“The
Song of Simeon”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen.
The events of today’s
Gospel Reading took place 40 days after Jesus’ birth.
And so these events are traditionally commemorated by the church today,
40 days after the celebration of his birth on December 25th, with the festival
of The Presentation of Our Lord on February 2nd.
According to Old
Testament ceremonial law, giving birth to a boy caused a woman to be
ceremonially unclean for a period of 40 days.
During that time she would remain in semi-seclusion.
At the end of this 40 day period, mother and son would come to the
Temple, for the presentation of the baby boy to the Lord, and to offer a
sacrifice for the mother’s ceremonial purification.
And so, 40 days after
Jesus’ birth, Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus travel about six miles north from
Bethlehem to the Temple in Jerusalem, about like going from here to Paola.
A big surprise awaits them there.
For, as they enter the
Temple courts, the Holy Family is greeted by the aged Simeon.
He was a faithful believer in the Lord’s promise to send a Savior, and we
are told, “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die
before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” A life of waiting, watching, wondering,
and hoping. How would he recognize the Lord’s Christ, the promised Messiah and
Savior of the world? When would this
moment come? When would he die?
Our text is “The Song
of Simeon” from today’s Gospel Reading in the second chapter of St. Luke.
“The Song of Simeon” is sung by us in our liturgy after receiving Holy
Communion. In the liturgy it is
named after its first two words in Latin, “Nunc Dimittis,” which means, “Now
dismiss.”
“Lord, now let your
servant depart in peace according to your word.
For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the
sight of every people: A light to reveal you to the nations, and the glory of
your people Israel.”
Luke tells us, “Now
there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was
waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.”
“The consolation of Israel” is another way of saying the Messiah, the
promised Savior. That is why Simeon
was a “righteous” man in the sight of God. Not because he was somehow perfect or
sinless or holy in and of himself.
As St. Paul says in Romans, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
. . . there is no one righteous, not
even one.” And as St. John says, “If
we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
But, Simeon was righteous in the sight of God because he had faith in the
Messiah, he trusted God’s promise to send the Savior of the world.
That is how people were
saved in Old Testament times: They were saved through faith in the Messiah, the
promised Messiah who was to come.
That is also how you are saved: Through faith in the Messiah, the promised
Messiah who has come, whose birth into the flesh 2,000 years ago we celebrated
at Christmas.
“Fear not,” said the
angel to the shepherds, “For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the
Lord.” Through faith in the Messiah,
Simeon was forgiven all his sins and declared righteous in the sight of God.
Through faith in the Messiah, you are forgiven all your sins and declared
righteous in the sight of God. As
St. Peter says in Acts, “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of
sins through his name.”
“It had been revealed
to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s
Christ.” Luke doesn’t actually say
that Simeon is as old man, but from these words we have the picture of an aged
man who is approaching death. Simeon
has somehow received a special promise from the Lord that before he dies he will
see the Lord’s Christ, before he dies the Messiah he trusts in will be born.
“Moved by the Spirit,
he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to
do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and
praised God.” To the other people
gathered in the temple that day, Mary and Joseph were just one of many couples
waiting to offer the customary sacrifice of purification 40 days after
childbirth; and Jesus was just one of many firstborn male babies waiting to be
consecrated to the Lord, also required by the Old Testament law.
Moved by the Spirit, Simeon recognizes Mary as the Mother of our Lord;
and he recognizes the baby Jesus as the consolation he has been waiting for, the
promised Messiah, the Savior of the world.
“Simeon took him in his
arms and praised God, saying: ‘Lord, now let your servant depart in peace
according to your word.’” Simeon is
saying that he is now ready to depart from this life; he is now ready, prepared,
to die. And why is Simeon ready to
die? “For my eyes have seen your
salvation.” Simeon is ready to die
because the promised Savior has come.
That was the
significance of Christ’s birth for
Simeon: Because Jesus was born, Simeon is prepared to die.
That is also the significance of Christ’s birth for you: Because Jesus
was born, you are prepared to die.
“Lord, now let your
servant depart in peace.”
Emotionally, the thought of dying may still be full of trepidation for you,
because death is something unknown, and it is natural for us humans to have a
fear of the unknown. But
spiritually, you depart this life in peace, trusting the promises of Jesus:
“Whoever believes in me, even though he dies, yet shall he live”; “In my
Father’s house are many rooms; I am going there to prepare a place for you . . .
I will come and take you to be with me”; “Today, you will be with me in
paradise.”
“Lord, now let your
servant depart in peace according to your word.
For my eyes have seen your salvation.”
That is why “The Song of Simeon” occurs where it does in our liturgy,
after the reception of Holy Communion.
Just as Simeon was prepared to die after taking Christ in his arms, you
are spiritually prepared to die after receiving in the Sacrament Christ’s body
and blood for the forgiveness of your sins, an assurance from the Lord of your
eternal salvation.
“Lord, now let your
servant depart in peace according to your word.
For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the
sight of every people: A light to reveal you to the nations, and the glory of
your people Israel.” It was the
glory of the people of Israel that the Messiah was born of their race.
But, Jesus came as the Savior of all people, both Hebrew and Gentile.
Everyone is included in Jesus’ love and forgiveness, including you.
As St. John says, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only
for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” And as the familiar John
3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
“Lord, now let your
servant depart in peace according to your word.
For my eyes have seen your salvation.”
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