Did You See?

Good morning!
I hope you have been blessed by the Advent blog posts the past few weeks and that the Lord Jesus' birth was the centerpiece of your Christmas celebrations.

This morning's text is Luke 2:22-32 (ESV), the story of Simeon.

22 And (C)when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem (D)to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in (E)the Law of the Lord, (F)“Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in (G)the Law of the Lord, (H)“a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was (I)righteous and (J)devout, (K)waiting for (L)the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not (M)see death before he had seen (N)the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when (O)the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and(P)blessed God and said,

"Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace

according to your word

for my eyes have seen your salvation

that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples

a light for revelation to the Gentiles

and a glory to your people Israel.

Here we see a man of great faith; the Holy Spirit of God was on him.  Until the Holy Spirit was given to all Christ-followers at Pentecost (about 2 months after Jesus' resurrection), God's Spirit visited people episodically, to fulfill the will of God at that time.  The Spirit would come, do God's work and then (in some cases) depart from that person. Simeon was a very devout, elderly Jew.  It had been revealed to him through the Holy Spirit that he would get to see the Messiah in the flesh before departing this earth.  That same Spirit revealed to him that baby Jesus was the Messiah.  God always keeps His word (vs. 29).

At this time, Jesus would have been about 40 days old.  Matthew chapter 2, which records the story of the wise men, indicates that the little family had not yet taken up residence in Nazareth.  For sure the wise men had not yet visited, as they did not arrive until Jesus was between 1 and 2 years old.  When they did visit Jesus, they seem to have done so in Bethlehem.  So, it seems that the family journeyed from Bethlehem to the temple in Jerusalem, for Jesus' consecration and Mary's purification rituals.

The thing that stands out the most to me about this incident with Simeon was his declaration, "My eyes have seen your salvation." 

Did you see God's salvation this Christmas?  I hope you did.  Through eyes of faith, as Simeon walked by faith, I hope we all placed our eyes on Christ and worshipped Him.  Such is the very essence of Christmas.  "O come let us adore Him..."

At our Christmas celebrations, not everything went "right".  My french toast casserole was not well-received Christmas morning.  One gift recipient asked me to return a gift (!) . We had to leave one family celebration to make it to the Christmas Eve service and very nearly did not make it.  One family member refused to go.  The communion bread nearly ran out, due to crowd size (PTL!)  This morning I am continuing to suffer from a monster allergy attack that started at my mother's house yesterday. 

All of these foibles highlight our imperfections and should not be the focus of our attention.

As we struggle to correct such errors and make things right ... or by God's grace just simply move on through them....., we can glory in the fact that God the Father, in orchestrating the birth of His Son, made no such errors. He sent His beloved Son as the Light, who would reveal His Truth to the Gentiles; those people like me who walked in deepest darkness yet have seen God's magnificent light (Isaiah 9:2; Matthew 4:16).  Did you see it?  Have you seen it?

It is so tempting at this time of year to focus on what has "gone wrong" - - our mistakes, our tremendous losses in some cases.  When we focus our love, attention, adoration on the Savior, He pours His joy into our souls. And, apart from Him, there is no peace or joy.  Simeon prophesies that Jesus will be a stumbling block to many.  How people will respond to Jesus will determine their destiny.  (vs. 34-35).

I have to admit to being somewhat wistful (okay, jealous) of Simeon and others who receive such a powerful revelation from God, while at the same time knowing that God is sovereign.  He created me and gives me His very best in accordance with my gifts and talents.   Similarly, if you and I follow hard after Him, He will fulfill His purposes in us, whether they are as startling or astounding a revelation as His to Simeon or not. In this truth and in His perfect love, we can rest secure.

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the greatest Gift of Christmas, the gift of Your Son, my Savior. Thank you for letting me "see" Your salvation.   I praise You for the marvelous work of Your Holy Spirit, both before Pentecost and after.  Thank you for revealing Yourself to us in such amazing ways. For those who are walking far from You, please draw them by your Holy Spirit and open their eyes to Your great salvation!  In Jesus' name, amen.