Luke 2: 21-40                                                         

Well, New Year’s Day! What a time of Reflection on the year just passed, and a time of Anticipation of what the New Year, 2023, holds for us. We can recall from memory the personal and public events of the year just past. And we begin to envision and imagine the events we hope to see in this New Year. It is a time each year filled with great promise! New Year’s Day!

Here in our faith community, we have said “Good-Bye” to some wonderful friends and servants, Rev. Dr. Maren Sonstegard-Spray, and from West New Bern Church Rev. David Fuentes, both to relocation.  We have welcomed new Staff Members and leaders including the Rev. Catherine Campbell, Minister for Families and Youth, and Summer Hough, our Financial Secretary. Our wonderful First Presbyterian staff and Session have benefitted immeasurably from the sensitive and decisive leadership of Rev. Dr. Anna Pinckney Straight. As a community and as a nation we have negotiated the reality of COVID-19, a continuing effort.

There have been a number of single flowers on our Communion Table, signaling a new birth in the church family! Weddings have been held here, and many new members have united with our church. We have held each other close as we have observed the passing of dear friends and life companions.  As families and as individuals, I am sure each of us can look back on important milestones for 2022.

In gratitude and hope, we look to the future and this New Year. Always, as we view the unmarked calendar months ahead in the New Year, we wonder what events and activities we will experience, individually and as a community. We dream of what might be!

What would the Christmas story be without Dreams and Visions? Even as far back as the Prophet Isaiah and Micah, the coming of Christ was foretold. Luke tells us the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and of Zechariah’s vision of the Angel Gabriel – the foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist. This same Messenger appeared to Mary announcing events that would change the course of humankind. Matthew describes how, in a dream, Joseph was reassured about the child Mary would deliver. Matthew further describes how the Magi, or Wise Men, were warned about the evil intentions of Herod in a dream. Matthew goes on to describe how Joseph was warned in a dream to arise and take his family to Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod.

Dreams and Visions. The Scriptures clearly document that these are avenues God chooses to communicate with his Servants to express his plans and his instructions.

Our Scripture selection today gives us the story of Simeon and Anna and their encounter with Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem. Dreams and Visions are realized and articulated in the moments described by our Scripture lesson. It is a powerful moment of affirmation. Surely, after the birth experience and the visit of the Shepherds describing their vision of heavenly hosts, Mary and Joseph must have wondered, “Did this really happen? Or were we imagining things? “

Simeon’s prophecy and Anna’s joyful welcome must have served as confirmation of that. “Yes! The shepherds were real. All this really took place! You did not imagine it! Through your Child, God is richly blessing humankind!” 

But who were these two Servants, Simeon and Anna?

The Scripture passage we just read tells us what we know about these two. Their account does not appear in the other Gospels, only In Luke. Both, we are told, are dedicated to God. Simeon had received and trusted in a vision saying that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Prompted by the Holy Spirit, we know he went to the Temple on the very day that Mary and Joseph brought Baby Jesus for his dedication. Know that dutiful young Jewish parents, just like Joseph and Mary, would have been taking their first-born sons to the temple each day for the observance of Dedication. But Simeon was led by the Holy Spirit to the Baby Jesus, and his parents. Taking the baby in his arms, he announced his prophecy that here is the Lord’s Salvation. The Promised One.

Simeon goes on to say that the child would be a “light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” Importantly, Simeon adds that the child will “cause the falling and rising of many in Israel.” The ministry of Jesus would be opposed, and then darkly he adds “And a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” This, of course, is a reference to the tragic earthly death of Jesus.

Just then they were joined by Anna, a prophetess, who gave praise and Glory to God for this child. Immediately she began to proclaim this good news to all who would listen. Surely Anna would have been a familiar face in the Temple Courtyards, The Scriptures say she prayed and fasted there day and night, having been widowed at an early age and never remarried, she dedicated her life to God.

Neither one of these people, Simeon nor Anna, was impressive by worldly standards. Both were advanced in years. But both were dedicated Servants of God, devout and obedient to his calling. While they may have lacked “Social Status” in the day, they lived their lives on a deeper plane than most. Simeon may have been a Priest. Anna was one of the original “Prayer Warriors” of the faith. Scholars have referred to Simeon and Anna as being part of the “Quiet of the Land” group.

These were the Contemplative faithful of the age. The ones who faithfully attended to the teachings of the Scriptures, and prayer undergirded their days and patiently waited for God’s Providence in God’s own timing. We can imagine them tending the vineyards and the olive groves of the Holy Land, grateful for each new day of God’s blessing and certain of his promises. Isaiah’s promise of “For unto you a Child is born, Unto you a Son is Given” was as fresh to them each morning as it was when first proclaimed by the Prophet, 700 years earlier. The Quiet of the Land; grounded saints like Simeon and Anna. 

In all their accumulated wisdom and faithfulness we find Simeon saying, “Now, Lord, you may dismiss me. You have fulfilled your vow to me that I would see your Promised One.” And Anna, proclaimed in the Temple the Good News of the birth of this Child, raising her voice to beckon others to come and to behold. Surely, this encounter, too, Mary treasured in her heart.

So, on this new Day, beginning this New Year, are we still open to Dreams and Visions? Are we as Faithful Disciples of Christ open to those gentle nudges we receive that we often look back upon and realize the “nudge” was the prompting of the Holy Spirit?

For many of us, our faith is more than a routine of rituals and practices. Our faith and the God we serve are the sources of all that is beautiful, good, and just in the world, and in the relationships, we value so highly. That spiritual foundation of our lives is the eternal spring for hope and for the ideals to which we cling. Not only is it the foundation, but also the framework upon which our lives are built.

So, when we look at a New Year we often think, “What new growth might God nurture in me in the coming months?” Or, “What new opportunities of learning and service will the Spirit lead me to in the coming year? What steps would Christ have me take as I seek to walk in his path?”

These are exciting questions! But we also know that God intends to nurture the growth of our church and our community as Christians working together for his purpose and glory. So, we expand our thoughts and reflections when we think:

·      Is this the year that I begin writing that collection of short stories I have wanted to capture? Are there other would-be writers I could encourage?

·      Is there some way I could be a career counselor at RCS, or help with the English as a second language ministry here at church?

·      Could I help put together a New Members House Church so we get to know one another better?

·      Does Habitat for Humanity have a place for me, or could I help with the facility maintenance team here at church by using my building skills?  

·      Could residents of an area of Senior Living centers benefit from my interest in crafts or knitting or music?

Dreams and Visions. New expressions of Christ in the New Year. The possibilities are unlimited!

Keep that pad and pencil beside the bed, and expect that God soon may awaken you from sleep with a new and wonderful dream! It is the way He works!

To God Be the Glory!

AMEN