{"id":55,"date":"2014-02-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2014\/02\/02\/sunday-2nd-february-2014-presentation-of-our-lord\/"},"modified":"2014-02-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-02-02T00:00:00","slug":"sunday-2nd-february-2014-presentation-of-our-lord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/2014\/02\/02\/sunday-2nd-february-2014-presentation-of-our-lord\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday 2nd February 2014 – Presentation of our Lord"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Word This Week:

<\/span><\/span> Malachi 3:1-4<\/a><\/strong>
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<\/span> Psalm 24<\/a><\/p>\n

Hebrews 2:14-18<\/a><\/p>\n

Luke 2:22-40<\/a><\/strong>

<\/span><\/span>Luke 2:22-40 (NRSV)
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<\/span> When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, \u201cEvery firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord\u201d), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, \u201ca pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.\u201d
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<\/span>Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord\u2019s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, \u201cMaster, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.\u201d And the child\u2019s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, \u201cThis child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed\u2014and a sword will pierce your own soul too.\u201d There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
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<\/span><\/strong>Let us pray \u2013 In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit Amen.
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<\/span> Good morning\/evening,
<\/span>
<\/span> Today before I begin, I want us to do a little experiment.\u00a0 I would like everyone to close their eyes and picture the things that you most want to see happen during your lifetime.\u00a0 It may be anything \u2013 from being held in high regard by the community so that you will leave a legacy, to gaining wealth,\u00a0 security.. the happiness of loved ones\u2026 whatever is your hearts greatest desire, hold it in your mind.
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<\/span> Ok let\u2019s open our eyes again\u2026 did you see the thing you most desired?
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<\/span> When we imagine<\/strong> the things we most want to see in our lives we have an unlimited number of things that we can list off\u2026 and almost all of them are inward looking\u2026 we want wealth for ourselves, security, happiness for us and those we love, we want to see things and do things\u2026 but the man Simeon from our Gospel account wanted something else \u2013 something which wasn\u2019t restricted to a narrow reference of himself alone.\u00a0 Simeon wanted nothing other than to see the unfolding of God\u2019s promise for His people.
<\/span>
<\/span> You see Simeon was so focussed on God that all he sought was that he might be a witness to the fulfilment of God\u2019s will.\u00a0 He sought nothing for himself, other than the satisfaction of knowing that God purpose was being achieved. Simeon put aside his own wants and needs and placed all of his hope in the will of God. What a model of faith is this man!
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<\/span> How often I wonder do we as Christians put God\u2019s will \u2013 Gods satisfaction \u2013 above our own desires? For Simeon, placing God first in his life meant that he was able to recognise when salvation was in his presence\u2026 he was able to see God in his midst when the infant Jesus was brought to the temple.
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<\/span> Not only was he able to know the presence of God and recognise it, but he was also given greater understanding and knowledge of God\u2019s purposes \u2013 our scripture tells us that the \u2018Holy Spirit was upon him\u2019,\u00a0\u00a0 and he spoke prophetic words over Jesus when he said \u2013 \u201cfor my eyes have seen your salvation,\u00a0 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,\u00a0 a light for revelation to the Gentiles\u00a0and for glory to your people Israel.\u201d
<\/span>
<\/span> Like Simeon the prophetess Anna whom we are told was so dedicated to the Lord that she never left the temple, and was always in prayer and fasting night and day, was able to recognise the action of God in her midst.\u00a0 She saw in the Christ child the redeemer of Israel, and proclaimed the news to all who would listen.
<\/span>
<\/span> You see for Simeon and Anna the glory of God was revealed. Everyone else was milling about in the temple paying no attention to this baby and his parents. After all it was quite a common thing to see parents with their new born at the temple to fulfil the redemption sacrifice for their first born. But Simeon, and Anna were different. Their focus wasn\u2019t on their own preoccupations, rather it was on God and because they were focussed, because they had their gaze firmly fixed, they were able to see the action of God.\u00a0 They recognized God\u2019s will being fulfilled right in front of their eyes while everyone else couldn\u2019t see the forest for the trees.
<\/span>
<\/span> Brothers and sisters how often do we wonder about God? How often do we ask questions like where is God in this? How could God allow this? Is there really a living God active in the world?
<\/span>
<\/span> I wonder if we are a little like the rest of the people at the temple that day, who had God incarnate right there in front of them but couldn\u2019t see him. For Simeon, and for Anna these other questions fell away, not because they are not worth asking, but because they had made a decision to place God, and the fulfilment of God\u2019s purposes at the forefront of their own lives.
<\/span>
<\/span> When we look to the Gospel today, and when we recall all those times when we have felt that God was a long way off,\u00a0 we must ask ourselves the question \u2013 Am I like Simeon and Anna? Have I placed God first in my life, or do I still cling to those things which call to me from this world?
<\/span>
<\/span> Now brothers and sisters, I am not suggesting that it is all straight forward and easy. It is not, we are called to a life of living sacrifice, in the service of the King. \u00a0Jesus says that we are to take up our cross and follow him, and that means that sometimes we will be tested, and our faith will struggle, and we will begin to ask those questions again\u2026 where is God\u2026 it is in that moment that we must not be discouraged, but where we should look to the example of Simeon and Anna, and submit to God.\u00a0 It is when we begin to falter that we must recommit ourselves to placing Christ at the centre of our lives, and placing all of our faith, hope and love in the one who is creator and sustained of all.\u00a0
<\/span>
<\/span> There is still more we can learn from this Gospel passage though!\u00a0 Not only do Simeon and Anna show us that it is through placing all of our faith in Christ that God is revealed to us, but they point us to what we should do once we have put God in charge of our lives.\u00a0 Let\u2019s read again what Anna did when she recognised who Jesus was\u2026 \u2018At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.\u2019
<\/span>
<\/span> The very first thing Anna does when she sees that the promised redeemer has arrived is to start telling people.\u00a0 Anna could be called the first evangelist, as she went about proclaiming the good news of the arrival of Jesus to all who sought salvation.
<\/span>
<\/span> Brothers and sisters if we are Christians it means that we must place God first in our lives.\u00a0 And if we have placed God first in our lives that means that we recognise Jesus as the redeemer of humanity. If we can see that Christ is the redeeming son of God, who offers forgiveness and salvation to all, then we are called to tell all who would listen! We are called to be like Anna and Simeon.
<\/span>
<\/span> \u00a0Dear brothers and sisters, let us all as we go forth from this place today, leave with a renewed purpose, and hope.\u00a0 Let us go forth into the world placing God\u2019s purposes above our own, for it is in the fulfilment of the divine will that we will find true happiness.\u00a0 Finally let us be bold as those who see Christ as our salvation, to proclaim to all who would hear, that we have seen salvation come and its name is Jesus. <\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/span> <\/span>
<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Word This Week: Malachi 3:1-4 Psalm 24 Hebrews 2:14-18 Luke 2:22-40 Luke 2:22-40 (NRSV) When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, \u201cEvery firstborn male shall be … Continue reading “Sunday 2nd February 2014 – Presentation of our Lord”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewordthisweek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}