A Magnificent Work

Let your steadfast love become my comfort according to your promise to your servant.
✙ Psalm 119:76
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One of the unsung heroes of the story of Jesus' life is the prophet Simeon. He is mentioned only once: When Mary and Joseph brought their infant Son to the temple to be dedicated. Simeon somehow knew that he would live to see a new age ushered in, and so he waited faithfully. The Bible doesn't tell us how long he had waited, but we get the impression it was a long time. Nor does it tell us what he did during his long wait. But if all he did was to receive the children of Israel into his arms and bless them, then that alone was a magnificent work of God: he was sharing steadfast and unconditional love with the least among his people. 

Thus, when Jesus' parents placed their Baby in Simeon's arms, Simeon suddenly realized that his wait was over. He found himself holding the very Origin of the hope with which he had lived, the Source of the love that it had been his mission to share with the children brought to him over the years. Whether he lived one more day or another twenty years, he now knew that God was still very much a part of the nation and the world he loved so much.

May we be unstinting in sharing our own hope with the least among us, and may our lives be lived in the knowledge that God's shalom is part of the world in which we live.
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There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.
✙ Luke 2:25
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Prayer after thinking about today's devotion:
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Lord, now dismiss your servant in peace according to your word, for my eyes have seen the salvation you have prepared in the presence of all people: A light for revelation to the gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.
✙ Luke 2:29-32
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After your own thanksgivings & petitions, close with the Lord's Prayer.

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