Maybe you remember the last page of the religious-based Guidepost Magazine was a short article called “The Quiet Disciple” about people doing great things in the background, quietly and without any fanfare.
Today’s Scripture is the Bible’s version of the quiet disciples — Mary and Joseph obeying the call of God, Simeon waiting on the promises of God, and Anna watching for the coming of God.
Our church’s version of “The Quiet Disciple” is “growing in love, sharing in worship, and reaching out in prayer.”
Let’s begin with Mary and Joseph in Luke.
“The time came for Joseph and Mary to perform the ceremony of purification, as the Law of Moses commanded.
So, they took the child to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord: ‘Every first-born male is to be dedicated to the Lord.’” — Luke 2: 22-23
Mary and Joseph are obeying the call of God. Maybe you remember Joseph comes from the Hebrew Yosef meaning “God adds” or “God increases.” And Mary comes from the Hebrew Miryam meaning “beloved rebellion” or “bitterness.”
As the virgin mother of Jesus, she is both “beloved,” and as an unwed mother a bit “rebellious.” But that will turn to “bitterness” when her son dies on a cross for our sins.
And now they have come in obedience to (in the Greek) “parastesai,” meaning to “set before” or “to present” their son to God. It’s the image of a lighthouse. The keeper must keep the glass clean and the wick trimmed.
Mary and Joseph keep their glass clean, and their wick trimmed by a simple act of obedience and in doing so, they enable both Simeon and Anna to see God. In the same way, when you and I are obedient to God, when we pray or read the Bible, or support the church and mission projects, or simply do what’s right, we enable the people around us to see God.
Simeon speaks of seeing God in Luke.
“At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s promised Messiah.”
— Luke 2: 25-26
Simeon was not simply waiting, he was “prosdechomenos” in the Greek meaning “active expectation.” Imagine arriving at the airport to meet a spouse or a child coming home from a long trip.
The word for that is “prosdechomenos” or “active expectation.” It was something Simeon lived with every day of his life — until the day he saw Jesus!
Charles “Buddy” Whatley is a retired United Methodist pastor serving Dawson Street Methodist Church in Thomasville, Ga. With wife, Mary Ella, they are missionaries to the Navajo Reservation.
