December 27: Simeon Beholds God's Salvation
♫ Music:
Day 30 - Monday, December 27
Title: SIMEON BEHOLDS GOD’S SALVATION
Scripture: Luke 2:25-28
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, Simeon took Him up in his arms and blessed God.
Poetry:
A Song for Simeon
by T.S. Eliot
Lord, the Roman hyacinths are blooming in bowls
and
The winter sun creeps by the snow hills;
The stubborn season has made stand.
My life is light, waiting for the death wind,
Like a feather on the back of my hand.
Dust in sunlight and memory in corners
Wait for the wind that chills towards the dead
land.
Grant us thy peace.
I have walked many years in this city,
Kept faith and fast, provided for the poor,
Have taken and given honour and ease.
There went never any rejected from my door.
Who shall remember my house, where shall live
my children’s children
When the time of sorrow is come?
They will take to the goat’s path, and the fox’s
home,
Fleeing from the foreign faces and the foreign
swords.
Before the time of cords and scourges and
lamentation
Grant us thy peace.
Before the stations of the mountain of desolation,
Before the certain hour of maternal sorrow,
Now at this birth season of decease,
Let the Infant, the still unspeaking and unspoken
Word,
Grant Israel’s consolation
To one who has eighty years and no tomorrow.
According to thy word,
They shall praise Thee and suffer in every
generation
With glory and derision,
Light upon light, mounting the saints’ stair.
Not for me the martyrdom, the ecstasy of thought
and prayer,
Not for me the ultimate vision.
Grant me thy peace.
(And a sword shall pierce thy heart,
Thine also).
I am tired with my own life and the lives of those
after me,
I am dying in my own death and the deaths of
those after me.
Let thy servant depart,
Having seen thy salvation.
SIMEON BEHOLDS GOD’S SALVATION
Everyone hates to wait. If you want to see this truth in action, spend some time at the baggage carousels at LAX. You see the vacant stare of people waiting. The waiting of Advent is of a different kind, however. If we look at the story of Simeon, we begin to see a different kind of waiting.
Simeon is an obscure character. He shows up at the dedication of Jesus, and then he disappears from history. Simeon is righteous and devout. He is led by the Spirit. In fact, Luke mentions the Spirit three times in three verses. Notice too, that Simeon is not a temple official. He is not a priest, nor is he a member of the Pharisees. He is an ordinary, faithful follower of God. What was he waiting for?
We are told that Simeon was “waiting for the Consolation of Israel.”
The word for “waiting” in these verses carries the notion of waiting in expectation. There is waiting–as when we wait for our luggage at LAX. And there is waiting with expectation–as when a bride wakes on the morning of her wedding or a person waits for her friend to arrive from out of town. Waiting in expectation. The word for waiting has the connotation of welcoming.
When Simeon sees Jesus, he “took Him up in his arms.” The word for “take” is the word for expectant waiting. Simeon waited in expectation and welcomed Him in his arms.
We welcome what we wait for in expectation. We welcome our spouse on our wedding day. We welcome our friend after a long absence. Simeon waited and welcomed.
Simeon lived on the boundary between two ages. He lived in the age of longing and waiting. He waited for the redemption of Jerusalem and the consolation of Israel. He did not know the shape of God’s redemption….That it led to and through the cross. He did know that it would penetrate deeply into the souls of people.
He also lived in the age of fulfillment. The Holy Spirit had promised Simeon that he would see with his own eyes the Messiah. He recognized in this baby that the promise of God had been fulfilled. God was here: Emmanuel! He now held in his hands everything for which he had longed. He gazed into the eyes of the promise.
Simeon waited and welcomed the fulfillment of God’s plan. What is it I am waiting for?
In Advent, we too inhabit the boundary between the promise and the fulfillment. First, in Advent we rehearse the anticipation of the first coming of Jesus. Jesus came. Next, Advent stirs our present anticipation of the second coming of Jesus. Jesus will come again. Third, Advent reminds us to anticipate and to pursue the coming of Jesus to us today. Emmanuel means God with us! Jesus is with us here and now.
