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Waiting with Simeon: Discovering Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love in Advent
Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year. Not only does it allow us to receive gifts from our loved ones, but more importantly, it allows us to remember the greatest gift that God has shared with us. Churches celebrate Advent prior to Christmas Day. While to some, Advent season can look like a Christmas countdown—and to be fair, we do have an Advent calendar—the Advent season is actually a time of waiting and preparation for the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I love an Advent calendar as much as the next person. I even have one next to where I drink my morning coffee, so I can have a small chocolate treat with my coffee each morning leading up to Christmas. But the essence of the Advent period is waiting and preparation before celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
A truly beautiful reminder of what it means to wait can be found in Luke in the story of Simeon. The theme of this story is simple: waiting with expectations and hope. I invite you to take a brief look at Simeon’s Advent story.
Hope
Simeon was a Jew who lived at the end of the 400 silent years, the time between the Old and New Testaments. During this season, no prophecies were recorded. It is also commonly known that Israel was under the rule of the Roman Empire. In other words, the Israelites of Simeon's day were were captives, and they needed a savior. There were many prophecies foretelling that the Messiah was going to come and deliver Israel. This Messiah would rescue them. Of course, we now know that this Messiah came for the world, and not just to rescue the Israelites from the Romans. He brought salvation to the whole world. That said, just like every other Israelite, Simeon was also hoping to see the Messiah. Simeon lived in deep hope of God’s promise that the Savior would come to redeem his people. This hope was active. It was granted in prayer, faith, and anticipation. Simeon’s Advent began with hope that reminded him of God’s promise.
One thing I want to be sure to point out—after some time, Simeon received an answer from the Holy Spirit. “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah” (Luke 2:26 NIV). God had not left Simeon alone. He continued to be with Simeon and encouraged him. God showed his faithfulness to Simeon when he was hopeful about God’s promise. This was no longer a simple promise Simeon believed in because his ancestors had received it. The promise was given to Simeon personally.
Like Simeon, I invite you to place your hope in God’s faithfulness. I invite you to start this Advent season by trusting God to fulfill his promises. More importantly, Advent calls us to wait on God’s timing. Often, God’s timing is different from ours. But in the waiting, I want to remind you that God’s promises are “Yes” and “Amen” (1 Corinthians 1:20). He will not leave you.
Peace
Simeon began his prayer over Jesus, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in PEACE” (Luke 2:29 NIV, emphasis added). There is no coincidence that Simeon met Jesus at the temple. It was not because he was some very important priest. No, it happened because the Spirit continued to be with Simeon. The Spirit led him, and Simeon responded to the Spirit’s moves. Simeon experienced peace because he simply continued to trust God to fulfill his promises. Beyond this, peace was also an answer to Simeon’s prayer. The Messiah Simeon saw was not the messiah people were expecting to see. Jesus was a newborn baby. Simeon’s story reminds us again that true peace comes from God, YHWH. Peace does not come from our own understanding or our own expectations. True peace comes when we follow the Holy Spirit just like Simeon. During the Advent season, Simeon experienced the peace that comes from God and not his own desires. Simeon’s story reminds us of the prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah—Jesus will be the Prince of Peace.
Joy
I will never forget the first time I was able to hold my babies. Besides experiencing peace, my heart was full of joy. I can only imagine how Simeon felt holding Jesus as a baby, knowing that he was holding the promised Messiah. Scripture shows us that his heart overflowed with joy. He started praising God. Scripture does not tell us how old Simeon was, but most scholars believe he would not have been considered young. Regardless of age, Simeon was part of a nation that longed for an answer from God; and now, here Simeon is, standing and holding the answer to his prayers— and not only his prayers, but the answer to the prayers of his people. The Savior is here. God is faithful.
The third week of Advent provides us with an opportunity to reembrace the joy that Christ, the Savior, is born. The promise has arrived. Simeon’s joy reminds us again that, just as peace comes from the Lord and not from worldly possessions, true joy comes from God. As we reflect on God’s faithfulness during this Advent season, I pray that God will fill your hearts with joy, and it will overflow into every part of your lives. My desire for you is that you are so full of joy, people will still see Christ in you, even during this hectic season.
Love
As referenced earlier, Israel as a nation was expecting a messiah that would save them from the Roman Empire. But the moment Simeon met Jesus, Simeon understood this Messiah was not just for the nation of Israel, but also “. . . salvation, which [God has] prepared in the sight of ALL nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, . . .” (Luke 2:30–32). Simeon experienced a transformation in his heart. His prayer now is a prayer of testimony that God’s love is for all people. The Messiah that he was hoping to see is not only for Israel, but the Messiah is for all of humanity. Advent concludes with the theme of love because it celebrates God’s unconditional love through the sacrificial gift of his Son, Jesus Christ. Simeon’s story reminds us that God loves all people. Christ came to die for every person in this world. God wants to break the barriers that the enemy built to separate people. God is extending his love to everyone in this world, not only to Israel. Advent calls us to reflect on how we can be the salt and light of God’s love to this world.
I genuinely believe that Simeon’s story captures the heart of Advent. It captures hopeful waiting, peace that comes with God’s presence, the true joy that we can experience through Christ, and finally, the transformational love for all people. As we go through Advent, I hope you experience these themes as Simeon experienced them in his life—not just as a tradition or a countdown for Christmas day—but as a period of transformation in our own lives and as preparation for celebrating the Messiah. This Advent season, let’s remember that the point of the Christmas season is not only about celebrating Christ’s birth, but also about letting God’s presence continue to transform us daily.
