| Christmas +1 | | Date Created: Dec 27, 2005, 08:26 AM |
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The Gospel reading for this coming Sunday is Luke 2:22-40.
Simeon and Anna are strange birds. He's more than just a righteous guy living in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit is upon him and tells him things about his life & death and moves him to come to the Temple at the right time. |
He's said to be 'looking for the consolation of Israel.' This certainly, to the first century Jewish mind, would have included some way of dealing with the Roman Problem. I sometimes wonder if he could have been a leader of some underground resistance movement in Jerusalem: 'Brothers! The Lord himself, blessed be he, has promised me that he will raise up a messiah in my lifetime!' (Guarded cheers from the clandestine assembly.)
And in his 'song' over Jesus, there is certainly enough ambiguity to keep the hope of a military-political messiah alive. God is preparing a salvation, right enough. But who does Simeon say that the salvation is for? It will be in the sight and presence of all people -- yup, no one will be able to miss it; It will be a 'light of revelation' to the Gentiles --- yup, it'll sure enough be a surprise and an awakening for them; but it will be for the glory of the people of Israel, God's own people Israel.
As with many things in Jesus' life, it's only in encountering him that you can realize how radical God's plan really was. |
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