At this time of the days after Christmas, it is good to look at the Canticle of Simeon. Simeon was an obedient, God-loving older man who was used by God in an incredible way, and was then able to die a peaceful man.

Following a time of ritual isolation after the birth of a son, a custom of the day, Mary and Joseph went up to the Temple to receive purification, offer a sacrifice of thanks to God for the gift of their son, and dedicate their child to God. They went to the Temple, the place where God ¢â‚¬â„¢s presence ceremonially dwelt. And there they met Simeon. Simeon was probably not a priest, but a lay person  ¢â‚¬“ someone like you and I. It says in Luke 2:25, that he was righteous  ¢â‚¬“ good living, knowledgeable of the Torah, pure in motives – as were Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, Elizabeth, and the Scripture also uses this word in reference to Joseph of Arimathea. So Simeon was pure in his relationship with people. It goes on to say he was also devout  ¢â‚¬“ which means he had a very close relationship with God. Simeon was a man who is a model for us all. We are all called to be righteous and devout like Simeon, even in the midst of a wicked generation like that of Simeon ¢â‚¬â„¢s era.

At the time of our Lord ¢â‚¬â„¢s birth the Jews mainly divided into two divisions. There were those who were restless, tired of waiting for the promised Messiah and ready to fight, anxious for some victor to arrive and save them. But in contrast there were a few Jews who were known as  ¢â‚¬Å“the quiet in the land. ¢â‚¬  They had no dreams to fight or use power or domination or violence. Instead they believed in a life of quiet prayer and constant watchfulness until God appeared. All their lives they waited patiently and quietly upon God, waiting for what was called the consolation of Israel, which meant the one who would comfort the Jewish people. and the Messiah who would bring them salvation, which Isaiah speaks about.   Simeon was one of those  ¢â‚¬Å“quiet in the land ¢â‚¬    – in prayer, in worship, in humble and faithful expectation he too was waiting for the day when God would bring comfort to his people. God had promised Simeon through the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen this Saviour, this Messiah, this Star of the house of Jacob.

Simeon was a holy, patient man. He waited with hope in a period of spiritual drought. Simeon waited by praying, by walking with the Lord, looking to God and not to circumstances. Simeon walked with God, filled with the Spirit. This gift of the Spirit was before the actual coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. Interesting! In verse 27 it says that Simeon was  ¢â‚¬Ëœprompted by the Holy Spirit ¢â‚¬â„¢ to go up to the Temple church that day. How he experienced that prompting we don ¢â‚¬â„¢t know. But for many of us, we can tell when the Spirit is leading us to do something specific. We may get a sense of urgency about it, or perhaps a thought which comes totally out of the blue and catches us on the hop, but at the same time seems to sit right, or perhaps we are given a desire to do something. There are many ways in which the Spirit can prompt us, but it is only as we obey these promptings that we start to be able to tell whether it is from the Spirit or not. If we keep obeying the promptings, each time they get a bit easier to pick up, and we can become much more easily aware of what God wants for us to do. But it takes time and patience. So Simeon had obviously been a patient and long-time listener to God for him to just  ¢â‚¬Ëœknow ¢â‚¬â„¢ that this sense to go to the Temple was a movement or prompting by the Spirit. It is important for us, too, to live in this way, so we can be used as an instrument of God in our world, our families, our church. To live is this way is a call for all of us in this New Year.

Simeon went up to the temple, and waited in the outer temple. He would have been highly likely to have gone to the inner temple which is where the Jewish men gathered, however Simeon loitered in the outer temple, where Jews, non Jews, along with both women and men were allowed to go. He knew God had nudged him to go to the temple, so her was waiting there, prayerfully listening to how God might use him. Enter the young couple, Mary and Joseph, along with their baby Jesus and the two birds they were bringing to sacrifice. Simeon went up to them. It is interesting to note that he, as an older man, a senior citizen, was willing to immediately go up to this new couple in his church, this new young couple. He did not wait for someone more age appropriate to welcome them. Let us, too, be cheerful welcomers to new people who come to our church, no matter what their age or situation is in life.

We see in Luke 2:28 that Simeon met the Holy Family, that he not only saw the little baby but took him in his arms. In one version it says that before Simeon said a word, he took the infant into his arms.

What do you imagine Simeon saw that so motivated him to pick up this little baby before even speaking with the young parents who had just wandered into the Temple, completely unknown to him?

Can you imagine what Simeon saw as her gazed upon this little baby, about six weeks old, a little Middle Eastern boy with black hair, olive skin and darkest of eyes? Jesus was a baby boy like all the others in many ways.

