Luke 2: 22-40
The Presentation
The story of the
Presentation that is illustrated in our Gospel reading this morning is sort of
a mashing together of 3 different events that involved going to the Temple in Jerusalem. The first would
have been the circumcision of the baby which takes place on the eighth day
after the child’s birth. The second is the presentation of the first born male
child to the Lord. The third is the purification of Mary on the 40th
day after giving birth to a male child.
Luke has joined these into one event perhaps to make the story more
compact or to avoid have to tell of them going back and forth to Jerusalem.
In
the recounting of these rituals, Luke is establishing the faithfulness of Mary
and Joseph and their devotion to the Law of Moses as well as the obedience of
Jesus. Indeed, they will go to Jerusalem every year for
Passover. They have already done far more than most, Mary conceiving and
bearing the Christ Child, Joseph keeping her as his betrothed. Their love and
devotion to God is made evident in their acts.
Let
us now look at this man Simeon. He Gospel says that he was ‘Righteous and
devout’, that he was awaiting the consolation of Israel and that the
Holy Spirit was upon him. It does not say specifically, but implies that he has
been waiting for a very long time; so long in fact that the Holy Spirit has
encouraged him by promising that he will not die before seeing the Christ
child. I think though, that Simeon is the kind of man that would have
persevered even without that promise. He has a devotion that is uncommon; he
does not give up on God but trusts God to fulfill His promise, whatever it
takes or however long it takes. Simeon, like Horton (the elephant we heard
about in the Childrens Sermon0) has real
staying power.
Somewhere
I have this vision of poor old Simeon spending every waking hour, standing by
the gate of the Temple, just waiting
for the child to come, but I also think that this would be an unrealistic
scenario. I know that Simeon was a very
devout man, but just a man nonetheless. He was probably a tradesman or merchant
that had his daily needs and responsibilities, probably had a family to support
and care for. In that respect he was just an ordinary person like you or
me. Unlike most of us though, he kept
his ears and mind open to the Holy Spirit, trusting in God to tell him when the
time was right, he never let the daily grind divert him. He was always keeping
that egg warm. That perseverance pays off in the greatest day of his life when
Simeon is able to take that baby from the arms of Mary and hold him and say to
God “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in
peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the
sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to
your people Israel”.
We
should all have that devotion, like the perseverance that Simeon and Horton had.
As
much as he has perseverance, though, Simeon is also a man of perception. In the
Gospel, Luke shows that my vision of Simeon standing like a sentry by the gate
was wrong because when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple, he was not
there. Luke says that “Moved by the Holy Spirit, he went into the temple
courts.” Simeon was able to do this because of his perception of the Holy
Spirit, his being close to and attuned to God. Although most of the time we are
not very good at it we can, like Simeon, develop a Godly perception by being in
tune with the Holy Spirit. We can do this through prayer, by being more in the
word studying the Bible on a regular basis, if not daily. Trying to live our
lives according to the principles set down by that book; really taking to heart the
radical concept of living by love.
Along
with being persevering and perceptive, there is a third “P” word connected with
Simeon. That word is Prophecy. When
Simeon holds Jesus in his arms, he expresses his delight by reciting the words
of the “Nunc Dimittis”, which is the Latin name of the prayer he gives. In
these words Simeon recognizes Jesus as Messiah. At the same time however, he
also says something that will shock other Jews. He reveals that the Christ is
not only for the Chosen people of Israel, but the he will
“be a light for revelation to the Gentiles”. The Jews were expecting an all
conquering Messiah to come, one that would drive the Romans out of the land and
set them free. He was THEIR Messiah and no one else’s. The very thought that
salvation was going to be available to ALL was going to require a fundamental
change in mindset for them. They were discovering something that we deal with
today, that prophecy, the revelation of God, often requires us to change our
preconceptions. The same way that Horton had to change his preconception of babysitting.
Simon goes on to
tell Mary that her son would not be the all conquering hero, but that he will
be a stumbling block for many in Israel and that these
people would reject and revile him. I’m sure that this is not what she wanted
to hear about what was in store for her dear baby boy. Then Simeon goes on to
tell her that “A sword will pierce your own soul too”, foretelling of the
Cross. Here in the very beginning of Jesus’ life, there is a second glimpse of
the Cross, the first being among the gifts of the Magi (Myrrh is a bitter,
aromatic, transparent gum used to embalm the dead). Here, even as we are
celebrating the birth of Jesus, we are at the same time seeing the signs that
will lead to Golgotha.
So,
here are some questions to ponder.
1. How easily do you give up on people or
situations? Is God challenging you to persevere with a certain individual or
group or situation?
2. When was the last time, outside of
Sunday morning, that you drew close to God in prayer or in Bible study? Is this
something you can do in the middle of the week, perhaps with friends?
3. How open are you to change? Is it
something that you embrace, or resist at all costs? Is God calling you today to
radically change your mind about something?
The perseverance
of Simeon is a challenge to us to listen and to believe in God’s word. It seems that what He promises is never going
to come and so we are often wondering when is He going to “produce the goods”?
Simeon is challenging us to be
perceptive, to draw closer to God in regular prayer, Bible study and perhaps
just coming to church every Sunday. Simeon is also challenging us through his
Prophecy to be more open and to change our preconceptions in response to the
prompting and nudging of the Holy Spirit.
Amen!
