Praise the Lord
or this new day. We have had some fresh and friendly snow this morning. Our
youngest grand daughter Ada turns two years today. Our grandson Simeon called
the other day. He always smiles and laughs as he talks. He and his family are
coming home this weekend. Because of some unavoidable circumstances we could not
get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving with Janice and her family Boston.
Simeon asked about his Christmas gifts. I told him they are intact and all
wrapped for him to open when gets here. He asked whether the Christmas tree is
still up. I said yes. There are a few trees are still waiting for Simeon and his
sisters. He further reminded me that when he comes to grandpa's house "there no
shoes , no rules, no nothing" and "I will eat ice creme million times a day ...
ninety nine thousand million times a day".
Praise the Lord
for the way He orchestrated Christmas. He put people of diverse back grounds and
ages in the wonderful drama of Christmas. One of the fantastic and fascinating
personal ties of the Christmas drama is Simeon, whom we read about in Luke
2:25-28. "Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man
was righteous 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. And he came in 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, he took him up in his arms and
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 for glory to your people Israel.”
We don’t know where Simeon was born. We don’t know who Simeon’s relatives were. We don’t know what Simeon did for a living. We don’t know what Simeon’s house looked like. We don’t know if Simeon was rich or poor. We don’t know what other people thought of Simeon, though it really does not matter what other people think of us; what matters is what God thinks of us. We are told that Simeon was “righteous and devout,” and that he was “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (2:25). More than that, we are told that “the Holy Spirit was upon him” (2:25) and that “it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” Pastor and author James Montgomery Boice says “that means that [Simeon] was somewhat of a sentinel, for he had been placed in Israel to point out the Christ when he came.”
One day as Simeon walked into the temple he saw a poor couple. He told them that God had revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. I imagine that Mary and Joseph were a little taken aback, but then they would have recalled the unexpected visit of the shepherds several weeks earlier on the day of Jesus’ birth. The shepherds said that an angel had told them about the birth of Jesus, and that they had come to see the baby for themselves. Because of this, Simeon’s explanation for meeting with them was not so unexpected. Simeon then asked if he could hold the baby. He took Jesus up in his arms and blessed God, and then he began to speak the words of his inspired song (in Luke 2:29-32). Simeon’s Song is short. Jesus Is God’s Salvation (2:30-31)
Luke said in Luke 2:30–31: “For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.” Simeon recognized that he was looking at the salvation that God had prepared in the presence of all peoples.
Jesus was able to save because he is God. So, when Simeon held Jesus in his arms and said, “For my eyes have seen your salvation,” he was saying, “Here is the one, the only one, who is able to save in a way that no one else could or can.” Jesus is God. He is sinless. Jesus Is a Light for Revelation to the Gentiles (2:32a)
The Lord revealed all of this to Simeon., that Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles.
The Lord revealed to Simeon that Jesus is God’s salvation, Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and Jesus Is Glory to God’s People. The word glory relates to the Old Testament “Shekinah glory.” That is the visible presence of God himself. Simeon knew that God himself had come to the people of Israel in the visible person of Jesus. Jesus had come to bring joy and peace to a people who were dwelling in a land of darkness.
Leigh C. Bishop, a psychiatrist and military reservist, was stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan on Christmas Eve 2008. In the dim light of dusk, he watched as a procession of military vehicles approached the airfield, came to a stop, and carefully unloaded a flag-draped steel casket. He knew that somewhere in the U.S., a family was going to suffer a Christmas homecoming that no one wanted. It was a heartbreaking scene for Bishop to take in—and one all-too-familiar in war.
After watching the casket be unloaded from the military vehicle], I find myself walking along . . . the main avenue of Bagram Airfield. All is different. . . . Soldiers holding candles are belting out Christmas carols with gusto. Down the street, luminaries brighten the walkway into the clamshell-shaped auditorium, where cheerful groups of uniformed men and women enter for a Christmas concert. Two blocks away, the chapel is filling for the six o’clock Christmas Eve service.
According to C.S. Lewis in the essay “Learning in War-Time,” war reveals a hunger in human beings for joy and meaning that will not be set aside for even the most difficult of circumstances.
Jesus did not come just to provide an occasion to sing carols, feast, and exchange gifts. Yet we are right to do these things, even as soldiers die and families grieve, because He came. In His coming, He brought joy and peace—the joy that overcomes our sorrows, and the only kind of peace that ultimately matters. It’s the peace of which the end of all wars, terrible as they are, is merely one token. It’s the peace that means the long war between the heart and its Maker is over. It’s a peace treaty offered in Bethlehem and signed, in blood, on Calvary.
