Simeon and Anna

You know you're getting older when

·        everything hurts and what doesn't hurt doesn't work.

·        You feel like the morning after, and you haven't been anywhere

·        You get winded just playing chess

·        Your children begin to look middle aged

·        Your mind makes decisions your body can't meet

·        You know all the answers but nobody's asking the questions

·        You really look forward to a dull evening at home

·        You turn out the lights for economic reasons than romantic ones

·        Your knees buckle and your belt won't

·        When the best part of the day is over when the alarm goes off

·        When you've got too much room in the house and not enough in the medicine cabinet

·        Finally when you sink your teeth into a steak, and they stay there.

The frightening thing about this list is actually realising that so many of these are accurate about me!

They all sound so negative, they re-inforce the idea that some people have in their minds that to be old is to be 'past it' past one's best!

But that idea is certainly not reinforced in the bible! Just look at Abraham, Moses, Noah, Sarah and Elizabeth, just to name a few whom God used regardless of more mature years.

And just take a look at the characters of Simeon and Anna  in our gospel reading today.

Simeon was righteous and devout; he was a prayerful man , looking forward to the consolation of Israel. It says the Holy Spirit was upon him, and that he was at the beck and call of that same Spirit. It was the Spirit that inspired him to be in the right place at the right time. So he was also a man who waited upon God, and listened.

I wonder whether our Old Testament lesson today had some part to play in this word he'd been given that he would see the Lord's Christ before he died, where it says:-

"Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple….."

Sometimes scripture has that effect on people; parts of it will jump out at them and speak a timely word, if they are devoted in their reading of scripture as Simeon would have been.

God rewarded Simeon's devotion, by giving him wisdom, discernment and the gift of prophetic utterance.

And he was able to reveal to Mary and to Joseph words that both amazed and shocked them to the core.

Then along came Anna, a prophetess, who was very old. Such was her devotion, that she was never away from the temple, but worshipped there night and day, fasting as well as praying.

She too came along at just the right moment, at precisely the right time… I wonder if that has ever happened to you? We hear ourselves sometimes saying,

"If I hadn't gone there or done this, this or that might never have happened!"

God can direct our ways, if we respond to those inner promptings of the Spirit, if we allow ourselves to be blown by the wind of the Spirit.

I sometimes tell myself that there's a limit to what I can do now for God, I'm not young anymore. No longer might we have the energy or the ability to trek into distant jungles with the Word of God, or become tele-evangelists converting the world.  But that's not to say that God can't use us or even give us alternative ministries within the scope of our abilities as they are now.

All that is needed is the same kind of willingness and desire to serve that Simeon had; that same listening ear and prayerful attitude; that same yearning to be lost in the word of God.

We can have the gift of prayerfulness, watchfulness, a passion for intercession, a longing to pray the world into God's kingdom, compassion, understanding etc., at any age. But we're far more likely to have more quality time in our later years, because there are less distractions and we are not so drawn to hit the high life or to be led so easily astray.

We can find ourselves closer to God, in our later years than at any other times in our lives; and we must look upon each day as a fresh opportunity to do something for Him.

Rather than give up and convince ourselves we're past it…let's rejoice that through Simeon and Anna we come to realise we're not dead yet, but more fully alive than ever, and each new day becomes another chance to serve the Lord.