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All of us connected with BYLINE want to wish
you a joyful Christmas. May Christ be more real
to you than He has ever been.
Our information about Simeon is sketchy.
Luke tells us that Simeon was at the Temple in
Jerusalem when Joseph and Mary brought in
the Christ child. He took the baby in his arms
and told God he was ready now...he had seen
the Divine Promise.
It is believed by some scholars that Simeon was
one of the 70, the Sanhedrin. According to one
tradition, it was the task of Simeon one year to
render Isaiah's writings from Hebrew to Greek.
For the first six chapters all went well. But in
the 7th chapter, he read, "Behold, a virgin shall
conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel." The tradition continues that the old
man was terribly frustrated by Isaiah's prophecy.
That night, as he tried to sleep, his tossing about
was interrupted by a heavenly visitor. It was the
angel Gabriel, who would shortly go across the
valley to Ain Karem to visit a stately old priest
named Zechariah--and then north a bit later to
congratulate a maiden named Mary.
The story tells us that Simeon sat rigidly on
the edge of his cot as the brilliant angel appeared.
"Simeon, I am Gabriel who stands in the presence
of God. Thou shalt remain in this thy captivity till
thou shalt see with thine own eyes the Lord's
Christ., made of a woman, and till the virgin's son
shall put his little hand into thine."
According to the legend, Simeon would not die
until he had beheld the Messiah. And so it was
that marvelous day when Mary and Joseph
brought in the child Jesus. Simeon maintained
his hope for that long, long time--and was not
disappointed.
My friend, I pray that the Lord fulfills all your
hopes during these days and for you it will be,
indeed, a "Simeon Christmas."
Dan Betzer here and that's BYLINE.
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