Christmas Is Personal

Canticle of Simeon
Nunc Dimittis; Luke 2:29-32

Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace:
your word has been fulfilled.
My own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.


If there is one person with whom we can identify, especially we older folks, it is the old man Simeon. He just knew in his heart of hearts that he would not leave this life without coming face to face with the Messiah of God.

Sure enough, when Mary and Joseph brought their child Jesus to the temple to fulfill the requirements of dedication, Simeon met them. He recognized the infant as the One he was waiting for. The encounter had an enormous impact on Simeon’s life—in fact, it gave meaning to Simeon’s many years of worshipping God.

The tradition of the church calls us to sing Simeon’s song each night as our day comes to an end. When we give ourselves up to sleep, we surrender our lives into God’s keeping, confident in the promise of new life when morning comes. Like Simeon, we are prompted by the Spirit to recognize the presence of God’s Messiah, remembering how we, too, have prayed and longed for what our Christ will bring us.

Simeon’s Song is a canticle for Christmas, a personal message to each one of us. Christmas is the reminder that God has come to us in Jesus Christ, to each one personally, even in the darkest of times, revealing the brightness of God’s glory.

Sometimes the personal impact of Christmas gets blurred by the busyness of the season. Put Simeon's Song on your list to sing this year. Take Christmas very personally. As Simeon took the child Jesus in his arms, each one of us can embrace God’s gift of grace with joy, and then, wherever God will lead us, we will go in peace.