The Moment
Read Luke 2:22-52.
It is one my favorite paintings though I don't have a copy of it. It was done by a Christian artist, Ron DiCianni, and it's called "Simeon's Moment." It pictures the moment Simeon, the old man in the Temple, gets to hold the object of his longing. The sheer joy he has on his face as he holds the baby Jesus—it never fails to move me.
Think about it: all of your life you have longed for something, and it's near the end of your life and you have yet to see it come to pass or experience it. For Simeon, that "something" was a longing to see the savior of the world, the Messiah God had promised to send. Luke says, though, that this old man was clinging to and comforted by a promise had been given, somehow, by the Holy Spirit: "You will not die, Simeon, until you see the Lord's Messiah." So, every day, he was in the Temple—watching, waiting, hoping, longing. Every day. We don't know how old he was, but you get the sense he had been waiting a long time.
Mary and Joseph had no idea any of this was going on. They were simply doing their duty. They were bringing Jesus to the Temple so that he could be dedicated to God and so that Mary could be purified. Childbirth made a mother ritually "unclean" and sacrifices were necessary to restore her to the fellowship. For a mother of a baby boy, this took place forty days after this birth, and that's what Luke is describing here. They are simply being obedient to the Law, fulfilling their promise as faithful Jews. They have no idea they are also fulfilling the hopes and dreams of a righteous and devout servant of God.
I often wonder what they thought when this old man approached them, perhaps asking to hold their baby. He knew. He just knew. Somehow the secret identity Mary believed only she and Joseph (well, and Jesus) knew was out—at least to this man. Did Mary recoil with her child just a bit? Or did she trust God to care for the baby, even in the gnarled hands of this elderly gentleman? We don't know, but we do know Simeon took Jesus in his arms and all his longings went away. This is the one. "Sovereign Lord...you may now dismiss your servant in peace" (2:29). He is the one.
In many ways, Simeon is the old world. Jesus is the new world that is arriving. There is a "passing of the mantle" happening here. The "old world" where faith meant waiting is passing away. The "new world" where faith means following is coming into being. And Simeon is happy entrust the world now to this beautiful baby.
There's an additional detail in this painting that speaks to the power of the moment. If you look carefully, you'll notice there is a world "map" imprinted over Simeon and Jesus, a reminder that this savior came to save the whole world. The "old world" was focused on the Jews; the "new world" is for the whole earth. He is, as Simeon says, "a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel" (2:32). Thanks be to God—he has come for all of us!
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| Artwork by Ron DiCianni |
Think about it: all of your life you have longed for something, and it's near the end of your life and you have yet to see it come to pass or experience it. For Simeon, that "something" was a longing to see the savior of the world, the Messiah God had promised to send. Luke says, though, that this old man was clinging to and comforted by a promise had been given, somehow, by the Holy Spirit: "You will not die, Simeon, until you see the Lord's Messiah." So, every day, he was in the Temple—watching, waiting, hoping, longing. Every day. We don't know how old he was, but you get the sense he had been waiting a long time.
Mary and Joseph had no idea any of this was going on. They were simply doing their duty. They were bringing Jesus to the Temple so that he could be dedicated to God and so that Mary could be purified. Childbirth made a mother ritually "unclean" and sacrifices were necessary to restore her to the fellowship. For a mother of a baby boy, this took place forty days after this birth, and that's what Luke is describing here. They are simply being obedient to the Law, fulfilling their promise as faithful Jews. They have no idea they are also fulfilling the hopes and dreams of a righteous and devout servant of God.
I often wonder what they thought when this old man approached them, perhaps asking to hold their baby. He knew. He just knew. Somehow the secret identity Mary believed only she and Joseph (well, and Jesus) knew was out—at least to this man. Did Mary recoil with her child just a bit? Or did she trust God to care for the baby, even in the gnarled hands of this elderly gentleman? We don't know, but we do know Simeon took Jesus in his arms and all his longings went away. This is the one. "Sovereign Lord...you may now dismiss your servant in peace" (2:29). He is the one.
In many ways, Simeon is the old world. Jesus is the new world that is arriving. There is a "passing of the mantle" happening here. The "old world" where faith meant waiting is passing away. The "new world" where faith means following is coming into being. And Simeon is happy entrust the world now to this beautiful baby.
There's an additional detail in this painting that speaks to the power of the moment. If you look carefully, you'll notice there is a world "map" imprinted over Simeon and Jesus, a reminder that this savior came to save the whole world. The "old world" was focused on the Jews; the "new world" is for the whole earth. He is, as Simeon says, "a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel" (2:32). Thanks be to God—he has come for all of us!
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