Do you find that there are some characters in the Bible that you particularly relate to? That you find attractive? That you wish you were like? One such character for me - and perhaps increasingly so as I get older - is Simeon.
He comes over as such a godly man. The passage we have just read describes him like this:
"He was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel (in other words, to the coming of the Messiah) and the Holy Spirit rested on him."
He was a good and a godly man. So where does he come in to the story of Jesus?
Joseph and Mary were required by Jewish law, 40 days after the birth of Jesus to do 2 things:
1) to present themselves at the Temple, and make a sacrifice for their own purification, following childbirth. The sacrifice required was of a lamb and a pigeon, or, if too poor to afford that, of no lamb but just 2 pigeons. Joseph and Mary were poor, and could only afford the 2 pigeons. So that was the first reason.
2) The second was to present Jesus, their firstborn son, to the Lord; to dedicate Him to God.
So that's why, 40 days after Jesus' birth, Joseph and Mary made the 5 mile journey from Bethlehem to the Temple in Jerusalem. And here they were, in the noisy, pressing crowds. They would have bought their 2 pigeons from one of the Temple traders in the Temple courtyard, ready to go into the Temple itself to offer their sacrifice to the priest.
And it was here in the Temple that they came face to face with this elderly man Simeon, a complete stranger - who reached out, and took the baby Jesus from Mary's arms, and held Him in his arms.
Godly Simeon: 3 godly things about Simeon strike me:
1. His godly patience.
Simeon was a man who lived close to God. And the Holy Spirit, we are told, rested on him. At some time in his life - we don't know how long before - but at some time in the past, the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that before he died he would see the Messiah. And so he had waited. He had waited with godly patience.
It's not easy to wait is it? It's not easy to wait for God to do what He has said He will do. It's not easy to wait for our prayers, our longings, to be answered. God doesn't seem to have given Simeon any clue as to how long he might have to wait. Only the promise that, before he died, he would see the Messiah.
I'm not very good at waiting. We live in a world that is not good at waiting.
We want results now.
We want answers now.
We want action now.
We want things now. Not tomorrow! Now!
We want a new T.V.. So we buy it now, on credit. Or a car. It's only new chairs apparently that involve godly - or ungodly - waiting! Something needs doing - and we rush to do it now. The train is 5 minutes late, and we are pacing the platform and checking our watches. Young people want sex, and they want it now - no question of waiting until you get married. We are a generation in a hurry. A generation that doesn't like to wait.
Henri Nouwen says: "We fill the empty spaces of our lives with busy-ness, with guilt, with worries and fears.
An empty space carries a risk of the unpredictable. Discipline means creating empty spaces in our lives, where God can touch us, speak to us, and lead us to the unpredictable."
Simeon had been told by God that he wouldn't die until he had seen the Messiah. You know, if I had been Simeon, I think I might have thought something like: "The Messiah! Wow! What are we waiting for? I'd better start looking out for Him! Now! What'll He be like? Obviously someone very impressive, someone very powerful, someone charismatic. A king-like figure! I'll start looking for someone like that!" And I'd have probably looked in all the wrong places, at all the wrong people. And I'd have missed Him. He would have passed me by. Or I would have passed Him by.
But Simeon seems to have kept an open mind. In Henri Nouwen's words "an empty space", uncluttered with presumptions and foregone conclusions. Uncluttered with busy-ness and urgency. An empty space where God could touch him, and speak to him, and lead him to the unpredictable. It's what's called "waiting on God".
Being still. Creating space in our lives. Not trying to rush God. Not trying to bump-start Him into doing what we think He should be doing.
I love that phrase "The Holy Spirit rested on Simeon". Even the Holy Spirit was relaxed! God wasn't agitating him; stirring him. No, He was resting on him. We often think of the Holy Spirit in terms of fire and wind - active things, powerful things, driving, moving things. And often the Holy Spirit is like that, and needs to be. But here He is portrayed like a dove. He rested on Simeon. Simeon was prepared to wait. He had godly patience.
2. He had godly perception.
We perhaps tend to imagine the Temple scene, with just Joseph and Mary, holding out the baby Jesus to Simeon, and old Anna hovering in the background
- a scene of calm and peace.
- And then a sort of heavenly Nunc Dimittis soaring to the sky.