Bishop concludes: “So joy to the world, and to every celebrating or grieving or hurting soul in it. The Lord has come. Let heaven and nature—and even those who stand watch with lighted candles in the land of the shadow of death—sing.”
Jesus is God’s salvation. Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles. Jesus is glory to God’s people. Joy to the World!
In Christ,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
We don’t know where Simeon was born. We don’t know who Simeon’s relatives were. We don’t know what Simeon did for a living. We don’t know what Simeon’s house looked like. We don’t know if Simeon was rich or poor. We don’t know what other people thought of Simeon, though it really does not matter what other people think of us; what matters is what God thinks of us. We are told that Simeon was “righteous and devout,” and that he was “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (2:25). More than that, we are told that “the Holy Spirit was upon him” (2:25) and that “it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” Pastor and author James Montgomery Boice says “that means that [Simeon] was somewhat of a sentinel, for he had been placed in Israel to point out the Christ when he came.”
One day as Simeon walked into the temple he saw a poor couple. He told them that God had revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. I imagine that Mary and Joseph were a little taken aback, but then they would have recalled the unexpected visit of the shepherds several weeks earlier on the day of Jesus’ birth. The shepherds said that an angel had told them about the birth of Jesus, and that they had come to see the baby for themselves. Because of this, Simeon’s explanation for meeting with them was not so unexpected. Simeon then asked if he could hold the baby. He took Jesus up in his arms and blessed God, and then he began to speak the words of his inspired song (in Luke 2:29-32). Simeon’s Song is short. Jesus Is God’s Salvation (2:30-31)
Luke said in Luke 2:30–31: “For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.” Simeon recognized that he was looking at the salvation that God had prepared in the presence of all peoples.
Jesus was able to save because he is God. So, when Simeon held Jesus in his arms and said, “For my eyes have seen your salvation,” he was saying, “Here is the one, the only one, who is able to save in a way that no one else could or can.” Jesus is God. He is sinless. Jesus Is a Light for Revelation to the Gentiles (2:32a)
The Lord revealed all of this to Simeon., that Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles.
The Lord revealed to Simeon that Jesus is God’s salvation, Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and Jesus Is Glory to God’s People. The word glory relates to the Old Testament “Shekinah glory.” That is the visible presence of God himself. Simeon knew that God himself had come to the people of Israel in the visible person of Jesus. Jesus had come to bring joy and peace to a people who were dwelling in a land of darkness.
Leigh C. Bishop, a psychiatrist and military reservist, was stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan on Christmas Eve 2008. In the dim light of dusk, he watched as a procession of military vehicles approached the airfield, came to a stop, and carefully unloaded a flag-draped steel casket. He knew that somewhere in the U.S., a family was going to suffer a Christmas homecoming that no one wanted. It was a heartbreaking scene for Bishop to take in—and one all-too-familiar in war.
After watching the casket be unloaded from the military vehicle], I find myself walking along . . . the main avenue of Bagram Airfield. All is different. . . . Soldiers holding candles are belting out Christmas carols with gusto. Down the street, luminaries brighten the walkway into the clamshell-shaped auditorium, where cheerful groups of uniformed men and women enter for a Christmas concert. Two blocks away, the chapel is filling for the six o’clock Christmas Eve service.
According to C.S. Lewis in the essay “Learning in War-Time,” war reveals a hunger in human beings for joy and meaning that will not be set aside for even the most difficult of circumstances.
Jesus did not come just to provide an occasion to sing carols, feast, and exchange gifts. Yet we are right to do these things, even as soldiers die and families grieve, because He came. In His coming, He brought joy and peace—the joy that overcomes our sorrows, and the only kind of peace that ultimately matters. It’s the peace of which the end of all wars, terrible as they are, is merely one token. It’s the peace that means the long war between the heart and its Maker is over. It’s a peace treaty offered in Bethlehem and signed, in blood, on Calvary.
Bishop concludes: “So joy to the world, and to every celebrating or grieving or hurting soul in it. The Lord has come. Let heaven and nature—and even those who stand watch with lighted candles in the land of the shadow of death—sing.”
Jesus is God’s salvation. Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles. Jesus is glory to God’s people. Joy to the World!
In Christ,
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