Mary and Joseph understood that this boy, now called Yeshua -- or Jesus as we call him -- was going to grow up and be the promised Messiah. Since the Messiah or Savior was coming to bring salvation to the Jews, they wanted to be sure that he would be acceptable to all Jews, not just some. Mary and Joseph were probably Essenes, a Jewish sect that had several groups within it from the monastic, almost militant-minded Essenes at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls came from, to the pastoral, family-oriented Essenes who founded the small village of Nazareth far in the north. The Essenes were mainly vegetarians, although they did eat some meat such as fish, but they not believe in animal sacrifice. This separated them from the Jews of Jerusalem where the Temple made big business of selling sacrificial animals at higher than normal prices. The Essenes also shared their property... so that individual Essenes did not have much in material possessions.

So when Mary and Joseph went to the temple to dedicate their first born son to God, they wanted to do it correctly while still maintaining their own beliefs. The Jewish law at Jerusalem said that a animal must be sacrificed as an offering to God in place of their son. The preferred animal was a sheep, just as a ram had been sacrificed by Abraham in place of his first born son, Issac. (Remember that story?) But if the family was poor and could not afford a lamb, then they could purchase two doves or pigeons. This also served as a way to control the pigeons in the city. So, Mary and Joseph could satisfy the Jewish law while offending their own beliefs the least, attributing the sacrifice to a necessary evil.

But today’s scripture is not about pigeons or sacrifice. It is about the two people whom they met on their way to dedicate their son to God’s purpose:

Simeon, a very old man, was very righteous and devout -- a quiet man and upset with what had happened to his country over his lifetime. He prayed that God would do something to make Israel whole once more, since it was split up into different sections, ruled by different people. In his prayers, God had promised him that something was being done -- The long awaited savior had been born and because of Simeon’s faithfulness, he would be allowed to see the messiah-- not as a grown man, but as a baby. So Simeon went to the temple area while guided by the Holy Spirit. And, through the Holy Spirits guidance, was able to pick out Jesus as the newborn Messiah. He also knew, though Spirit, that Jesus would be the crowning glory for the Jewish people, and that even the non-Jews would learn about God through what Jesus would do.

Simeon also prophesied about the coming troubles as those who were deceiving both themselves and the people would have their deceptions revealed to all, and that Mary would feel as though a sword was used to cut her own soul in two when she saw her son crucified and dying.

And if that was not enough, another person, Anna, a prophetess of 84 years old came and began telling everyone who would listen that this child was the promised messiah.

Mary and Joseph, not wanting to bring too much attention to themselves or to Jesus at this early stage in his life, were probably upset and maybe scared. So, instead of staying there at Bethlehem, they left Jerusalem and traveled to Nazareth so they could raise Yeshua in relative quiet.

But they did not realize what was in store for them in the coming months. Herod would attempt to kill the child, and they would be forced to travel to Egypt to get away from Herod. Their job was to raise God’s son to manhood -- a difficult enough job for normal parents and children... even more difficult when the child was the Son of God. But that was their purpose in life, and they took it seriously.

Do we even know what our purpose in life is? Maybe we have one purpose, or maybe we have multiple purposes. Have you ever asked God what your purpose is? Have you ever asked Him to reveal it to you? And once you find that purpose, how seriously have you taken it?

The encounters with Anna and Simeon only strengthened Mary and Joseph’s assurance of their purpose. When you spend time daily with God, praying and then listening for God’s answers to your prayers (Meditating) you will discover your purpose and be led as to how to accomplish it. In this coming new Year, let us make the resolution to seek our purpose from God and, once we have found it, then to seek the best way to accomplish it. Let that be your New Year Resolution... one that you dare not fail to keep.