Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to the restoration of Israel and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord.27Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, 28he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:
33As the child's father and mother were wondering at the things that were being said about him, 34Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed-35and a sword will pierce your soul too -- so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.”
1. This text makes it clear
that Simeon was a Godly man.
A. That comes through very clearly in the Greek words translated
here as “upright” and “devout.” The word translated as “upright,” “dikaios,” means one “whose way of thinking, feeling, and
acting is wholly conformed to the will of God.” The word translated as “devout”
is “eulabēs;” it describes “reverencing God” and being
“pious.”
B. Simeon’s Godliness is also shown by his
relationship with the Holy Spirit. Verse 25’s statement that “the Holy Spirit rested on him” suggests an ongoing, longstanding,
relationship, something that was unusual before Pentecost. Verse 26
tells us that the events described here were preceded by a specific prompt from
the Spirit, which he obeyed. It seems
likely that his statements in vv. 29-31 were inspired by the Spirit, sort of an
understandable instance of speaking in tongues.
C. Simeon’s intimate relationship with God is reflected in the
statement captured in v. 29. Simeon’s reverent, obedient, relationship to God
is reflected in his describing himself as “servant” and God as “master.” His
references to what is happening “now” and what had been “promised” reflect the
preexisting, ongoing, nature of the relationship. His statements about “letting”
him “go in peace” reflect the gracious nature of that relationship and the One
he had that relationship with.
2. Simeon’s deep, ongoing, relationship with God raises an
interesting question: what other good works had he done, what other blessings
had he bestowed on others? Probably a
lot. We know from experience that Godly folks do a lot of discrete,
individualized, acts of good; that’s how we discern their Godly nature. Further,
repeated virtuous acts are an important part of how they develop their virtuous
nature. See Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs.
1804 & 1810. We also see that dynamic in scripture. For example, both Tobit
and Job habitually did good works before they became involved in the particular
situations we remember them for. See Tobit 1:16-18 and Job
29:12-17. The same was true of the centurions
discussed Luke 7:1-10 and Acts 10; both had histories of good works before they undertook the
particular acts memorialized in scripture. So, it’s a safe bet that Simeon did
a lot of good before the events described here.
3. Simeon’s obedience to the Spirit’s prompting here resulted in
multiple levels of blessing: he was blessed, Mary and Joseph were blessed, and
all who have read of this occurrence over the years have been blessed. That is
another example of God using things on multiple levels, as discussed in point
1(B) of What We Can
Learn from Jesus’ Nativity: Jesus’ Circumcision and Presentation; Mary’s
Purification (Luke 2:21-24) and point 8 of What We Can
Learn from Jesus' Nativity: The Visitation (Luke 1:39-45).
4. Simeon’s statements in Luke 2:34-35
are worth noting in several respects:
A. The great, universal, goodness that comes from Jesus’
incarnation, as described in Luke 2:30-32,
will come at great cost. Moreover, Jesus
is not the only one who will pay that cost; Mary will pay part of it too.
B. The substance of what Simeon says here tracks what Jesus said in
Luke 12:51-53,
John 15:18-21,
and John 16:20-22:
Jesus will expose divisions and conflict in the world.
C. Relatedly, they reflect the reality that following God sometimes
involves real effort and hard things. It could not have been easy for Simeon to
deliver these hard truths to Mary, and it certainly must have been hard for
Mary to live through the things Simeon described. This is yet another way in
which the events surrounding Jesus’ nativity reflect the dynamics described in Sirach 2.
5. There are other parallels between what we see here and what we
see elsewhere in the gospels and scripture generally:
A. The fact that Simeon, a man who had an intimate relationship
with God, recognized Jesus for who He is exemplifies the dynamic behind Jesus’
statements about those who know the Father recognizing Jesus’ true nature. See John 14:7.
See also John 8:19,
John 12:44.
B. Simeon’s statements in Luke 2:30-32
about Jesus’ universal impact tracks Isaiah 42:6,
Isaiah 49:1
& 6, and Isaiah 52:10.
Other meditations on Jesus’ nativity are collected at What We Can Learn from Jesus' Nativity: The Annunciation through Simeon & Anna
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