Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
     you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31  which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
     and the glory of your people Israel.”

Waiting …

It starts to get uncomfortable after a while, doesn’t it? If you’re waiting for something good you get impatient for it and the minutes take hours: seeing an old friend; going to a concert; arriving at your holiday destination. If you’re waiting for something bad, you get more and more nervous and you can’t tell if you want the minutes to speed up, so you can get it over with, or slow down to put off the dread. I can still feel the physical discomfort of my teenage self, in the waiting room at the orthodontist’s … every six weeks for three long years. Waiting.

Simeon was waiting… 

I’ve always been intrigued by Simeon and ancient Anna in Luke 2, I sincerely hope I’ll bump into them in heaven. What was it like to be waiting in those days? All-conquering Rome ruled Israel, yet Simeon knew, by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (verse 26). How long had Simeon sat with this revelation? Did the Holy Spirit reveal it to him when Jesus’ was born - about 6 weeks before Mary and Joseph arrived at the Temple? Or was it a year? A decade? We don’t know but I’m sure, once Simeon knew, he was eagerly waiting for the day to see the Christ.

But Simeon had been waiting way before that: he had been waiting for the “consolation of Israel” (verse 25). A righteous and devout Israelite, Simeon knew Israel had not yet seen the promised comfort of the LORD. He was waiting for something, for someone, promised centuries beforehand by the prophet Isaiah; someone who would end Israel’s suffering and gather the remnant of God’s people from the nations (Isaiah 40 and 49). The wounds of ‘the Exile’, though it ended 500 years ago, were not bound up or healed over and Simeon was waiting for God to come and comfort his people. His whole life he had been waiting, and his waiting echoed the waiting of the righteous in generations before him. 

Luke’s description of the moment is almost ordinary - by the Spirit’s prompting, Simeon went to the Temple and his eyes settled on Mary and Joseph as they entered, with a bundle all wrapped up (like so many parents before them). Were they the only parents who came to sacrifice to the Lord that day? Whether there were others, or not, Simeon knew. 

‘Them!’

‘That’s the one!’

‘The waiting is done!’

Cradling Jesus, Simeon’s declaration is extraordinary, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace … for my eyes have seen your salvation” (verse 29). 

My modern parenting sensibilities want to think that Mary must have been panic stricken … an old(er), unknown man comes over and takes her baby in his arms … what’s going on!? It’s a Woolworth’s nightmare! But I suspect it wasn’t like that. Simeon is named by Luke, he may have been a familiar figure around the Temple in those days. More than that, Mary and Joseph marvelled at Simeon’s declaration, hardly the outrage or disbelief you might expect today. 

Simeon’s time of waiting was over. He had seen the salvation that the Lord had promised and prepared. Glory for Israel and a light for all those living in darkness, echoes of God’s promise to his servant in Isaiah 49. Simeon had seen the consolation of Israel, and Anna (a prophet) knew that with him, this baby, was the redemption of Jerusalem (verse 38); not yet finished but present. For in ‘this One’, God had come! Simeon could depart in peace, knowing the ancient words from Isaiah had come to pass “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God … they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40). 

How has your year been? Mine has been full of waiting: waiting for prayers to be answered; waiting to know what tomorrow might be like; waiting to know if plans, hopes, dreams will come to pass. And honestly, it takes me right back to that orthodontist’s waiting room. But the one I am waiting for – to answer my prayers, to shape my tomorrows, to care for me today – he’s proven himself worthy.

Simeon’s joyful song is the coda to God’s Old Testament promises. Though, he couldn’t have dreamed what lay ahead for the baby in his arms - he saw the Lord’s salvation, when he saw the one who would fulfil all God’s promises. You and I might still be waiting for significant, daily, personal needs to be met this Christmas and beyond. But like Simeon, we too can know peace. For we have seen the Lord’s salvation. Not only as a babe-in-arms but as God among us, a servant-in-shame then raised King-in-glory. Whatever else we might be waiting for, we are no longer waiting to see how God will keep his promises for rescue and comfort. He has done it! And in him, there is hope and life and peace.

‘Still waiting, Simeon?’

‘Not anymore! Praise the Lord!’

EMMA NEWLING

Emma works as a school chaplain where she loves talking about God’s great rescue story. She looks forward to remembering Christ’s birth with her husband, Scott, and their three boys: a teen, a tween and a soon-to-be double digits .

Her favourite carol is ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’ - especially if trumpets are involved!