Old Simeon takes the baby Jesus into his arms and praises God. And when he praises God, Simeon does something strange–he prays for his own death. He cries out, “Lord, now let Your servant die in peace.” That’s how old Simeon praises God.
Then Simeon gives Mary, the mother of Jesus, a strange blessing. He says, “This child is destined… to be opposed–and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.” In that blessing, the old man alludes to death. He alludes to the death of Jesus, who is but now only an infant. But Simeon does even more: He points to Mary’s future suffering. Is that a blessing? That sounds more like a curse than a blessing to me!
Simeon had been waiting for this Child a long, long time. He waited with anticipation. For the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s long-promised Messiah. And so he waited and waited until that day: 40 days after our Lord’s birth. That’s when Joseph and Mary had taken Jesus to the Temple, offering the prescribed sacrifice. “There,” the Holy Spirit whispered to Simeon, “There, He is!”
So, Simeon crossed the Temple court, took the Child into his feeble arms, and praised God. Now, he could now die! Now, he could finally leave this life in peace! Finally, he had seen the Lord’s Salvation, the Light that lightens the Gentiles, the Glory of Israel. Oh, what joy flooded his heart! And then he gives this strange and odd blessing to Mary?
It’s no wonder that Joseph and Mary marvel at old Simeon. What an unusual blessing he gives. But it’s not strange because it’s the ramblings of an old man preoccupied with his own death. It’s not strange because Simeon speaks such depressing words on such a happy occasion. No, his words are strange because he sees more clearly than they do the purpose and destiny of the Infant he holds.
Simeon sees the Lord’s Salvation, the Glory of Israel, the Light for the nations. Simeon sees that God has appointed Jesus for the falling and rising of many. He sees that many will oppose Him and that a sword will also pierce the Virgin’s soul. He sees that Jesus will reveal the thoughts of many hearts. That makes us want to cry out: “Please explain, old man! What are you saying?”
But we only have to think a short while and Simeon’s blessing becomes clearer. This Child is set for the falling of many in Israel. “In Israel,” tells us that Simeon is talking about those who have God’s Word. Jesus’ coming among us is as a brilliant light, a shining glory, which will expose us down to the depths of our inmost being.
This Infant comes to bring us the life that is in God. He is the Forgiveness of all sin, even the Death of death. Yet, to the religious, He will, for them, become a stumbling block. For He will show that, in God’s eyes, all our self-chosen ways of righteousness and our struggles are all puffed-up gestures and a chasing after the wind.
The Prophet Isaiah said it well: “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Nothing shows that like the arrival of this Child, Jesus. He reveals that our best efforts fail, for, at some level, self-serving tendencies defile everything we do. And when the light of Christ exposes our darkened depths, we snarl and strike out at the One who dares to expose our blackened hearts with His holy light!
But the Child is also set to raise many in Israel. For those living in His light, those who recognize their wretched sin, filth, and fallen ways, for them, His birth is the Advent of Life itself. For Jesus has come to be our righteousness. He has come as Light–not merely to expose our shame–but to enrobe it with His own righteousness.
Ah, the old man’s words contain so much. They reveal that Simeon knows that Jesus is the long-promised Messiah, the Lord’s Christ, the glory of God in the flesh. He knows that many will speak against, reject, and even kill Jesus. But Simeon also knows that Jesus will reveal the mercy of God to us all.
And then, as if that’s not enough, we see the old Prophetess Anna thank the Lord. And what is the cause of her thanksgiving? It’s the strange blessing that Simeon just spoke. The old man speaks a depressing blessing, and the old woman praises God for it. The old man announces the baby’s dire destiny, and the old woman thanks God for it.
It is this salvation that causes Anna to rejoice and thank and praise God. And so she trumpets about to all, saying that this is the way of God’s redemption. Anna knows that this Lord’s salvation will lead to the rising, resurrection, and restoration of God’s holy people–but not only that, but even God’s entire creation. Anna pins her hopes on this salvation and redemption–even though it is at first, hard to live through and endure.
And the blessed, Mother Mary needs to know what is coming her way! And not just Mary, but even you, for what Simeon says to Mary–the heartache she can expect–he also means for your ears.
You may think, “How can that be?” It is also true for you because, like Mary, you also carry within yourself the Body of Christ, even as Mary carried Christ within her womb. And if all Christians have Christ within them, and they do, then don’t they also carry Christ’s suffering, even as Mary endured the suffering sword piercing her own soul?
And so the sorrows of Mary are also the sorrows of the Church. And so, like Mary, Simeon’s words are also for us. We should sit up, listen to, and take to heart St. Simeon’s blessing. And we also should rejoice in it, and give thanks as Anna did.
But it’s hard to rejoice when a sword is piercing your soul. It is hard to give thanks when your heart is being wrenched, and your hopes are being dashed. It is hard to praise God when sorrow overwhelms you and you can see no way out of your quagmire.
You try hard to do what is right, to say the kind word, to live the right way, but you never get it just right. You promise and resolve to better yourself, but your sinful self, the fallen world, and the devil keep knocking you down and foiling your efforts. You get your hopes up that this or that will come through, only for something to come along and crush you, leaving you in your despair.
King David wrote, “A broken and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). That’s what St. Simeon is saying! Yes, it’s a blessing that God can raise you up when your fallen ways and this fallen world knock you down. Your knees may buckle and give way, but the Lord will raise and exalt you to the heights of heaven.
Let us be as Prophet Hosea spoke.
Come, let us return to the Lord. For he has torn us that he may heal us; He has wounded us that He may bind up our wounds. He will revive us after two days, and on the third day, He will raise us up, so we can live in His presence. [Hosea 6:1-2]
That is the blessing that Simeon gives when he says that Jesus is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel. And St. Anna rejoices in, and gives thanks for, the raising that God the Father does.
Yet, both Anna and Simeon are looking beyond you–and beyond Mary–to the Child Himself. For the Child, Jesus, is the One who will fulfill these acts. It’s in His body where the falling and rising, the humbling and exalting, the suffering and relief, and death and life will take place.
Jesus is your redemption, the revealing light to the Gentiles, and the glory of His people Israel. And so He must first undergo and take into His own body all the sword-piercing sorrow of Mary and the Church. He must be the first One knocked down and brought low to His knees, so He might be the first of those who rise and lead us through death to life.
And that is what this holy Child, Jesus, does. When others will speak against Him, this holy Child will bear our grief and carry our sorrows. Although He will be the target of wrath and hatred, this holy Child will be led like a lamb to the slaughter and not open His mouth. He will willingly bear our burden and freely carry the sin of the world. In His stripes, you are healed, raised up, restored, and renewed.
Do you now see the blessing in what St. Simeon says? Do you see now why St. Anna gives thanks and rejoices? And do you see why the Blessed Virgin does not shy away, but embraces and takes to heart the words of these aged saints? It is because this holy Child, Jesus, having come into the world, does everything needed for our salvation.
Yes, Jesus is the sign against whom many will speak, but He is also the sign to whom one looks and lives. Jesus is destined to be the falling of many, but God has also destined Him to raise those who trust in Him. And because of Him, a sword will pierce your own soul, too. But that sword will simply cut away whatever threatens to take you down into eternal destruction, all so you may look to Him and live! Amen.