Advent is the season of waiting. What are we waiting for? We are waiting for Jesus. We wait for His presence through His Spirit. We wait for his work in and through our lives. We wait and we expect. God with us: here, now, forever.
Prayer:
Lord, help us celebrate your coming to us in your Incarnation with joyful celebration. Help us wait for your presence here and now with joyful expectation. Help us look for your coming again in joyful anticipation.
Amen and Amen!
Devotion Author:
Dr. Greg E. Ganssle
Professor of Philosophy
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, poetry, and devotional writer selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
Simeon Blessing the Christ Child
Severino Blanco
c. 1980s
After Mary had fulfilled the forty-day ritual of purification after giving birth, she and Joseph took the infant Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem for the ceremonial dedication of a male firstborn child in obedience to the Torah (Leviticus 12, Exodus 13:12–15, etc.). Upon bringing Jesus into the temple, they encountered Simeon, who had been promised that "he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ" (Luke 2:26). Simeon then uttered the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, which prophesied the redemption of the world by Jesus: "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 presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel" (Luke 2:29–32). Severino Blanco, a Bolivian Christian artist, was commissioned by Father Manfred Rau, a Jesuit missionary from Germany, to create paintings for the interior of the chapel of the Casa del Catequista (CADECA), a training center for catechists. Blanco chose to render the figures as indigenous people in the traditional homespun clothing of the humble people living in the Andean Highland of South America. The vibrant colors and Quechuan designs help make the biblical account more relatable to the Quechuan and Aymaran people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentation_of_Jesus_at_the_Temple
About the Music #1:
“Simeon's Song” from the album Luke: A World Turned Upside Down
Lyrics:
An old man in the temple
Waiting in the court
Waiting for the answer to a promise
And all at once he sees them
In the morning sunshine
A couple come and carry in a baby
Now that I've held Him in my arms
My life can come to an end
Let Your servant now depart in peace
I've seen Your salvation
He's the Light of the gentiles
And the glory of His people Israel
Mary and the baby come
And in her hand five shekels
The price to redeem her baby boy
The baby softly cooing
Nestled in her arms
Simeon takes the boy and starts to sing
Now that I've held Him in my arms
My life can come to an end
Let Your servant now depart in peace
Cause I've seen Your salvation
He's the Light of the gentiles
And the glory of His people Israel
Now's the time to take Him in your arms
Your life will never come to an end
He's the only way that you'll find peace
He'll give you salvation
He's the Light of the gentiles
And the glory of His people Israel
About the Performer/Composer/Lyricist #1:
In a career that spans over thirty years, Michael Card (b. 1957) has recorded over thirty-one albums, authored or co-authored over twenty-four books, hosted a radio program, and written for a wide range of magazines. He has penned such favorites as “El Shaddai,” “Love Crucified Arose,” and “Immanuel.” He has sold over four million albums and written over nineteen number-one hits. Card’s original goal in life was to simply and quietly teach the Bible and proclaim Christ. Although music provided him the opportunity to share insight gained through extensive research, writing songs alone limited what he felt called to share. Card would frequently agonize over having to condense the vast depth and richness of Scripture into a three-minute song. This prompted him to begin to write articles and books on topics that captured his imagination through conversations with Bible teachers, friends, and contemporaries in both Christian music and the academic community, and he has continued to write to this day. Michael travels frequently each year, teaching and sharing his music at Biblical Imagination Conferences, and also facilitating the annual Life of Christ Tours to Israel.
https://www.michaelcard.com/
About the Music #2:
“Cantico de Simeón” from the album Nada Te Turbe
Lyrics: (Spanish)
Senor ahora puedes dejar
A tu siervo irse en paz, irse en paz.
Senor ahora puedes dejar
A tu siervo irse en paz, irse en paz.
