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DAVID'S EMAIL BIBLE STUDY:
A. BACKGROUND
...what does it mean to be old, act old, sound old, and think old. Good or bad? We live in a society that worships youth. What, then, about the "elderly"? We've been looking at exceptional older people in the Bible, drawing lessons from their life. So far: endurance, perseverance, consistency, intimacy with God, all build strong habits in youth that carry through to the "golden years."
C. SUMMARY: After Jesus' birth there were several Jewish customs to be observed: Jesus' circumcision, his official naming, the purification of Mary, and presenting Jesus to God. Because he was born in Bethlehem they could easily go to the great Temple in Jerusalem. At the Temple two elderly folks see the baby Jesus and immediately recognize that he is Israel's long awaited "Messiah", God's chosen one to save the world. The old man, Simeon, had been promised by God that he would live to see the Messiah. Now, he declares, he can die in peace. The old woman, Anna, had been a widow for many decades. She was thrilled to show off the baby Jesus as the great news for everyone.
D.
KEY POINTS:
1. TRADITION. In most societies the older folks are the keepers of tradition. They respect and try to keep alive the old ways. In this story they benefit from Mary and Joseph keeping the traditions, too. Because Mary and Joseph have the circumcision, naming ceremony and purification and because they took Jesus to the Temple to thank God they were all in the right place to meet Simeon and Anna. Because Simeon and Anna kept the Temple life at the center of their own lives they were in the right place to see Jesus and be open to God's chosen Messiah. Traditions, rituals, and rites have a purpose. There's a reason people did them. It is wise to think them through however old they might be.
2. A HEINZ Theology. Remember the Ketchup commercial where the song "Anticipation" is sung while we wait for the best Ketchup to slowly come out of the bottle? Much about faith is waiting. We wait for prayers to be answered, for God's will to be shown. Israel waited 700 years for the Messiah. Contemporary Christians have waited 2,000 years for "the second coming", Christ's return. It's not enough to wait. People fall away, doubt creeps in, and we stop waiting. Simeon and Anna never gave up. They kept believing, kept showing up, kept looking. This kind of spirit, right into old age, is certainly one key to having a vibrant old age. For those who think it's all over it's all over long before it's over.
3. THANKSGIVING: or what to do with babies! We've had a lot of baptisms in 2017. When I was a Baptist pastor we have "dedications" for babies. Same thing, minus the water. Some churches call in "Christening", often accompanied by giving the baby a "Christian" name (usually a Bible person or saint). For Jesus, he was "presented to the Lord" (vs 22). In Hinduism they have "darshan", which means to be seen by God. We may believe that God is omnipresent (everywhere), but the fact is we want a tangible place and specific time for certain traditions. So babies are brought to church for families to say "thank you" to God. And old people especially love it because those occasions are living proof that the very things they have believed and held dear are very much alive and true. In the last three weeks we have had 38 confirmations and 11 baptisms. Each time we got to be Simeon and Anna, showing up at the right time to see God's handiwork.
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