FEBRUARY 2025
Luke 2 v 22-40
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.
Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law,
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, ‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’
And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’
There was also a prophet, Anna[j] the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day.
At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child[k] to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.
Reflection
“Thus says the Lord, ‘See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord who you seek will suddenly come to his temple,” says the prophet Malachi. In this passage from Luke’s Gospel Mary and Joseph have taken Jesus to the Temple in obedience to the purification laws. When they arrive, two righteous and devout elderly worshippers, Simeon and Anna greet the holy family and declare that they have now seen God’s salvation in the child Jesus. Anna and Simeon had been waiting a lifetime to encounter the Messiah. Simeon declares his joy and relief with the words, which are known as the Nunc dimittis: “Now you are dismissing your servant in peace.” After blessing the Holy family Simeon takes his leave of them with a bitter, sweet message, not just for Jesus’ parents, but I would suggest, for the world. He says, ‘Jesus will be opposed and cause the falling and rising of many.’
As committed followers of Jesus, the challenge for us today, in what is a very troubled and anxious world, is to spread the Good News of God’s love and to be ready for Jesus’ imminent return.
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Luke 5 v 1-11
Once while Jesus[a] was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Reflection
We all hunger for the holy presence of God. Without that presence in our lives, the nets of our daily existence come up empty. Clearly the people are hungry...following Jesus and pressing upon him to the point he has to scramble into Peter's boat. Peter's encounter with the holy presence of God began as he heard Jesus speak from the back of the boat. The words must have filled the God- shaped hunger in Peter's heart, for Peter, the experienced fisherman, to honour Jesus' request and let down his nets after a night of unsuccessful fishing. The miraculous catch confirms Peter's growing realization that he is in the presence of the living God. That encounter seals Peter's commitment to Jesus and sends him out, like an experienced fly-fisherman. Peter who now knows from personal experience the God-shaped "fly" for which people hunger.
Attribution to Susan -(Desperate preachers)
Is your spiritual fishing net empty or full? What do you hunger for in your life?
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Luke 6 v 17-26
He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
‘Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
‘Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
‘But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
‘Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.
‘Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
Reflection
Over and over again, Jesus' message to his listeners is one of God's astounding promises to those who listen and believe. For many who were listening to Jesus, these words must have been a word of surprising mercy, but for others they must have seemed uncompromisingly harsh. Jesus speaks of God's great reversal of expectation in these verses of blessing and woe. Considering that the vast majority of people in the ancient world were poor, these words of grace must have provided great hope.
How do we hear these words today? Most of the world continues to live in great poverty. The Beatitudes carry with them the messages of both blessing and call to action as powerfully today as they did 2000 years ago. Grounded in them, we find strength to bless and heal and to participate in the vision Jesus offers of a world of abundance, joy, and mercy for all.
Adapted Attribution - Desperate preachers
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Luke 8 v 22-25
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A gale swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger.
They went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm.
He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?’
Reflection
This passage is not only a graphic illustration of a storm at sea, it is a metaphorical picture of storms we all face at times in life. Storms we have inside us as well as storms we experience around us.
The disciples experienced a storm at sea and were appalled that Jesus was asleep and seemingly unconcerned. But they were also experiencing storms of unrest in the society of their day and they probably felt powerless to do anything, at least, not until Jesus appeared proclaiming Good News.
The disciples followed Jesus wherever he travelled. On the face of it, wherever Jesus went he caused controversy. They witnessed him doing some very unusual things. They saw how he challenged the religious establishment. As one writer says, ‘To be a follower of Jesus is to ride the waves of the Spirit in all kinds of weather, knowing that Jesus is there with you in the boat….that Jesus is near, whether walking on the water toward you, or sleeping there beside you.‘