in Leviticus 12, and Exodus 13.
Now, in our reading this morning, Mary and Joseph on bringing Jesus into the temple, encountered an old man called Simeon, who has been promised by the Holy Spirit that "he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord Christ” in person. … And, they also met an elderly prophetess called Anna, who offered prayers and praise to God, and spoke to everybody about Jesus, and the redemption of Israel.
And that it! That is about all there is too it … but …there is a lot in these verses, (if you look closely) … as they say many things, including the ways in which we should lead our lives … particularly in the anticipation of meeting with Jesus our lord … whether he will appear to us personally, (which has happens to some), or … when we die, and meet him in heaven; either way, we want to be ready for that that occasion.
And Simeon gives us a good template to follow, as he lived his life devoted to God, knowing that he was going to meet the, or his saviour someday, and he wanted to be ready. … And we can therefore understand that Simeon was really preparing himself for death, and the life there after. …
So, by presenting this baby, Simeon (and us), are preparing ourselves … for death. … What a cheery set of readings I have been given again, eh! … In mean, I got the “end of the world prophecies at Christmas” … and now I preparing us all for death. …
But this is a good story, and please stay with me, because Simeon whom we are animating here, was truly blessed, and he was guided by the Holy Spirit long before Jesus was born … and that truly is a blessing on someone from the Old Testament. … So, it is worth looking at this great man, as maybe some of him, may wash off on us.
Looking at this great man Simeon.
Looking to Simeon, we see his first great strength, which was his devotion. Verse 25, “and, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout … and the Holy Ghost was upon him”.
Devotion
Simeon was “just”, meaning that he was honest and true … he possessed a moral character. Today we call that someone with integrity and fidelity; two fantastic qualities we need to attain … and retain … because with them, we gain respect and trust, as we all know.
Simeon was also called “devout”, meaning that he was known for "seeking out things that were from God, and … for doing his best to live up to God’s standards”, and I must say … in case you do not realise it, none of these things are alien to us. …
Yes, we all fail at times … sometimes we fail a lot … but we all do our best … and we know this because it hurts us personally when don’t … but that is the influence of the Holy Spirit, refining us all the time … as mentioned in Malachi, our Old Testament reading this morning. … If God didn’t love us, he wouldn’t bother to correct us?
The Desire
Verse 25 goes on to say that, “(Simeon) … was (also) looking forward to the consolation of Israel … and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ”. … Guided by the Holy Spirit, Simeon came into the temple that day, also to look forward to the consolation of Israel; (and consolation in this sense meant the peace and solace of Israel to come, and the rescue of Israel from its oppressors).
Simeon therefore had both a burning desire, and an expectation to see the Lord and the effects of his ministry. … Do we have that desire? … Well … yes, we do … is that not why we are here this morning, to worship him … in expectation of meeting him … having communion with Him and … many other things as well. … So far, we are not doing too badly. … We are here to worship him … because he lives; … and we don’t have wait until we die to meet him … because he already abides within us, in our hearts, through his word, through prayer, and through the same Holy Ghost who works in us all, whether we realise it or not.
Being led by the Holy Spirit
Simeon that day … was led by the Holy Spirit into the temple, at the exact same time … where he just so happened … to bump into Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus.
How many times have we read in the bible … of God leading his people to the right place, at the right time. … Now think, how many times has that happened … to us? … Once, twice quite a lot? … I would say, quite a lot, much more than we would think. …. And equally … how many times have we been fortunate in missing an event, or having a lucky escape from something that we later recognise as dangerous or problematic. … This one is much more difficult to quantify, but I am equally sure that has happened to us all, many more times than we will every realise … thanks be to God.
I really hope you know what I am talking about here, you know, that quiet word in our ear that says, “go this way”, or “try this … or try that”, or “stay clear off … or avoid …”. … Because we know too when we get it wrong, when we say things like, “I knew I shouldn’t have done that” or “I knew that was going to happen” or “I knew I shouldn’t have said that”. We all get it wrong at times … but remember, we have also, get it right.