Can you imagine how that Godly man felt at that moment?

What a privilege was his?

So Simeon took hold of Jesus. Do we reach out and take hold of Jesus, bringing him close to us, or do we hold Jesus back at a safe distance, a little remote from ourselves? This is a challenge  ¢â‚¬“ for all of us to take hold of Jesus again in this New Year, perhaps for the first time, and to hold him close. Simeon gazing upon Jesus, taking the time to absorb what was happening inside himself and this is something we are all called to do. How are we doing at that? Could this New Year be the time, the right time, for us to prioritize quality times to simply be with God? To be like Simeon, and to look at Jesus ¢â‚¬â„¢ face and gaze upon his loveliness? There are so many beautiful qualities embodied in Jesus, and to sit and recall them, and stay with that quality for a time, brings such gratitude in our hearts we cannot help but feel blessed and valued. I encourage you to spend quality time each day on the character of Jesus  ¢â‚¬“ his kindness, faithfulness, forgiveness, simplicity, openness, honesty, gentleness, peacefulness. I could go on for there are so many. Sometimes we can get a bit stuck or one or two qualities. If that ¢â‚¬â„¢s the case, there are many books which speak on the character of Jesus. I encourage you, in this New Year, to buy one, and see what other characteristics you can explore with Jesus as you contemplate his beauty and majesty.

Simeon looked upon this little baby and the Spirit of God gifted him with a word of knowledge. Suddenly he knew, he absolutely knew, that this baby was the promised Messiah. He knew that this little baby was the promised one who would bring comfort to his people, and to him personally. Simeon would have recalled some of the words spoken about this Promised One  ¢â‚¬“ that he would bring beauty for ashes, release for captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and that he would heal, forgive, protect, shield and guide. Can we imagine what that would have been like for Simeon?

This word of knowledge was spectacular in every way, yet we, too, in our own journey with God, can feel the touch of the Spirit gifting us with a word of knowledge? It will be a word about something you normally would not have known. How does it feel in your being? Perhaps you get a tingling down your spine, or maybe you feel hot, or you shake, or your eyelids flutter. Or maybe you notice your heart pounds. There are physical signs usually of the working of the Spirit in our lives like Simeon experienced. If you have never had this feeling, then I ¢â‚¬â„¢d like to invite you to ask the Holy Spirit to fill you so that he can use you. Closing my eyes often helps me to listen to the Spirit. So whatever it was or however Simeon experienced it, he KNEW that the Spirit was revealing to him something extraordinary as he gazed upon this little one, the baby Jesus. Paul encourages us to earnestly desire the gifts of the Spirit, so perhaps this is something you may feel led to pray for during this New Year.

Then Simeon spoke out the word which the Spirit had given him. This word came in what we would call a prophecy. This was no ordinary word. If he was wrong this was going to be terribly damaging to tell a young couple something about their newborn which was not true. They would be devastated later on when they found out he had been wrong. But Simeon spoke out anyway. He showed enormous courage. It would have been far easier for him to say nothing. But his allegiance to God was so strong that he was prepared to risk everything in order to say what the Spirit was showing him to say. He must have been astonished and amazed himself, as no-one, not even Simeon, was expecting the Messiah to arrive as a baby. So once again we see Simeon obeyed the leading of the Lord, stepped out on a limb really, and made this incredible pronouncement over baby Jesus. Simeon ¢â‚¬â„¢s prophetic statement   has become known as Simeon ¢â‚¬â„¢s canticle, or the nunc dimittis, which was a song sung by the early church originally, and has been sung in churches ever since, usually in the evening. This word was just so important, then and now!

“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel”.

Sometimes we may also be given a word from the Lord for someone. There are some safety tests which we need to be aware of before we speak out a word. It will always be a positive word. It will always encourage, affirm, build up and enrich the person to whom we are speaking. God never asks us to rebuke someone or point out faults. That ¢â‚¬â„¢s the work of the Spirit. It ¢â‚¬â„¢s easy to remember this little adage: We affirm; God ¢â‚¬â„¢s Spirit convicts. So we never speak out a word which will drag someone down or condemn them in any way. A prophecy is a gift given to us by God for a person at a specific time, and is usually something we have no way of knowing in our human selves.

