Shadows of the future…
Simeon took him {Jesus} 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 nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Luke 2:28-35
Yesterday, we looked at how God promised Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah, and we considered the time of waiting. Today, we look at Simeon’s interaction with Joseph and Mary. Simeon reinforced what others had already said about Jesus including angelic encounters and Spirit prompted prophesies. Now, Mary was no doubt a tired new Mom. Overwhelmed by so many things: the unusual circumstances surrounding Jesus conception, and birth, prophecies spoken about baby Jesus, the long difficult journey to Bethlehem while very pregnant, the strange visit by the shepherds. All that was a lot to take in, and then, along comes Simeon who prophesies, blesses, and shares more words from God with her.
Have you ever looked closely at that last spoken sentence? “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Every mother knows that there will be hurts in parenting. Was that what she thought about when she heard that phrase? She probably had little understanding of the deeper meaning of those words. Were the words said to prepare her a little for the heartbreak of Jesus final days of ministry and the crucifixion.
Yet when we meet Jesus, our hearts our pierced also; the Truth and Light (Jesus) reveals the dark sin in us and we are heartbroken at the hurt that we have caused God. At the same time, we are healed by the piercing sword, and so humbled and grateful for forgiveness and salvation through Jesus. Mary would know the piercing of her soul as a mother hurting as her child hurts, but she would also know the hurt and healing of salvation by the risen Savior, her Jesus.
And so we come to the end of the nativity story, but we continue to look at Jesus teachings in the coming year. Thank you for sharing the Christmas nativity story! Hope that you continue to walk Paths of Joy with me in the new year!