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When I saw this tree, I called it Simeon.
It is mostly dead. It only had a few leaves to show its tenacious hold on life. But even so, it towers over its younger and healthier counterparts. It is so tall it looks as if it reaches for the clouds.
It is Simeon.
In the gospel of Luke, two people stand out at Jesus’ dedication at the temple. One, the widow Anna, I dedicated last year’s advent posts to. This year, the focus turns to the man in that same chapter.
Both of these individuals, these godly ones who touched Mary so deeply that she mentioned them by name when Luke interviewed her many years later, were old. One might even call them ancient. Both had lived past their expectancy and probably past all those they knew and loved.
Maybe it’s because I’ve taken the turn to the downward side of middle-age that these saints and their testimony speaks to me. Or perhaps it’s their passion and zeal for God. The temple was full of priests and religious officials who might herald the Messiah, yet these two that society declared done were the ones to praise and notice his arrival.
They were the ones who gave him worship.
And for that, if nothing else, they are worth getting to know better.
A Sixty-Day Countdown to Christmas
Introduction to The Messiah Simeon Waited For
Day 6, Prophecies for the Gentiles
Day 9, Welcoming God's Firstborn
Day 19, Making Mary and Joseph Marvel
Day 21, Hinting at the Rest of the Story
Day 23, Making Simeon into Simeon
Day 24, Prophet to the Prophets
Day 25, A Priest Like Melchizedek
Day 26, Destined for Sacrifice
Day 27, Jesus and the Passover Lamb, part 1
Day 28, Jesus and the Passover Lamb, part 2
Day 29, Jesus and the Passover Lamb, Part 3
Day 30, Jesus as the Lamb (con.)
Day 31, Simeon as a Man of Gratitude
Day 32, Sacrificing Lambs in the Old Testament
Day 35, Jesus the Stumbling Block
Day 37, The Precious Cornerstone
Day 39, The Cornerstone and the Gate
Day 42, Restoring the Booth of David
Day 45, Crown Him with Many Crowns
Day 46, Identifying the Son of God
Day 47, The Best Storyteller Ever
Day 48, In Bethlehem, the City of David
Day 51, The Mountain Tree (Part 1)
