: The core meaning of Christmas is faith and hope. To understand this, we need to put ourselves into the time and place of the faithful Jews of Israel who understood God's promise of the coming Messiah who would suffer and die for the salvation of Israel and the world. They had faith and hope in the promises of God about the incarnation of Jesus into this mess of humanity to bring redemption, forgiveness, new life, and new purpose by faith in Him. In this passage written by Dr. Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we meet two people of faith who trusted God's promise of the Messiah. We will learn valuable faith lessons from Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna.