The scene is private. We would have seen nothing unusual if we had been visitors to the Temple that day. A young couple brought their newborn for circumcision and naming according to Jewish law. A man known in Jerusalem as a faithful, reverent, God-honoring man approached Mary and Joseph as they left. There is still nothing that would have gathered a curious crowd. He was just someone adoring a newborn. How many times have we seen the same sight in our churches?
Luke names him for us. He is Simeon, whose name comes from the word “to hear.” Simeon enters our Christmas story for a brief visit, but what he shares in that visit brings more confirmation for the evolving story Mary and Joseph were living. Simeon had been praying for a moment like this. I don’t think he was looking for a baby. He was looking for what God said he would see before he died. Is that where we miss God's answers by expecting what makes sense to us?
Stand close because we see God at work at His best here. He brings Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus to the Temple as was expected of every Jewish parent. He brings Simeon on his daily prayer walk. But in the crowded context of people unknown to each other, God had set an appointment. These four would have an encounter that gave each something only God could make happen.
For Mary and Joseph, it was another unexpected confirmation of the mystery they were living. For Simeon, it was a God-moment front and center. He didn’t come to Temple expecting that this was the day God would answer his prayer. He came because God “moved” him to do it. He had learned that when God moves, follow Him. No answer to any question is as important as simple, immediate obedience.
Today, this scene is brushed with the gentle moving of God. These people do nothing ordinary to encounter the extraordinary. We need to remember this truth in our Christmas journey.
We get the order mixed up.. We want the extra-special times, the warm-fuzzies, the all-is-calm-and-bright with family circled and at peace. And we try to make it happen. What this scene reminds me is that we do the ordinary, the expected, the responsible first. We let routine, balance, and priorities lead. Then, we wait to see how God fills them, for we cannot give ourselves what God wants to give us..
Take another look at Simeon this week. Remember, God “moved” him, and he obeyed. This simple formula gives me the answer I need.
God,
I am no Simeon,
But I do understand Your nudges.
I know something unexpected happens
When I follow them.
Move me, Lord
To go, do, speak, or be still.
Let me find the encounters You have planned
To confirm what You want me to know,
Then, I will find Your joy for my world, too.
