The mystery of Christmas therefore lays upon us all a debt and an obligation to the rest of men and to the whole created universe.”
–Thomas Merton
“My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.”
–Psalm 62:5 (NKJV)
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I like the story that William J. Petersen wrote, “According to an old story, a traveler walked into a country store in the hills of Kentucky one wintry day in 1809 and asked, ‘Anything new happen around here lately?’ The proprietor almost laughed. ‘Around here, stranger? Nothing happens around here. A baby was born in the Lincoln cabin last night; that’s all.’ Who knows the eventual impact of a life?”
We all need to grasp hold of that truth. Who knows who your life might have influenced? Who knows what you might still do in the remaining years of your life? Simeon knew the value of one life. We see this in his hymn found in Luke 2.
“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just 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. So he came by 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: (25-28)
29 — ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;
30 — For my eyes have seen Your salvation
31 — Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
32 — A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.’
And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, ‘Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of man in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.'” (33-35, NKUV)
A song from his heart, and then a prophecy regarding the Child. Mary and Joseph had brought the baby Jesus to the Temple when He was eight days old, fulfilling the requirements of the law of Moses. Simeon took the Child, sang a little song, then gave a stunning prophecy. “He was standing at the turning point of all history, and he knew it.” (Petersen).
Simeon told it straight. Looking at Mary he said that Jesus would be the cause of whereby many will fall. Think of it! As Barclay said, “It is not so much God who judges a man; a man judges himself; and his judgment is his reaction to Jesus Christ.” There will be a great refusal as well as a great acceptance. The great choice of life: choose Jesus and enter into the Kingdom, reject Him and enter into condemnation. Jesus is the cause by which many will rise. It is Jesus who offers His hand to lift “a man out of the old life and into a new one, out of the sin into the goodness, out of the shame into the glory.” (Barclay) He will meet much opposition. “Towards Jesus there can be no neutrality.” (Barclay)
Mary was told that she would experience great sorrow as a result of her Son. Man’s heart would be revealed, and now the rest of history hangs in the balance of accepting Christ or rejecting Him. This season, celebrate the entry of Jesus into the world and all that it means. Know that your life can never be the same since that day so many years ago–acceptance or rejection, the choice is yours, mine, and everyone else’s. Because of Jesus, nothing else will ever remain the same. One more little side note, that I’m sure that Simeon realized. His death was now imminent. When he held the Child, I’m sure the truth of the Spirit came to him. But it was a gloomy time for Simeon, we see that in his song, and as G. Campbell Morgan states, “For Simeon to hold that baby in his arms was to have death revealed to him, not as dissolution, but as emancipation. The great and glorious fact that would emerge was that Christ has abolished death.”
“Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown
When thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem’s home there was found no room
For they holy nativity:
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for thee.”
–Emily E.S. Elliott