Luke 2:21-32
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise Him, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what was said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” 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. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 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, Simeon took Him in his arms and praised God saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light of revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
Devotion
This advent season we will encourage the church to reclaim the true meaning of Christmas by shifting our focus to worship fully the Christ who came to dwell with us. The focus this week will be shifting our focus during this busy holiday season. Through the story of Simeon and Anna, we see the focus of their lives was the coming Messiah. Advent is a call to shift our attention to Jesus and away from the busyness that so many find themselves in year after year.
Several things become evident as we read the above text. First, we discover that Simeon spent his entire life anticipating the coming of God’s promised Messiah. He was a man who was righteous and devout and filled with the Spirit of God. Because of his close walk with God, he sensed that his eyes would see the promised Messiah before he would die. Every day he waited patiently with great anticipation for this promise to come to fruition. Some might say that he could focus on nothing but God’s promise. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to dedicate Him to the Lord, Simeon knew that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise. What he had waited for his entire life was suddenly before him in the person of Jesus Christ.
Some of us have a hard time focusing for 15 minutes, let alone for a lifetime. Simeon’s heart had been cultivated over a lifetime as he read scripture, prayed, and worshipped the Lord. Now God was allowing him to see the object of his faith. Just as Simeon looked forward to the first advent of the Messiah, we should look forward to the promise that Christ will come back to set up His eternal kingdom.
Questions to Ponder
Are you waiting patiently and expectantly for Christ’s second advent? What are you doing to cultivate a heart that will be ready for Christ’s return? What will you do to shift your focus this Christmas?
Spend some time in prayer meditating on what God revealed to you today.