Perhaps my favorite character in the narrative of
the season is the man Simeon.
Luke tells us that,
"there was a man in Jerusalem
called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the
consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had
been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had
seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by
the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the
child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon
took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all
nations :
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother
marveled at what was said about him."
What strikes me to the core in the passage, is in
the 28th verse.
Simeon takes God the very God into his feeble
arms... God in his arms. In a moment of ecstatic doxology he utters his
infinite praise to the Father, who has fulfilled his precious promise to him.
Waiting for consolation, he knew that Christ would be his final earthly comfort.
Wearied by the present age, I think in some ways,
we are all awaiting such a consolation in Christ. A moment to see, and be seen
by God in the flesh. An advent of our own; when either Christ will come, or we
will go. When at last, our cups will be full, and our hearts free. And the cares of this life, an ever fading and distant memory of a life that once was.
So may we be reminded by this season to often look
towards the eastern sky, awaiting a moment like Simeon's. A moment when our own
arms, and our own eyes will be filled with the wonders of Jesus.
