29 December 2020
The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas
An old man named Simeon—whose name means “he has heard”—has now seen: “…my own eyes have seen the salvation which you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations…” He must have been a beautifully holy old man, spending his days in the Temple, awaiting the coming Messiah. We can assume this quite safely, for as that precious Child will one day say “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God,” (Matthew 5:8). “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord”; what a promise! How long must he have waited, praying, trusting in that revelation and promise! But one day that Child will say to His apostles “…the Spirit of Truth…will guide you to all truth…and will declare to you the things that are coming…” (John 16:13) and so Simeon believed the truth that was revealed to him. When He saw Jesus He saw the fulfillment of that promise; the Holy Spirit had guided him to the Child who would grow up to say “I am…the Truth…” (John 14:6). He was promised not to see death until he had seen the Christ; now he could go in peace, for his eyes, dimmed with age, had seen the One through whom was “…life, and this life was the light of the human race…” (John 1:4). By that light, he says to Mary, shall “…the thoughts of many hearts…be revealed,” for those who see Christ as lord shall be revealed to be the clean of heart and those that are blind to Him shall be revealed to be in darkness. What does the Light of the World reveal in our own hearts?