When a 103-year-old lady was asked, “What do you think of the future?” she answered, “It’s short!” How long the aged Simeon waited to see the promised Messiah we don’t know, but it would have been quite some time. When you’re old and are told that you won’t die until you’ve seen what you’ve longed for come to pass, the waiting room of old age becomes a corridor of extended time (Luke 2:22-35).
Why Simeon? Well, he was pious and he was patient. The promised appearance of Messiah was an ancient one, and Simeon’s big hope was that he would live to see it come to pass. If anyone had asked him what he thought of the future, he might have said, “That depends….” Simeon had a better reason than most for welcoming the dawn of each new day.
Hope keeps faith alive while strength fails. A revelation of the imminent appearance of a cherished hope strengthens the frailest life by adding expectancy. “In the evening it shall be light.” Faith says, “I have it!” Hope encourages us to continue until what we’ve had in our heart we hold in our hands. A preacher I once heard defined Hope as Desire held in expectancy, which I like a lot.
While Simon’s role was not a big one it was certainly a key one. We remember the aged man for living on until he saw the Promise; and for the accuracy of his prophecy over the 40-day-old Jesus he held in his arms. He was where God wanted him, at the right time, in the right place, and played his Spirit-inspired part to perfection. It was the best possible ending to a long and godly life, one that inspires me whenever I read it.