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Beholding Salvation

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations"
Luke 2:28-30

A child's birth evokes family, religious, and social traditions. Announcements are sent to family and friends. A new life begins filling parents with hope, imagining great things ahead.

Jesus' parents fulfill the obligations called for in Leviticus 12:3-8; circumcision and offering a sacrifice. These ancient traditions remind them that Jesus is born as part of the covenant between God and God's people. This holy moment in the holy place of the God's temple is a moment of hope. 

This hope, though needs to be understood in the context of the time.

On the one hand, Luke is recalling a time when life seemed safe, tradition observed, and Joseph and Mary could safely travel to register in a census and worship in the Temple. 

On the other hand, it's a sad reminder of a catastrophe: the Temple’s destruction.

Filled with hope, Mary and Joseph present Jesus to God, confident in God’s promises. Jesus birth fills Mary and Joseph with a parents hope and dreams.
 
Filled with hope, Simeon comes seeking encouragement for Israel as he links the birth of Jesus to a renewed hope in the coming of the Messiah. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel.

Filled with hope, the prophet Anna fasts and prays for the recovery of Jerusalem. Her fasting is a state of mourning for the people of God. However, seeing Jesus, her mourning turns to praise! God is bringing God’s people home from exile.

 I am filled with hope from their stories. For me, these are living stories of hope as powerful today as then because in these dark times they tell of God's promises, a Messiah's hope, and "turning mourning into dancing".

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