When Wisdom Meets Hope Simeon, Anna and Revolutionary Recognition A reflection on Luke 2:25 38 on the Daily Bible refresh with Dr.

Brad Miller hello my good friend.

Welcome to Daily Bible Refresh with Dr.

Brad Miller.

That's me.

Thank you for joining me in my quest to get the audible word of God into 2 million years.

That's a million people by 2028.

We do so by a daily reading from the New Testament, the Message version.

We make it understandable in that way, relatable.

And as much as we have some points to ponder, to think about and applicable, we have some action steps for you to follow.

We use the Revised Common Lectionary for a daily reading.

We're in year C of a three year cycle in the Easter tide season and we do all of this in under 10 minutes or so.

It's all brought to you by voiceofgoddaily.com that's our website where we offer to you the free resource the ABC123 Bible Study Guide.

Let's get into the reading for today from the Gospel of Luke 2:25 38 Reading from the Message In Jerusalem at the time there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel when the Holy Spirit was on him.

The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died and led by the Spirit he entered the temple as the parents of the child Jesus brought him to carry out the rituals of the law.

Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God.

God, you can now release your servant.

Release me in peace as you promised.

With my own eyes I have seen your salvation.

It's now out in the open for everyone to see a God revealing light to the non Jewish nations and of glory for your people Israel.

Jesus, father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words.

Simeon went on to bless them and said to Mary his mother, this child marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel.

A figure misunderstood and contradictory.

The pain of a sword thrust through you, but the rejection will force honesty as God reveals who they really are.

Anna the prophetess was also there.

A daughter of Faniel from the tribe of Asher, she was by now a very old woman.

She had been married seven years and a widow for 84.

She never left the temple area, worshiping night and day with her fasting and and prayers.

At the very time Simeon was praying she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God and talked about the child to all whom were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.

H well, what a great and interesting reading for for today.

It really talks about the bridging of generations, about challenging expectations, and really about a modern understanding of the spiritual discernments of social justice.

Here's three points to ponder.

Number one is the revolutionary nature of recognition.

Simeon and Anna's ability to recognize the divine in an ordinary birth of a baby from a working class family challenges our assumptions about where we may find God today.

In our time, this might mean seeing the sacred and unexpected places in protest movements, in marginalized communities, or in the faces of refugees and immigrants.

Their recognition reminds us that God often works through those whom society overlooks.

A second point is about the prophetic voice of the elderly.

Both Simeon and Nana were elderly, yet they were the ones who recognized the revolutionary potential in this child.

In our youth obsessed culture.

This text reminds us to honor and amplify the voices of our elders, especially those who have spent their lives in pursuit of justice and transformation.

Anna, as a woman prophet, particularly represents voices that patriarchal systems have often silenced.

A third point, the pain of transformation.

Simeon's words to Mary about the sword thrust through her heart speaks to the cost of transformative change in a progressive understanding.

This reminds us that working for justice and social change, transformation often comes with personal cost and sacrifice.

And yet this pain serves a purpose, forcing honesty and revealing a true heart.

Here's your action step.

Seek out an elderly person in your community or in your house of worship, particularly someone who's been involved with some sort of justice work or societal transformation.

Spend some time listening to his or her story and their wisdom.

Ask them what they see in today's movements for justice and change and document their insights in some way, writing video, audio, sharing it with others.

Ways to do that.

We'll pray in just a moment, but I did want to remind you that we do have a great resource that will help you in your daily Bible study yourself.

Hope that you go pick it up.

Please just go over to voiceofgoddaily.com that's our website and the resource is the ABC 123 Bible Study Guide.

It will help you in your everyday spiritual disciplines of reading the Bible.

Here's our closing prayer.

Oh God, you are a divine presence who speaks through unexpected voices.

Open our eyes just like Simeon and Anna's eyes to see your movement in unexpected places.

Give us courage to speak truth like the prophets, even when that truth disrupt comes disrupts comfort.

Help us to honor the wisdom of our elders and the fresh vision of the young when change brings pain.

Remind us that transformation requires honest reckoning.

And may we like Anna, never tire of proclaiming hope and like Simeon, recognize your presence in the society nails in society who often overlooks and in the spirit of revolutionary love.

Amen.

Well my friend, it is so good to be with you.

I hope that you'll join me again tomorrow morning.

We usually drop these episodes before 6am Eastern Time.

You can pick them up anytime of course at all the podcast directives, Apple podcasts, Spotify all the places.

Hope that you'll join us.

We have a mission to get the audible word of God into two million years, a million, a million people by 2028.

You can help us by joining us, subscribing and inviting a friend to do just the same.

Until then, this is Dr.

Brad Millard with an encouragement that Remember that God's loyal love doesn't run out.

His merciful love hasn't dried up, it's created new every morning.