Porque mis ojos han contemplado al salvador,
Luz de las naciones, gloria de tu pueblo Israel, Israel.
Senor ahora puedes dejar
A tu siervo irse en paz, irse en paz.
Senor ahora puedes dejar
A tu siervo irse en paz, irse en paz.
Porque mis ojos han contemplado al salvador
Luz de las naciones, gloria de tu pueblo Israel.
Porque mis ojos han contemplado al salvador
Luz de las naciones, gloria de tu pueblo Israel, Israel.
Senor ahora puedes dejar
A tu siervo irse en paz, irse en paz.
Irse en paz, irse en paz.
English Translation:
Lord now you can let
Your servant go in peace, go in peace.
Lord now you can let
Your servant go in peace, go in peace.
Because my eyes have beheld the savior,
Light of the nations, glory of your people Israel, Israel.
Lord now you can let
Your servant go in peace, go in peace.
Lord now you can let
Your servant go in peace, go in peace.
Because my eyes have beheld the savior
Light of the nations, glory of your people Israel.
Because my eyes have beheld the savior
Light of the nations, glory of your people Israel, Israel.
Lord now you can let
Your servant go in peace, go in peace.
Go in peace, go in peace.
About the Performer/Composer/Lyricist #2:
Sister Glenda, born Glenda Valeska Hernández Aguayo (b. 1971), is a Chilean singer-songwriter of contemporary Christian music who is extremely popular the world over. She became a nun in 1988 by joining the Sisters of Consolation in Chile. She lived the consecrated life for twenty years, after which she discerned a new call to evangelization through music. She has a degree in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a psychology degree from the Pontifical University of Salamanca. She is known for her simple, meditative melodies, gentle acoustic guitar, sweet voice, and Scripture-based lyrics which draw listeners into deep prayer and communion with the Lord. Sister Glenda recently founded the nonprofit organization Consuelen a Mi Pueblo (Comfort My People) to further her mission. Her ministry takes her to underdeveloped countries where she gives free concerts and makes her CDs available to those who cannot afford them. Currently Hermana Glenda lives near Barcelona, Spain.
https://www.ocp.org/en-us/artists/62675/hermana-glenda
https://en.hnaglenda.org/algo-mas
About the Poet:
T. S. Eliot (1888–1965), one of the twentieth century's major poets, was also an essayist, publisher, playwright, and literary critic. Born in Missouri to a prominent family, in 1914 he moved to England, where he settled, worked, and became a British subject. It was poet Ezra Pound, in his role as a friend and editor, who helped establish Eliot as a preeminent figure in the modernist poetic movement, particularly through his editorial assistance on The Waste Land (1922). With its collage of voices, its violent disjunctions in tone, and wealth of cultural allusion, Eliot’s The Waste Land resonated as a depiction of the ruins of post-war European civilization. The 1920s also saw Eliot become increasingly conservative in his outlook, particularly following his conversion to the Anglican Church. His religious conversion would have a far-reaching impact on the rest of his career, culminating in the Christian meditations found in Four Quartets (1943), which garnered him the 1948 Nobel Prize for Literature. Four Quartets is a set of four poems that were published over a six-year period. The work is composed of four interlinked meditations with the common theme of man's relationship with time, the universe, and the divine. In describing his understanding of the divine within the poems, Eliot blends his Anglo-Catholicism with mystical, philosophical, and poetic works from both Eastern and Western religious and cultural traditions. He was also known for his seven plays, particularly Murder in the Cathedral (1935) and The Cocktail Party (1949).
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/t-s-eliot
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Greg E. Ganssle
Professor of Philosophy
Talbot School of Theology
Biola University
Gregory Ganssle is a professor of philosophy at the Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. His interest is in the philosophy of religion and the history of philosophy. His latest book is Our Deepest Desires: How the Christian Story Fulfills Human Aspiration (IVP, 2017). He recently edited Philosophical Essays on Divine Causation (Routledge, 2022).