Devotions
Rev Gav
Song
Luke 2.29-31
“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,
as you have promised.
I have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared for all people.
Reflect
The Holy Spirit had led Simeon to the temple in Jerusalem to pray, and while he was there he saw Mary and Joseph presenting Jesus. The promise made to Simeon by God, that he would see God’s ‘anointed one’ or Messiah before he died, had come true. When Simeon held the baby Jesus in his arms, he was so thrilled that he burst into song. This song, like other songs in Luke’s gospel, such as Mary’s Song and Zechariah’s Song, has been used in Christian worship for centuries. If you come across it it might be called the ‘Nunc Dimittis’ because these are the first Latin (or Roman language) words of Simeon’s song.
Simeon declared that he could now die in peace and he prophesied (or made a statement about the future) that Jesus was going to be the glory of Israel and the saviour of the world. Simeon described Jesus as the ‘glory of Israel’ because Jesus came into the world through the Jewish nation, and he described Jesus as a ‘spotlight to God for the world’ because the whole world would be blessed through Jesus’ ministry.
At the end of his life, seeing Jesus gave Simeon peace, and despite our busy and fast-paced culture, Christians claim that seeing Jesus today gives them that same peace. And that means that the peace of Jesus is available to you.
To hear God we need to stay close to God, and to stay close to God we need to make time with God. This week, commit to spending quality time with God.
How can we make ‘seeing Jesus’ a goal in our lives today? What practical things can we do?
Pray
Holy God
Help me find time to slow down and stop
in the midst of my busy and fast-paced life.
And fill me with the peace that comes from
knowing and being known by Jesus.
This day and for ever.
and then