David Williams
Winchester
30-32 – “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”
I would love to be like Simeon! He is described as righteous and devout and had also been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. For many years Simeon has been waiting expectantly, giving generously of his attention and his time to this promise. Then one day, a young couple walk into the temple with their new-born son. It probably happened every day, a very simple act of gratitude for the gift of the child, an everyday occurrence; yet Simeon sees in this child not only all he has been patiently waiting for, but in his song of praise sees in this child, God’s intervention for the whole world. What starts as a simple act of devotion, in gratitude for the birth of a child, takes on a cosmic and eternal significance.
There is a crescendo of generosity. Mary and Joseph offering a simple gift as an act of devotion and gratitude, Simeon seeing this moment as the fulfilment of his gift of time and attention, but it is of course the unfolding giving of God himself in Jesus that is the life-changing act of generosity. Here is Jesus the one who gives everything: his glory, his invulnerability and at the end, his life. When we see Jesus’ generosity to us there is no room for a superficial response, our generosity will also become life changing.
Those whose generosity is a reflection of God’s generosity, become people the world needs; a pervasive generosity becomes an incredible force for good.