That, at least, is how illustrated Bibles often portray it. But of course in reality it was nothing like that.
The Temple precincts were like Paddington Station at rush hour. Crowds coming and going. Temple merchants calling out. Sheep and goats bleating, and pigeons adding to the cacophony. And into this crowded chaos came Joseph and Mary - just one couple amongst many, bringing their babies from all over the country to present to the priest. And yet somehow, in all this chaos, Simeon was right there
- in the right place, at the right time
- and he recognised the right baby
- a 6 week old baby, nothing whatever like the prophecies of the Messiah suggested.
- A tiny baby, born to poor parents, who were carrying just 2 pigeons.
And yet somehow Simeon knew that this was Him! The Promised One! How? How did he know? He knew because he was living close to God. He had made space in his life for God. And the Holy Spirit guided him to Jesus. He just knew - and he took Jesus from Mary's arms, and took Him into his own arms, and he held Him, and praised God.
Godly perception. Godly discernment. Godly intuition.
A rich American, visiting Mother Theresa's work in Calcutta, asked her what motivated her. She replied: "First we meditate on Jesus. Then we go out and look for Him in disguise."
It could be said, that day in the Temple, that the Messiah was "in disguise". A tiny 6 week old baby. How did Simeon know that He was the One? How did he single out that baby from the other babies? Wasn't it because first, perhaps for a long time, he had meditated on Him? First he had made space in his life for God to draw close. For the Holy Spirit to speak. Simeon had godly perception because he walked close to God. The Holy Spirit rested on him.
If you are anything like me you are all too ready, all too quick, to make judgements about people, To come to conclusions about their character. To sum up situations. To express an opinion. But how often is it just me speaking?
And how often is it the wisdom, the discernment of God?
For Simeon it was the Holy Spirit Who led him to the baby Jesus, and Who gave him the insight, the perception, to know that this tiny baby of poor parents was the One who would change the world. Godly patience. Godly perception.
3. He had godly peace.
There is something so beautiful, so accepting, about Simeon's words - what we call the Nunc Dimittis.
"Lord now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word. For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation."
He had seen the Lord Christ. He had held the baby Messiah, the infant Saviour, in his arms. And that was enough!
He felt at complete peace. He was ready to depart whenever God so willed.
There is something very lovely about the serenity, the peace, of acceptance. And it is a peace, a serenity, an acceptance that can only fully come when we meet with our Lord and Saviour. It was St Augustine of Hippo who said: "Lord, You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in You."
Simeon was a man at rest in God. His eyes had seen the Lord, the Christ. And that was enough.
We live in an age when many fear not just death, but fear the process of ageing. Plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery, is a booming industry. Nips and tucks; Botox injections; implants; anti-wrinkle creams; cover-up cosmetics - all attempts to hide the ravishes of time. People lie about their age. But what are we afraid of`? Who are we trying to kid?
Itzhak Perlman, the virtuoso violinist, who was crippled by polio as a child, was once performing at a concert when a string broke on his Stradivarius violin. He quickly borrowed another violin, and played on. At the end of the concert, to a standing ovation, he said: "Our part is to make music with whatever is left!"
Quite a lot of us here this morning have broken strings - maybe several broken strings. We are not quite the people we once were, physically or mentally. But let's not fret about that. Just one thing is needful - and that is to meet with our Saviour. And once we have met Him, and held Him, that is enough. We can then relax. We can make music with whatever is left.
And it's never too late in life to make music. At the end of our reading we heard about Anna, a lady of "great age" it says - 84 in fact! Now how old is that! A lady who worshipped day and night in the Temple. And when she saw the baby Jesus she began to speak about Him to any and everyone who would listen. To witness to Christ at 84!
It's never too late to make music with whatever is left.
Simeon was at peace. And we too can experience that acceptance, that serenity, that godly peace, which he experienced. "Lord now let your servant depart in peace. For my eyes have seen Your salvation."
We can know, however hard the circumstances of life, that, in the words of Mother Julian, "all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." Because our eyes have seen the King, and we have held Him for ourselves - not in our hands, but in our hearts.
Godly patience.
Godly perception.
Godly peace.
The marks of a man or woman on whom the Holy Spirit rested.
May the Holy Spirit rest on you and me. May we, may I grow to be more like Simeon.
David Webster
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