But who will endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?
Who indeed was able to endure the day of the coming of the Lord to his temple? He came in the form of a helpless child born to parents so poor that they could not bring the standard offering of a lamb and a pigeon or turtledove, though perhaps in some fashion, he himself was the lamb that they offered. Only people who had prepared their hearts were able to stand when he appeared. Others missed the significance of the moment entirely.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
Simeon not only knew about the promises of God. He desired them. Many others were vaguely aware that some messenger of the covenant was coming, perhaps even soon. But it did not make them particularly more attentive to the small and almost hidden way in which it happened. Simeon seemed to not only have learned about it but to have allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal it to him personally. Thus, what others expected only generically, happening out there somewhere else, Simeon anticipated personally. Yes, he was righteous and devout. But those factors alone weren't the whole story about why he recognized the coming of the Lord, or, in particular, why he found such fulfillment when it happened. It was because the Holy Spirit was upon him in such a way that what others experienced as mere factual historical data became deeply personal to him. The Holy Spirit can make the same difference for us when we study revelation, especially the Scriptures. The righteousness of Simeon was not rigid, nor his devotion merely performance. Rather, both represented his openness to the work of the Spirit within him.
Because Simeon responded to the Spirit what the Psalmist wrote was true for him: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart" (see Psalm 37:4). We can see that this is very much what happened when we read Simeon say, "Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word". We respond to verses like this pious assent of our intellects. But can we actually imagine it being true, imagine someone desiring the Lord so much that just to see him was enough to fulfill the entire purpose of his life? But that is what happened. And Simeon was not unique. There were others like Anna, who, after seeing Jesus, "gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem". She was so moved by his coming that she couldn't help but speak of him.
Perhaps a part of the message of the Feast of the Presentation is that we too should look to the Lord to find our joy, that we should delight ourselves in him, and that his Spirit really can cause or hearts to correspond to him to the degree that we find in him the fulfillment of our deepest desires, completely and forever.
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