December 2011
8th Edition
Bishop’s Christmas Message
Innocence of God
And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking 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 should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And inspired by the Spirit he came 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 lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel” Luke 2:22-33 (RSV, 1972).
He must have gestured and Mary handed over the baby to old Simeon. Now Simeon had been enlightened by the Holy Spirit that he will not die before he saw the salvation of Israel and he was waiting for the day that he will see the Saviour before he left to rest with his fathers. On that day, after many decades of waiting, when he saw the face of Christ, he saw the face of salvation, the face of hope in the innocent face of Christ! He saw nothing less than the innocence of God, his glory! The Holy Spirit took hold of Simeon and he recited this song of praise: “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel” that we still recite today as the Nunc Dimittis (a Latin word which means “beginning” or “permission to depart” or “dismissal”) in our Sunday liturgy. It was a song put into the tongue of Simeon by the Holy Spirit. Simeon went to the Lord having found hope in seeing that the great power of Jerusalem and the chains by which the nation had been shackled would be broken by this innocence. Of course, he also saw the great sacrifice that this baby Jesus would make and it would be a price God was willing to pay, but this was for another day.
The birth of Jesus is not only a lesson on God’s faithfulness but it also reveals God’s heart and character such as his innocence. Jesus was born to parents who kept the laws of the Jewish faith. Mary entered the Temple and in passing met Simeon, a very old man.
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