We’ve spent the weeks leading up to Christmas revisiting Luke’s opening chapters and the ordinary people who have had the extraordinary thrust upon them.
In this coming Sunday’s reading, we’ll meet Simeon and Anna, two ordinary yet faithful people who have spent their lives waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled. Simeon holds the infant Jesus and proclaims that this child is the salvation and light not just for Israel, but for all people. Anna, a prophet and widow, sees the child and begins praising God, telling everyone who will listen about the redemption he brings. These two elders, often overlooked in society, become central witnesses to the extraordinary story of God’s saving work.
The beloved Christian author, Diana Butler Bass, writes, “God’s work is less about grand miracles and more about small moments of grace—tiny seeds planted that bear fruit in their own time.” Simeon and Anna remind us that faithfulness in the small, ordinary moments prepares us to see God’s extraordinary movement in the world. They waited, prayed, and trusted. And when the moment arrived, they recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of all they had hoped for.
As we prepare to enter a new year, Simeon and Anna challenge us to look for God in the quiet, everyday moments of life. Where are we being called to wait, to trust, and to witness? Their story reminds us that no one is too old, too ordinary, or too overlooked to participate in God’s extraordinary story of love and redemption.
May God’s peace find you today. -Pastor Peter
Let’s pray… God of amazing possibility, may we, like Simeon and Anna, open our eyes to see God’s presence and share that light with the world. Amen.