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| January 3, 2025 |
All of Life: An Advent
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| by Chris Hatley |
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And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the Law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
according to Your word;
for my eyes have seen Your salvation
that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to Your people Israel.”
Luke 2:22-32
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| For many, Advent is a season of great anticipation and expectation. As Christmas and the New Year draw closer, our lives begin to organize around planned celebration and remembrance. Old rhythms and traditions emerge, families gather, often for the first time in a while, and generosity becomes far more commonplace. This, of course, is not a wholly universal experience. For some, Advent is also a season of great grief and longing. Old hurts can seem more pronounced and lost loved ones feel particularly absent. However, regardless of what this Christmas season holds for you, we should all see a bit of ourselves in the character of Simeon.
Simeon, in Luke 2, is said to be waiting for the consolation of Israel. The Holy Spirit had told him he would not die until he had seen his Savior. And thus, righteous and devout, Simeon existed in a constant state of advent. His whole life was one of anticipation and expectation, one of grief and longing. We can assume, in his many years of life, Simeon was privy to much pain and suffering. In not being able to depart this world yet in peace, he likely watched many of his friends and family members pass on in their own time. Just as likely, Simeon assuredly had many years of great celebration, full of things to be thankful for. He existed in a sort of tension; a beautiful blend of all life holds for us. And so when he does finally see his Savior, taking the baby Jesus up in his arms, Simeon’s natural response is one of blessing and rejoicing.
Simeon reminds us that all of life is an advent; that these feelings of anticipation and longing we so associate with this time of year are not reserved for merely the Christmas season. We are always sitting before the throne, awaiting the coming of our King. Like Simeon, we can rejoice, thanking the Lord that, because Jesus has already come, we, His servants, can depart in peace. However, like Simeon we also look ahead to Christ’s second coming and do so with longing and assured expectation. In a sense, we too will not taste death until we see Christ in the flesh. Yes, we may pass from this life, but the bonds of death will not hold us.
Christ has come. Christ is coming again. We await Him with open arms. |
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| About the Author |
| Chris Hatley is a writer, editor, and graduate student at Reformed Theological Seminary. He and his wife Molly live in East Dallas and volunteer with the Young Adult ministry at Park Cities Presbyterian Church. He enjoys climbing rocks, reading books, and tending to plants. |
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