Actually it’s pronounced SIM-ih-un, and he said something pretty profound right around the birth of Jesus. In fact, it was while holding Jesus in his arms that Simeon said some words that can help us experience this Christmas season as way more than a cute nativity scene on a mantel.
Simeon is described by Luke as devout and righteous. As a bonus, the Holy Spirit was upon him. As a daily-dollar-double bonus, the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he wouldn’t die until he saw the Lord’s Christ. So, I’m thinking this guy is pretty in touch with spiritual things. Which is how he ended up in the temple at the same time as Mary, Joseph and their baby boy, in that, he was “moved by the Spirit” to go into the temple courts. Here he bumped into the family, held Jesus, and explained to everyone around him that he was seeing God’s salvation, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to God’s people Israel. He got it.
Of all the non-family witnesses to Jesus’ birth, Simeon seems to be the one who most understood what was going on. He wasn’t “sore afraid” like the shepherds, he didn’t have to ask for directions like the Magi, he wasn’t threatened like Herod. He understood that he was holding in his arms God’s plan for one body, one faith, one baptism—redemption for all people.
I love focusing on the simplicity of that silent night. It’s very nostalgic for me and generates warmth and positive emotion. But nostalgia is probably the last thing Jesus would like connected to His birth. In fact, even Simeon broke the warm moment by declaring that Jesus’ presence would cause tons of turmoil among people, including Mary herself. The birth of Jesus revealed to all people that there is darkness and there is light and the choice is up to us.
Maybe you’d like to weave Simeon into the background of your Christmas season. Meditate on the mission that Simeon declared in Luke. You can read the scene in Luke 2:25-35. In fact, maybe you’d like to create a Simeon figure and put him in the nativity set on your mantel.
Artwork used by permission from: Abandon with Art