Sunday 27th December

The hope of Simeon

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Luke 2:25-26

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.

When I was a child, I used to get very excited about Christmas – or, more specifically, unwrapping my presents on Christmas Day! That said, I don’t think I could ever get as excited as my brother, Nathan. He always got extremely excited, and would hardly sleep a wink on Christmas night. In fact, even though he is now 28, he’s still much the same! Whilst it might have seemed to Nathan that Christmas would never arrive, though, it was always pretty much a certainty; December would come, then the weeks and days would tick by until, finally, it was December 25th.

I wonder if Simeon felt the same way about the arrival of the Christ. He had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would see the birth of the messiah. I am sure that he was very excited at the prospect of seeing for himself the one whom God had promised for hundreds of years. Even though time was rolling on, with the days becoming weeks, the weeks becoming months, and the months becoming years, I am sure that Simeon never lost hope that one day God would fulfil his promise. As a righteous and devout man, he would have trusted God implicitly, and been overjoyed at the promise made to him. He lived his life according to God’s standards, knowing that one day mankind would be saved by God’s messiah.

Simeon was full of hope. Sometimes I think we can lose our hope. We forget that we are promised that one day Jesus will return, and that he will judge the living and the dead. If we were as hopeful as Simeon, if we were as righteous and devout as him, we would ensure that every aspect of our lives glorified God. I wonder if our lives mirror Simeon’s? Maybe we should reflect on Simeon and his hope today.

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Simon is a teacher, writer and preacher based in Kent in the United Kingdom. Simon enjoys sailing, and is a keen geocacher. Simon is married to Claire.

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