Hope

On the eighth day after his birth Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple, as was custom, for his dedication.  At the temple they met an old man named Simeon.  The gospel of Luke tells us that Simeon was righteous and devout, and he was very old.  He had been waiting for the consolation of Israel, because he had faith that he would see the messiah before he died.  That is all we ever know about Simeon: he has been waiting for the consolation of Israel. 

Aren’t you and I a lot like Simeon?  Aren’t we also people who are waiting for God’s consolation, waiting for God to make things right in a world that is torn by violence, catastrophe, war, and injustice, a world that threatens us with illness and injury: heart disease, depression, car wrecks, AIDS, hurricanes, cancer.  Simeon, like all of us, has waited and waited for consolation for his land and for his people, and when he sees this baby boy who has been carried by his parents to the temple, Simeon says “now God, you may dismiss your servant in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation.”

That is what hope is about.  Simeon’s appearance in the gospel story is brief.  He does not see the ministry of Jesus.  He does not see people healed and fed and made whole.  He does not see Christ rise from the dead.  But he sees enough to know that God will bring salvation, consolation, and redemption.  God’s word will be last, and the last word is love.

Aren’t you and I a lot like Simeon?  We know that we will not live long enough to see all things made new.  We will not see the end of war and disease and suffering in this world, but by the grace of God, you and I will experience enough of God’s presence to trust that our hope for these things will be fulfilled.  Hope is the best of things.