Dec. 30, 2007</p><p>
Background Scripture: Luke 2:22-38</p><p>
Devotional Reading: Isaiah 49:5, 6</p><p>
In the early Christian churches were sung three great hymns, all drawn from the Nativity story in Luke. We know them by their Latin names, because it was the principal language used in the Christian liturgies.</p><p>
The first of these, Magnificat (“My soul magnifies the Lord”), is drawn from Luke 1:46-55 and is Mary’s ecstatic response to Gabriel’s revelation that she will bear a son who is the Messiah. It is a message from God to Mary and all humanity.</p><p>
The second hymn, Benedictus  (“Blessed be God”), we encountered in Luke 1:67-79, when Zechariah, caught up in a moment of spiritual ecstasy, prophesied of the Messiah for whom his son would prepare the way. As with Mary, it is an ecstatic message inspired by God.</p><p>
The third hymn, Nunc Dimittis (“Now let me depart”) is found in Luke 2:29-35 and is a hymn of Simeon, who, on the day the infant Jesus was brought to the temple, took the babe in his arms and, under the power of the Holy Spirit, prophesied that in this child God had fulfilled his promise to the people of Israel.</p><p>
A universal Savior</p><p>

Each hymn emphasizes that in Jesus, God has fulfilled his promise to Israel: 1:54,55; 1:68-75;  2:31,32. All speak of the salvation that Israel has been offered: 1:50; 1:77; 2:30.</p><p>
But Simeon carries this promise a step further, speaking not only of the glory of Israel, but “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” as well. So this child will be Savior of the whole world.</p><p>
We know nothing about this Simeon apart from Luke 2:22-38. Luke says simply that Simeon is a “righteous and devout’ Jew who was awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel. There is some tradition identifying this Simeon with the early first century Rabbi Simeon, the son of the great Rabbi Hillel and the father of the famous Rabbi Gamaliel, who is mentioned in Acts 5:34 and 22:3.</p><p>
Whether this tradition is true or not, it doesn’t matter, for the Simeon in Luke 2:25-32 needs no further qualification. His prophecy comes from God through the Holy Spirit, and he proclaims to Mary and Joseph something that was not included in either the Benedictus or the Magnificat: “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed” (2::34,35).</p><p>
The full story</p><p>

The Messiah, God’s anointed, will fulfill the will and purpose of God, but that does not mean he will do so according to the standards of what the world calls “success.” The Christ will do it God’s way, without a mighty army, without any force but the power of the Holy Spirit.</p><p>
This is a reminder to all of us that Christmas, Good Friday and Easter are all part of a single epic, and Christians cannot major – as many have sometimes tried – in one without the others. The Good News of Christmas is incomplete without the Passion and the Resurrection.</p><p>
Despite what the world may think, God is triumphant in every part of the story of Jesus Christ: in the manger, on the cross and out of the tomb that cannot hold him. When Simeon prophesies to Mary, “and a sword will pierce through your own soul also,” he is telling her that the blessing of being the mother of Jesus will not be an unmixed one, just as being a follower of Jesus will mean both tragedy and triumph, although the latter is the ultimate outcome, while the former is the short-range experience.</p><p>
Simeon knows this, but he nevertheless exults in the Incarnation because he trusts the final outcome. Having seen the infant Jesus and knowing he is the fulfillment of God’s promise, Simeon is ready to depart this life: Okay, Lord, whenever you’re ready for me!</p><p>
And what would it take for you to be able to say with him, Nunc Dimittis?