Month of Mission 2016
Baby Jesus and Simeon
| Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." (Luke2:25-32) |
For our UPCSA Month of Mission we will focus on this beautiful idea that God does not sit comfortably at home (whatever home might be) and send us out into the mission field, but rather we find Him already at work in the world - way ahead of us - unleashing compassion and love in beautiful ways until He is finally recognised. And often all we are doing as missionaries is formally introducing Him to people who have already experienced His goodness and love.
Jesus' entry, life and death in our world is an ultimate expression of Missio Dei. Tomorrow Chris Judelsohn will unpack John's beautiful theological reflection on this great truth but this morning we will embrace incarnation in a raw and practical way.
Picture it:
An old man, righteous and devout (ponder these two words)
Waiting for the consolation of Israel (he's deeply hungry)
God's Spirit is upon him - he's stirred up with holy anticipation.
There's fire in his old bones, there's expectation in his hungry heart.
Day after day he longs and day after day he hopes.
And then he wakes one morning and he knows: "today is the day!"
What was he expecting?
- A red sunrise, angel music and a light glowing from the temple growing in intensity as the angels announced the arrival of God and the consolation of Israel?
- Did he imagine the Romans fleeing from angels of fire like Elisha and the Arameans?
- Did he think of a pillar of fire and cloud like during the Exodus?
And so he waits in the temple and it seems nothing is happening...
And then it happens!
A peasant couple and a helpless baby.
And like thunder from a cloudless sky it dawns on Simeon.
God with us - of course!
The ultimate consolation.
The ultimate connection.
The ultimate love.
And so old arms and gnarled hands hold 3 or 4 kilograms of fragile helpless human flesh and Simeon knows - God is here! And God is love!
And he has peace.
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Theo Groeneveld is a husband, dad, and sometimes-cyclist. He has served at Emmanuel Presby Faerie Glen Pretoria for 19 years.
