Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
Scripture: Luke 1: 26-41
If you’ve ever been the parent of an infant, you may recall how discombobulating those first days after a baby’s birth can be. There is joy, yes! And Wonder. Tiny toes and soft little apricot ears and the sweet smell of a baby’s head. But there is also worry, and awkwardness…and very little sleep. There’s the crash course in baby communication, as you try to interpret every silence, each cry. There’s the changing, feeding, putting down, getting up, feeding again in an endless cycle: twenty-four hours divided up into 30 minute shifts. There’s the terrifying realization that this tiny living being is vulnerable in a thousand different ways, and entirely dependent on you. There are those desperate moments when you wonder why children don’t come with an instruction manual.
Then there are the grandparents – the elders in a baby’s life; the ones who happily hold the baby when parents are at their wits’ end. The ones who recognize that feeling of being overwhelmed, but have enough distance and experience to know that there’s no need to panic. While I have never been a grandparent, I have heard it said that it’s better than parenting. (Would anyone here agree?) I only know that I am profoundly grateful for the grandparents in my life – my own, and my children’s. Our biological grandparents, and all the elders who contribute wisdom and joy to raising a family – or a community, for that matter.
The role of grandparent – to a child or to a church – is a singular and sacred calling. It’s the elders who anchor and guide us, who have the patience to weather the storms, and who see what the rest of us sometimes miss, when we are bleary-eyed or distracted.
Perhaps that’s why the Christmas story is replete with elders. True, they are often overlooked: we tend to focus on the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes (who is, after all, the star of the show); but Simeon is only one of the senior members of the Christmas cast. There’s Zachariah and Elizabeth – John the Baptist’s parents, who conceived John in their old age (after a visit from the Angel Gabriel). There’s eighty-four year old Anna, the prophet, who pronounced baby Jesus the Redeemer, spreading the news to any who would listen. All those elders, poised to welcome Jesus. All those folks who knew a thing or two about longing and disappointment, about waiting and wonder – set right at the center of the story!
When I try to imagine the scene in the temple that day, as Mary and Joseph arrived to present 8-day-old baby Jesus for the ritual of circumcision, I can almost see Simeon, his arms outstretched, a bit unsteady on his feet, gleefully beckoning to the weary parents. He’s the one who has been keeping watch, all this time. Years earlier, he’d been told that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah with his own eyes; it seems he recognized the child the moment they walked through the door. Then there came Anna, long-time widow, wise prophet, practically a full time resident in the temple, who took one look at Jesus, then started waving exuberantly to passers-by: “Come and see; come and see this precious child; he’s the one!”
I can picture them, because they remind me of faith-filled elders in my own life. We brought Tobey to church for the first time when he was less than one week old. Rather than an Anna, we had Lula Bradley, an African-American octogenarian who always wore a cream-colored popcorn-knit cap and walked with a cane to support her ailing knees. She prayed, down on those knees every day – and every Sunday during worship she shared with us a word that she gleaned from her daily devotions. I have a picture of Lula holding brand-new Tobey; you can see the freckles that line her cheek bones, and the smile wrinkles around her eyes. Tobey is nestled comfortably in the crook of her arm. While she made no prophecy concerning Tobey’s future that morning, she did offer this assurance, by her very presence: that Tobey would be embraced by that community of faith, that he would be gathered into their collective arms, cherished and raised up with love. Craig and I knew that day that we were not alone in this sacred undertaking called parenting.
That’s the power of elders: the power to bless – babies and parents and the whole community, for that matter. Even knowing that life is treacherous, riddled with disappointment. Even knowing what pain awaits, the elder joyfully welcomes the child, so full of possibility, so full of hope, and declares, “Look! Here is a child of God. He will make all the difference. She will change the world!”
These are not easy blessings, not fairy tale promises that all will be well. Our elders know better. Simeon knew better. He looked into Mary’s eyes and saw enough to know, “a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” The blessing of elders is one that takes account of life’s pain. Still, they do not flinch; there is too much at stake.
That day in the temple, Simeon and Anna regarded the infant Jesus in Mary’s arms, regarded his tiny toes and apricot ears and saw – along with the promise that every child brings, something more: this one would overturn every power structure, cast light into the darkness and redeem all God’s people. Many had heard the promises along the way, but these two had the eyes to see, and the wisdom to connect the dots. Even as their eyesight faded, this one thing remained clear to them: that the babe in Mary’s arms would be, according to Simeon’s song, “a light for revelation to the gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” While everyone else came and went, made their sacrifices, offered their prayers, did what they had always done, Simeon and Anna alone proclaimed, “Look! Here is the one for whom we have yearned, the very one to whom we pray: Here, child in arms, God-in-the-flesh, ready to redeem us. Don’t you see?”
Which just goes to show: we should listen to our elders! Now, my parents are in the room, no doubt marking my words to quote back to me in some future conversation. That’s ok. I’ll take the risk. Because what I see in this scene in the temple are two elders with the capacity to see to the heart of the matter. Elders with the capacity to see, not just where we’ve been, but where we’re headed. Elders who are willing to say: “Something new is being born. Welcome!” Elders who do not shrink from that newness, but joyfully embrace it.
And you know what? They remind me of many of you, senior members of this Saugatuck Church community, septigenarians and octogenarians who have borne us up over the years, you who have served so faithfully, prayed so routinely, given of yourselves in countless ways – and continue to do so. Like faithful Simeon and devoted Anna, you are our witnesses, the ones who routinely remind me, remind us, that this community of faith is rooted in Christ’s call to do justice, build community, and serve each other. You are also the ones who cheer us on, as we lean into the future that God is preparing for us. When I find myself at wit’s end, you bolster me with your words of hope-filled expectation.
So, if you are a grandparent – to grandchildren of your own, or to the members of this community of faith; if you consider yourself an elder, then this morning I want to say thank you: for waiting and watching for the movement of God’s Spirit, and for bearing us up. For patience and wisdom and for joyfully welcoming each expression of new life in our midst. Here’s the Good News for you, for all of us, this morning: The Spirit of God works through all of us, old and young and in between. So, keep your eyes peeled and your ears open, because God may just be sending something remarkable your way – a sign of hope, new life in our midst. And if you see it, even a glimmer, make sure to share the news!
If as for the rest of us: if you have a grandparent, or someone you would honor with grandparent status, then this Christmas season, listen to what they have to say. Even when they say something outrageous – maybe especially so; when they point to something that you can’t quite see; weigh their words; they may just have seen the glory of the Lord.
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Luke 1: 26-41 – NRSV Translation
22 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 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 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. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 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, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 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, 37 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. 38 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.
39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.