December 31, Christmas 1B (Isaiah 61:10–62:3; Psalm 148; Galatians 4:4–7; Luke 2:22–40)
Simeon and Anna echo the worship material of ancient Israel.
Luke’s Christmas story not only features babies and parents, it also focuses on the elderly.
When I was a student at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, one of my fellow students asked me to help with his preaching on the encounter with Simeon and Anna in the temple. We sang “Old Friends,” by Simon and Garfunkel, and then he preached on this passage from Luke.
Old friends rejoiced at God’s saving presence along with younger ones. The first witnesses to Jesus included the elderly as well as peasant shepherds.