Listen, I am not an expert on this, as my wife Christine will tell you, (in fact she tells me in great detail when I get it wrong) … but many times we do get things right … yes mostly unnoticed, and mostly without credit … however, we can conclude that the closer we walk with the Lord, the mistakes tend to decrease … and the opportunities to receive his blessings increase.
Now … to proceed further … when we do get things wrong, or … when we have had a bad encounter or exchange … the first thing that is usually kicked out the window is … God himself … followed by some colourful language. … We all do it, don’t tell me you don’t … we’ve all let our tongues slip … so what should we do about it? … Well, we all know that we should return to the lord as quickly as we can … to restore our peace with him and keep us on track, (his track). … And I know this is easier to say than to do … and you every right to ask on how to restore your peace when we become enraged over something … (when our blood is boiling) … usually over something that is not our fault.
Well …bear with me on this one, and this works … although, before I answer, I will make it clear, that I am not a fan of Calvinism, I’ll just make that clear, but, (and I know it is a big but) … but DL Moody, the founder of the Moody church once said … (and I really like this), he said: “I believe firmly, that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride … and selfishness and (personal) ambition … and everything that is contrary to God’s will … the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of your heart. But … if we are full of pride and conceit and (selfish) ambition, and the world … then there is no room for the Spirit of God … there is only room for us, and the things of the flesh”. … Is that not inspiring … just reading or hearing those words, we can feel better … giving us a sense of peace. … And from that, we can conclude, that most strife, originates deep within ourselves.
So when things go awry, we must therefore empty ourselves, of ourselves, to make room for God, and the more we can do this … the more of God we have in our lives … and the better chance we have in resolving some bad situations. … Again, I know this easy to say, but … “if we know where to look for help … we then, have a better chance of finding it”. … And that is this principle that we must follow to be filled with his peace, and love … while restoring a sense of serenity and stability.
The Delight and discernment
Mary and Joseph brought Jesus into the temple that day, and unexpectedly, it brought about an encounter that brought Simeon a sense of peace through fulfilment. … And not only Simeon … the elderly woman Anna was filled with delight at the sight of Jesus … and who too begin to praise God … and how this child would be the saviour of Israel. … Mary or Joseph didn’t tell Simeon anything, Simeon knew, and so did Anna through the Holy Spirit; and they both declared the baby Jesus as Lord, their Lord.
Now, think on this, how many people have been told … or even have had it explained to them that Jesus is their messiah? …Then think of how they refuse to listen, or if they do listen, they fall at the first hurdle.
Such people don’t see their salvation through religion, (any religion), and they certainly do not see their salvation through Jesus, and this makes us wonder, who then do they see their salvation through? … And we all know such people. …
As Christians we are not going to lie on our death beds saying, I wished I had spent more time at the office … or I wished I hadn’t voted for Brexit … or I wished I had won the lottery … because it is, at such a times … we realise, what was, or is, important. … And people need to know and decide this this now, and not on their deathbed. … … And yes, I am aware that I am preaching to the converted here, but sometimes we need to be reminded of the authority of Jesus our lord, and the power holy spirit who is driving, and guiding us within.
Conclusion.
On seeing Jesus, Simeon and Anna became satisfied with everything, with their whole lives. … They had met their saviour in the flesh, and Simeon could now die in peace, with the hope of a life thereafter … The lives that they had just lived, had suddenly made sense … and they were now ready to die in peace … and that truly is a blessing.
It saddens me that more people are not like Simeon … who refuse to listen or even try to understand the power of Christ … and whose lives and direction would be changed so much for the better … with hope, and a peace in their hearts … knowing that one day, they will be welcomed by their creator … and not only that … they could go on to bless the lives of others as well. … If only people could take their eyes off themselves … and place them on the Lord instead.
Amen.
