Day 10—Tuesday, December 9

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking 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. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart 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 of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”
Luke 2: 25-32

THE CONSOLATION OF ISRAEL
I can picture Simeon singing Chris Rice’s lyrics:

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You've been promised, we've been waiting
Welcome Holy Child

His lined face, gray hair, and sunken eyes—as shown in Brandl’s painting—are signs that Simeon has shed many tears and had his heart broken many times during his years of waiting. But the light on his face reminds us of what a blessing it is to receive what one has been waiting for!

To me, the most interesting thing about this painting is where Simeon’s gaze is directed. It’s not up to heaven, to the Lord he’s praying to; it’s not down at the baby (“the glory of your people Israel”); but rather, it’s off to the side. It’s as if he has noticed something on the periphery. I believe he is seeing the foreigners, the gentiles. Perhaps they are actually standing in the courtyard or perhaps they are just present in his prophetic mind’s eye, but they stand there with their strange attire, their unpronounceable names, and their unfamiliar religious customs. Simeon sees that they too have “hungry souls” and the Spirit brings to his mind scriptures like Psalm 67 (“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations”). The Spirit then directs his tongue to speak of Jesus being a “Light of revelation to the Gentiles.”

When we see Jesus, do we also see the nations? Do we see the Turks, the Uzbeks, the Fulani, the Arabs, the Pashtun, the Javanese? Jesus may be a “holy stranger” to them, as the song says, but He is the one whom they have been waiting for.

Heavenly Father, for most of us, it is not yet time to depart in peace.  We have some years left on this earth, and they are years that are blessed because we have seen and experienced your salvation and we walk in your light. Thank you, thank you! Help us use this blessing to bless others. Thank you for all the resources which reveal Jesus to us during this season. Help us to remember and serve those people groups who have never heard His saving name. May Jesus not be a stranger to them any longer. Shine the light of revelation on them and on us!
Amen.

Kitty Purgason Ph.D, Department of Applied Linguistics and TESOL