"And when the time came for their purification
according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him
to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every male who
first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") and to offer a
sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, "a pair of
turtledoves, or two young pigeons." Now there was a man in Jerusalem,
whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the
consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been
revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had
seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the
parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of
the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
"Lord,
now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have
prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people
Israel."
And his father
and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and
said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and
rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own
soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed." Luke
2:22-35 ESV
According to Exodus
13:2. God required a ritual sacrifice
for all the first born children of Israel. It was a way to indicate that the
family and the child were dedicated to God.
A lamb was the preferred sacrifice, but if the family could not afford a
lamb two turtledoves could be substituted.
Simeon, an aging
prophet, had been waiting for them in the temple. He had never met Jesus, but he knew they were
coming, because God had revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. He was told he
would not die before he saw the Messiah with his own eyes. When He saw the
Christ Child, he broke into song. After
he held him in his arms, he was ready to
go. His life wish had been fulfilled.
Do you have a life
wish? Is there something you have desired for a long time? God does not give
everyone the same privilege of seeing their life wish fulfilled. Simeon did not
see Jesus until he was a very old. We do not know when God first spoke to this
prophecy to him, and how long he had to wait. He may have been waiting his
entire life.
But even so, Simeon
never gave up hope. Even in old age, he knew that he God would fulfill His
promise.
Simeon displayed
that hope in three ways--prayer, praise and presence.
He never stopped
praying for an answer. We often stop praying before God can answer. As we are
praying the answer may already on the way.
He never stopped
praising God either. Praise is the
recitation of the attributes of God. When our faith fails, it is really our
concept of God that fails. We tend to forget that God is all powerful, that He
loves us, and that He works on a much larger time scale than we do. When God doesn't give us what we want in a
time that seems long enough to our feeble human brains, we think God has
forgotten us. In reality, it is us who
have forgotten who God is. Simeon
expressed his hope by daily worshipping and praising God in the temple. This
praise was on one hand an expression of his faith, but on the other hand, it
was an act which encouraged and strengthened his faith. God never changes, but our faith does. Praising Him helps keep our faith alive.
Finally Simeon was a
presence in the temple every day. He never stopped showing up to worship, even
when day after day he must have gone home disappointed. Some days it must have been hard for this old
man to drag himself daily to the temple, but he never stopped coming. When Jesus finally came, Simeon was there to
meet Him. What if Simeon had decided that day he was too old to come? Then
Simeon would have missed what he was waiting for his whole life.
There is no
guarantee that we will get exactly what we want out of life. But there is a one
hundred percent guarantee that if we give up seeking or working, or hoping that
we won't get it. If we hold fast to God,
we may not get the blessing we expect, but we will get the blessing we want and
need.
Don't give up on
life, no matter how old or discouraged you may be. As long as you breathe there
is hope that God will reveal wonders to you.
"Father, let us see our promised salvation. We
thank you for showing us Jesus, who is the source of all blessings. Grant us
the strength of mind and the courage of heart to keep seeking, hoping, praying
and working to see your promised glory. In Jesus' name. Amen. "
