Today is the first Sunday of the New Year. It seems as if only yesterday we began 2022, but we are heading to the new bright year 2023! We are always surprised at how quickly time passes. Time is the number one athlete.

During this past Advent season, we studied the first Christmas songs. These melodies are taken from the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke. The first carol sung by Mary is called “the Magnificat” since her soul “magnifies” the Mighty and Merciful God in the birth of Christ (Luke 1:46). The Priest Zechariah tuned the second hymn known as “the Benedictus” since it means God’s blessing in Latin. He praised the Lord because God had redeemed His people through the Horn of Salvation, Jesus (Luke 1:69). The third psalm choired by the Angels of the Lord is titled “The Gloria in Excelsis Deo.” On the first Christmas, they raised their voices with joyfulness about Baby Jesus: “Glory to God in the highest heaven…” (Luke 2:14).

In our Gospel for today, Simeon sang the fourth carol called “the Nunc Dimittis.” This hymn title in the classic term describes how much Simeon was delighted in the encounter with the Child Jesus. Simeon revealed his deep satisfaction in the following statement: “…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 2:29-31). When Mary and Joseph presented Baby Jesus to the Lord at the temple, Simeon was convinced that this baby was indeed the Messiah. He praised the Lord because he believed the Immanuel Child would bring salvation to all people.
This morning I want us to explore one more story of a Christmas song by the prophet Anna. When Simeon was holding Jesus and presided over the ceremony for Jesus’ family, she participated in the blessing of Christ. She gave thanks to God and also praised the Lord for “the redemption of Jerusalem” through Baby Jesus. Today I want us to look at Anna’s attitudes toward God and make a firm commitment to God in this New Year as she did.

Let me begin with Anna’s background. Her name means “grace.” Anna was a prophetess, which is a female prophet. In the Old Testament era, prophets were appointed to speak out God’s words and His plans to the people of Israel. Ever since the last prophet called Malachi, no revelation from the Lord had been shared with them. In the previous 400 years, they had lived in spiritual chaos. Anna was the daughter of Penuel and belonged to the tribe of Asher. In those days, this ethnic group was not recognized as a significant branch. Different from the city of Jerusalem, the town of Penuel was unpopular. Anna was also ancient. It is not polite to use the word “old” especially for ladies. According to the author of the Gospel of Luke, Anna married her husband for seven years and was a widow until she was eighty-four years old (Luke 2:37). Today, many people might consider her a candidate for a retirement home and nothing more. At the designated time, God chose her to speak about Baby Jesus. We can learn from Anna, that God can call and use all of us for His Kingdom ministry regardless of age, gender, and personal circumstances.

Now I want us to think about some of Anna’s characteristics. The Bible does not say much about this. The only verse in our main scripture for today explains her loyalty toward God and His temple in the following statement: “She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying” (Luke 2:37). In the Old Testament era, the temple or tabernacle is known as God’s dwelling place. King David made a blueprint of God’s temple, and his son, King Solomon, built God’s tabernacle based on that outline. Priests and other religious leaders had kept and taken care of the house of God. The people of Israel came to the temple to have fellowship with God through those chosen people. During the period of the Old Testament, those earthly tabernacles were destroyed a couple of times and, unfortunately, corrupted.

In the time of the New Testament, Jesus Christ is referred to as God’s temple. When Jesus saw “people selling cattle, sheep and doves and others sitting at table exchanging money,” he was so upset and drove all of them from the temple courts (John 2:13-22). He said to them, “Stop turning my Father’s house, in other words, God’s temple, into a market” (John 2:16). And then he challenged them by saying, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19). Later, Jesus explained to them that this tabernacle would be His own body and demonstrated this through His death and resurrection. Jesus also built God’s temple. He said to the Apostle Peter, “I will build my church,” based on the gathering of those who confess that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). The meeting places those believers have assembled since then, to worship God are called the church.

Think about this. How blessed we are gathered today in this dwelling place of God and worship Him with all our hearts. The Psalmist said, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.'” (Psalm 122:1) All of us here, whether in this sanctuary or via Zoom, are happy with being present with the Creator God. We are delighted to listen to His Word, place all our burdens in His hand, and ask Him for His guidance and strength. We are grateful for singing to the Lord with all our minds and strengths in this sacred house.

Keeping God’s tabernacle in mind, let us continue to think about Anna’s heart toward God. “She [Anna] never left the temple” (Luke 2:37). The Bible did not tell us whether Anna had literally never moved out of the temple or not. She might have had a permanent place inside the house of God to do her divine tasks as a prophetess. What the scripture is telling us today is that she never departed the temple but worshipped every day with fasting and prayer. In a spiritual matter, when we worship God, we place the Lord our God as the priority in our minds and want to love Him with all our hearts. When we love some people, we want to spend as much time as possible with them and do some things well to make them pleased. “Fasting and praying” expresses how much we, as children of God, rely on Him. Fasting can be done by people who want to have a deeper fellowship with God. We believe in the power of prayer. Asking God for our needs can make a difference in our faith journey. We both praise God and pray to the Lord during our Sunday worship services. The prophet Anna loved serving God at the temple with ongoing holy activities.

