Simeon and Anna have been waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled. They represent all that has happened in Israel’s history before this moment. What kind of Messiah were they expecting? Simeon had been assured that he would not die before this moment came and he is there to welcome this family who must have seemed ‘ordinary’ and poor. Simeon can see that this child will be ‘
a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory of your people Israel’. Already there is a note of reversal; of boundaries being stretched. Mary is told that this child ‘is destined for the fall and the rising of many’. There will be trouble ahead; there will be challenges for many. Simeon knows that many thoughts will be exposed, what people really think will be revealed, who they welcome and who they exclude will be challenged; for God’s invitation and welcome has no boundaries. Anna rejoices for all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. In this statement she knows that this child will overturn systems of oppression and exclusion.
Luke is interested in how humanity responds to the Gospel. If Jesus’ message is really good news, then this requires a shakeup; a shakeup which challenges comfortable assumptions about the way God works. God’s abundant invitation to all may not sit comfortably with many. While Anna prays and fasts for a change of heart in the way Jerusalem operates, Simeon warns Mary that this will not be an easy road.
God-with-us
(Emmanuel) has to flee from the terror of Herod’s brutal regime. Joseph, his
protector, guides this Holy Family into exile. At the beginning of the Jesus
story, as with the end, God is not welcome. Millions and millions of people are
today caught up in the bitter experience of exile, fleeing war and insane
violence in Syria and other parts of the world. Like Joseph, Mary and Jesus,
they too are running for their lives. Their fate is at the mercy of the rest of
the world, which keeps saying ‘never again’, but appears to not really mean it.
We welcome Jesus into our world at Christmas; we must continue to welcome Him
in the refugee. 
Lord,
help us to remember those who tonight will go to sleep unfed and unwelcome,
strangers in foreign lands, people who have fled for their lives and are far
from their homes. We lift up to you millions in our world who are escaping
persecution and conflict, who have fled death, torture or exploitation. So many
have suffered so much. Lord Jesus, soften our hearts to their situation, and
help us follow your lead in seeking justice and mercy. We pray for an end to
the wars, poverty and human rights abuses that drive desperate people to become
refugees in the first place. We thank You that you are Lord of all the earth
and all its people are loved by you. We pray these things in the name of your
son who was himself born into the troubled life of a refugee. Amen (Tearfund). 
