Simeon's Moment

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:22-35

Joseph and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem in obedience to the Law of God. Simeon had been waiting with patient anticipation for this day. The Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would see the Messiah before he died. We aren’t told how this revelation came to him, only that it did and that he believed it and was waiting for it to come to pass.

When he saw Jesus, he knew he was the One.

He took Jesus into his arms and blessed him, saying:

Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation…

This was Simeon’s moment. It was an experience that in one sense, was unique to him. He had been given a personal promise and now it had come to pass. None of us are going to experience what he was blessed to experience. We will not be cradling the infant Christ in our arms.

In another sense, what was true of Simeon can be true of us. While we won’t hold Christ in our arms, we can hold him in our hearts by faith. And like Simeon, when we hold Christ by faith, believing that he is God’s salvation for us, we can face death with peace. We can say with Simeon, that God is letting us depart this life in peace when we embrace Christ by faith.

Simeon’s moment can be our moment as well.

One of my favorite works of art isn’t all that well known. It is a painting by Ron DiCianni called “Simeon’s Moment.” It visually expresses what Simeon probably felt. May we know that kind of joy in our embrace of Jesus.