So Simeon announces that this babe, Jesus, is to be God ¢â‚¬â„¢s salvation plan. Also, that he would be  ¢â‚¬Å“a light to the Gentiles ¢â‚¬  and  ¢â‚¬Å“a glory for ¢â‚¬  the people of Israel. Jesus came not only as the Promised One of the Old Testament covenant people but to every ethnic group, every tribe, every language, every religion, and every sexual orientation on the face of the earth. God ¢â‚¬â„¢s rich grace and mercy, forgiveness and new life are an announcement to the whole world. Simeon ¢â‚¬â„¢s prophetic word brought incredible encouragement to Mary, to Joseph, to himself and also to another elderly person in the Temple at that time  ¢â‚¬“ Anna, who was also praying and waiting for the coming Messiah.

Simeon met and encountered the Christ, the real, living Saviour of himself and the whole world. Have each one of us embraced Christ? Have we fully taken hold of Jesus as our Saviour, as our deliverer, as our redeemer? For we all need to make this vital discovery. We all need to come to this point in our lives. Maybe this New Year is the year to embrace, or more fully embrace Jesus, and to know him as our own true Lord. For this is the most important task we are called to do in life. Simeon spoke  ¢â‚¬“  ¢â‚¬Å“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace ¢â‚¬ .

When, and only when we encounter Christ and declare him to be our Saviour, can we find rest. Life is all about clamour for more, the restless wanting and longing for something extra to what we have. We cannot simply BE content. Until, that is, we meet with Jesus. THEN we can find the peace we need. Then we can be content with what we have. Then we can cease our striving and our driven-ness. For finally our inner soul, our secret centre, is at home, it is finally able to settle. Also for Simeon, once he had encountered Jesus, the Saviour of the world, he felt at peace. Many of us here will be able to testify that when they first accepted Jesus they too, had a wonderful gift of peace, sent from above. St Augustine famously said,  ¢â‚¬Å“O Lord, our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you. ¢â‚¬ 

Simeon realized he was now content to die. We prepare for our eternal rest by turning to Jesus. Not that we want to die, or are planning to die, however we are able to achieve a certain peace that no matter if or when we die, we will have Jesus by our side. And that provides us with an amazing serenity in the face of death. Preparing for our death is a healthy and responsible thing to do. Not that we want to finish it all now, but putting in place our affairs and letting our families or close friends be aware of our desires at and after our end on this earth, are healthy things to do. Maybe this New Year is the year for you to put your affairs in order; to notify those who are important of your wishes. Some of us do this with a sense of anxiety and worry, yet remember Simeon. He was, after meeting his Saviour, able to die a peaceful man. He was ready to die whenever the call came. We don ¢â‚¬â„¢t know, Simeon may have lived many more years. However he was an old man, and probably had only a few more years until he did enter Heaven ¢â‚¬â„¢s gates.

The reason he was now ready to die a peaceful man, was because all at once Simeon realised that God ¢â‚¬â„¢s promises were true, and this meant that his promises about heaven were also going to be true. Simeon was given a glimpse of the end of the story  ¢â‚¬“ he would be saved and redeemed. He would have known Daniel ¢â‚¬â„¢s prophecy, that Jesus would bring authority, glory and sovereign power; that all peoples, nations and men of every language would worship him. That his dominion would be an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will  never  be destroyed.

  We have even more reasons to be at peace, because we have the NT revelations about heaven as well, to read and hold dear  ¢â‚¬“ that we will see Jesus as he is, that we will be changed to be like him, we will have all sorrow and trouble swept away, every pain healed and every grief will dissolve. We have so much to look forward to! And this, this ultimate salvation will affect us all. For every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. This, only this, will take away our restlessness and give our life true meaning, true peace.

So on this day, can we also say what Simeon pronounced:

Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, you came to the earth in your First Advent and we know you will come again, in perfect timing at the Second Advent. Please come into our lives today. We ask that you will empty us of the muck and blockages in our lives and fill us with your Spirit, like you did with Simeon. We ask that you will teach us the prompting of your Spirit, and give us courage to obey. We pray that you will help us to be willing to spend quality time, waiting on you and simply enjoying you, gazing upon your beauty and loveliness, the Holy One. Grant us the gift of prophecy like Simeon had, so that we may encourage and inspire others with wonderful words of warmth from you. And grant us courage to speak out boldly what we believe you would have us say. Work out your holy plan in each of our lives and bring us too, like Simeon, to a place of peace about our dying, for we know the true end to this story called life. And so may we worship you, Son of God, Son of Man, Lord of Life, Saviour of the World, now and for eternity. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

2012. Christine M. Jones.

Email:  [email protected].au

This message was given on January 9^th, 2013, at St Paul ¢â‚¬â„¢s Anglican Church in Boronia, Victoria, Australia.