Why did Anna do those devotions at God’s dwelling place? Did she do them out of her religious duties? Did she feel obligated to do those tasks to God? I believe that Anna did all those things out of her joyfulness. In my early twenties, I was hesitant to fully follow Christ as my Lord and Saviour in my spiritual journey. The primary reason was that I thought I would not have any fun if I committed to God. In a way, it can be right. Since our bodies are also called the temple of the Holy Spirit, we need to honour God with our daily ventures. We need to take care of our God-given precious bodies, not only physically but also spiritually. We need to be very careful about what we read, speak, watch, and listen to. As we want to decorate God’s temple in a godly manner, we need to “offer our bodies as a holy sacrifice” (Romans 12:1). The center of God’s house in our bodies is our spiritual heart. When we honestly repent of our sins before Christ and humbly ask the Holy Spirit to help us walk with God, the Triune Lord will provide us with the heavenly fruits, such as “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). The by-products that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit can give us are much better than the pleasurable things we can make on our own. From time to time, we may ask ourselves where our genuine satisfaction comes from and how we could be happier than before. King David had a similar question: “Where does my help come from?” (Psalm 121:1). David could have said that his assistance derived from what he was. But he did not mention his social status or reputation as a king, his possession, and his talents as the source of his joyfulness. Instead, he said, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2). In other words, David’s authentic satisfaction originated from the relationship he had had with the Lord his God. He also expressed his happiness in the following declaration: “my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5). Since the Lord, as David’s shepherd, provided everything for him, he lacked nothing. Like King David, Anna had a deep intimate fellowship with the Lord her God and was so strong in spirit. That is why she was young at heart, even though she was evaluated as a “very old lady.”

Do you know some benefits of having a closer relationship with God? In our Old Testament for today, the prophet Isaiah talks about God’s tremendous promise that “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:30-31). Hoping or awaiting in the Lord means we seek God earnestly in our daily lives. “Renew” is synonymous with “exchange.” In other words, when we trust in God as our faithful provider, He can impart to us His supernatural power. We can exchange our weaknesses for God’s strengths. Our energy runs out, but the stamina God provides us does not. The prophet Isaiah said, “They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Can we imagine flying like an eagle? The eagle is frequently used in the Bible as an example of the Christian life. Eagles rise up higher and faster than any other bird. When they shed their feathers every spring, new ones come out. They look like young creatures again. When we put the Lord number one in our lives and abide in Him, God will replace our earthly power with His heavenly strength. The Mighty and Merciful God will help us soar like eagles in our spiritual realms. This assurance is from the Lord our Maker God.
As the followers of Christ, every day, we may face some challenges as the Prophets Isaiah and Anna did. Some worries, negative thoughts, and depression may enter our hearts and ideas as the spirit of a devil. Our human intellect and willpower are not strong enough to defeat the influence of evil. We need to remember that Jesus Christ crushed the head of Satan when He died on the cross. When we are discouraged and tempted to give up, we need to recall God’s mercy and grace again and again. When we reflect on Christ’s unchanging love, we can confidently and courageously keep moving forward in our spiritual race.

Like Simeon, who had waited to meet “the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25) that was the Lord, the Messiah, Anna also wanted to meet “the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38) that was the Lord, the Redeemer. The word “redemption” here means “to buy back” and make people free from slavery. When this word is used in the Bible, it can imply that people are addicted to sin. Due to this spiritual reality, Jesus paid the total price for those sinners when He died on the cross. Like Simeon, Anna became one of the first Christmas disciples. Even though she had just encountered Little Jesus, Anna could foresee the great things that Jesus would do. Not only did Anna thank God for the baby, but she also went out and witnessed that the Saviour had come.

When we enjoy an advanced modern society, we may feel like living in the New Garden of Eden. Famous economists have predicted that we could build a utopia on earth as people’s earnings increase. Even though their revenues have grown, they have not experienced true happiness. Instead, in these unprecedented days, people have become lonely, empty, fearful and unhappy. Why do we often feel like that? The reason can be that we are still struggling with the problem of sin and death. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). But death is not the end of everything. The Bible also says, “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…” (Hebrews 9:27). Once again, think about this. If we are only to work hard to eat and live, and finally return to dust because we came from dust, we would be discouraged and our lives can be meaningless. If we are designated furthermore to stand in God’s judgment after we die and to suffer eternal punishment, we would undoubtedly be very depressed! But Jesus, as the Redeemer or Saviour, came to save us from the consequences of sin, death, and condemnation.

One week after Christmas, as we worship God, we need to be thankful again that God has given us the most indescribable gift, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. It is not enough for us to know this. We need to praise God and thank the Lord as all the delighted Christmas people did in the first two chapters of the Gospel of Luke. That is the reason we are here this morning.
One more time, I want us to remind ourselves of our genuine identity as a mini temple of God in this sin-darkened world. Also, I want us to remember the blessing of Anna in the encounter with Christ. She was delighted at the temple in the meeting of Baby Jesus, the Redeemer. The angel told the shepherds about this child. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). This good news comes with great joy. This marvelous report goes to everyone in the world. Jews and Gentiles, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, all people need to hear about this great news of Christ.

We may have mixed feelings when we look back on this past year. Some of us are happy to receive good news from our loved ones. Others may be reminded of our shortcomings and weaknesses from the previous. But by thinking about Anna, God wants us to see what He has done with His perspective. When we look through His eyes, everything, even our failures and mistakes, is all God’s profound plans for us. Our Immanuel Christ has been with all of us even this challenging year. Our Redeemer has helped us to do things for God’s glory with the help of the Holy Spirit.

What New Year’s Resolutions do we want to make? Today, on the first day of 2023, in all our choices and commitments for this new season, God wants us to have a much deeper intimate relationship with our Saviour, Jesus Christ, as Anna did. Once again, when we examine our minds through God’s Word, the divine mirror, and renew our whole heart before Christ, we can see things with the eyesight of the Holy Spirit, remain young at heart, and share the love of the Triune Lord with the people around us. Amen!

*In this sermon, I have used some thoughts and materials from the various messages based on the texts: Isaiah 40:27-31 & Luke 2:21-40.