Have you ever known people like Simeon and Anna? I do not think that I have. The closest I could come were my mother’s parents, James and Margaret Clark.

Grandfather Clark was a Presbyterian minister. He was definitely old school. As I recall, his preaching was usually sound doctrine that reflected the standards of the Westminster Confession of Faith, but at least once a year he would preach against the “spigots of hell,” by which he meant establishments that sold alcoholic beverages.

In his old age, especially after Grandmother Clark died, he would spend hours sitting in a chair in the living room. He always wore a dress shirt and a tie. He was also a cigar smoker, a habit he had picked up as a boy selling newspapers on the streets of Philadelphia to help the family make ends meet. As he sat and smoked, tiny hot ashes would drift down from the tip of the cigar and land on his tie leaving very small burn marks. But as he sat, he also prayed, carrying on long conversations with God. I do not know what he prayed about, but I could tell he was in earnest.

My Grandmother Clark was more like Anna. She would always tell me I was destined to become a Presbyterian minister. As a typical teenager of the 1970s, I did not take her pronouncements seriously, but here I am, a Presbyterian minister for almost thirty years!

Grandmother and Grandfather Clark were devout believers in the LORD Jesus Christ. They were God-fearing people who sought to embody God’s word and will and way.

Simeon and Anna were righteous and devout people. They spent most of their time in the temple fasting and praying and worshipping the LORD. They were prophets. They were both elderly people drawing near to the end of their earthly lives. But they both were looking to the future with hope. They were waiting for the consolation of Israel, the redemption of Jerusalem. Both are synonyms for the coming of the kingdom of God.

Mary and Joseph were also devout souls. They followed the law of Moses which dictated that male infants were to be circumcised on the eighth day. They named the child Jesus, the name given by the angel Gabriel before the Son of God was conceived in Mary’s womb. They presented and dedicated Jesus to the LORD at the temple in Jerusalem and offered the prescribed sacrifice. They were humble people with few resources. The three kings from the East had not arrived yet bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And so, they could not afford a lamb. Instead, they offered a pair of turtle doves.

Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus were just starting their lives together when they met ancient and venerable Simeon and Anna. They heard wonderful things about the child and were amazed. He would be the LORD’s salvation. He was destined for the falling and rising of many. He was a sign that would be opposed. He would reveal the inner thoughts of many. He would be a cause of sorrow to his mother; a sword would pierce her heart.

Jesus was the center of attention that day in the temple. Joseph and Mary were filled with wonder. Anna and Simeon had fulfilled their destinies. They had seen the Christ for themselves and testified to him. They were ready to depart this life. Can we say the same? Can you? Can I?

This life is familiar. It is good. It is known. Yes, we believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, but we are a little uncertain about what lies beyond in the great unknown of eternity. As Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote, “The flesh clings to the earth – it is dust and owns affinity to the ground out of which it was taken; it loathes to depart from mother earth. Even old age, with its infirmities, does not make us really willing to depart out of this world. By nature, we hold onto life with a terrible tenacity, and even when we sigh over the evils of life, and complain concerning its ills, and fancy ourselves away, it is probable that our readiness to depart lies only on the surface, but down deep in our hearts we have no will to go.” Spurgeon’s observations may be true for many of us, but Simeon and Anna were truly ready to depart this life. I think my grandparents were ready too. I have known many of our family of faith over the years who were also ready. What made Simeon and Anna prepared?

It certainly was the work of the Holy Spirit. In verses 25-27, we read that the Holy Spirit rested on Simeon. The Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die before he had seen the Christ. Simeon was guided by the Holy Spirit. As one commentator observed about Simeon, “The fitness of this venerable man was the handiwork of God, the work of the Holy Spirit.” It is the Holy Spirit who makes us ready to depart this life when our time comes.

The gift of faith to see Jesus Christ as he truly is, the saving Son of God, also makes us ready to depart this life. Not everyone has this gift. The priests and officials who gathered to perform the circumcision and offer the sacrifice of turtle doves saw nothing remarkable in Jesus. Others in the temple that day must have seen the Holy Family, but it never dawned on them that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. But Simeon and Anna had the gift of faith to see this infant as he really was.

We cannot take up the infant Christ in our arms or look on him with our mortal eyes, but we can see the LORD’s salvation with the eyes of faith. Jesus said, “Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believed” (John 20:29).

And the word of God makes us ready to depart this life. Simeon had received a specific word from the LORD. “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (vs. 26). We have not received such a specific word, but we have the word of God written which is full of exceedingly great and precious promises.

“Whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:26).
“For by grace you have been saved through faith and is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8).
“We were reconciled to God through the death of his Son” (Rom. 5:10).
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (Jn. 14:27).
“In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn. 14:2-3).

Like Simeon and Anna, we can depart this life according to God’s word written.

Are you prepared to depart this life when your time comes? You can be! By the work of the Holy Spirit, with the gift of faith in Jesus Christ, and by standing on the promises of God, we too can depart in peace.

A new year is almost upon us. We have no idea what the future holds for us. We certainly never expected 2020 to unfold as it has. We do not know the future or our own personal futures, but we do know the one who holds them both. God is ever faithful and can be trusted with our lives.

Let us be like Simeon and Anna. Let us be like the saints who have gone before us, like my maternal grandparents, like others who have gone on to be with the LORD. Let us be devout and righteous all the days of our lives. Let us fear God and turn away from evil, but above all, let us rely on the Holy Spirit to rest upon us, guiding us and revealing the things of God to us. And let us look especially to Jesus with the eyes of faith, trusting our lives to his care. Let us trust God’s word written too with all its exceedingly great and precious promises.

Then we will be able to sing with Simeon and Anna,

“Now may Your servant, Lord,
According to Your word,
Depart in exultation.
My peace shall be serene,
For now, my eyes have seen
Your wonderful salvation.

You did for all prepare
This gift so great, so rare,
Fulfilling prophets' story--
A light to show the way
To Gentiles gone astray,
And unto Israel's glory” (Song of Simeon).

And the Lord Jesus will give us his peace, peace that passes understanding, peace the world cannot give, peace in this life and in the life to come. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Alleluia! Amen.