With the inner eye
February 2nd is the feast of The Meeting of the Lord – also known as the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. But it was a meeting; a meeting between two young parents and their 40-day old baby and two old people who immediately recognised this child as the one promised by God from long ago. With their external eyes they saw a poor couple with a baby. But their inner eyes revealed to them the true identify of this baby.
The inner eye enabled Simeon and Anna to recognise who it was that entered the Temple. No big announcement, no descent from the skies to impress thousands. From the very beginning, from infancy the approach God took with Jesus was the slow, quiet one of revealing what only the inner eye could see. Simeon and Anna are our teachers, our models for nurturing our own inner eyes.
We have to develop the inner eye, the inner understanding and discernment that enable us to see through our egos and pride and our fascination with power. There was no power in that 40-day old baby. There was no power in that same baby when he became a man and was brought to trial and execution; at least no power in the conventional meaning of power.
Inspired by the moment and by the Spirit of God, Simeon pronounced words that are among the most beautiful and profound in all Scripture (Luke
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
Νῦν ἀπολύεις τὸν δοῦλόν σου, δέσποτα,
κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου ἐν εἰρήνῃ·
ὅτι εἶδον οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου τὸ σωτήριόν σου,
ὃ ἡτοίμασας κατὰ πρόσωπον πάντων τῶν λαῶν,
φῶς εἰς ἀποκάλυψιν ἐθνῶν
καὶ δόξαν λαοῦ σου Ἰσραήλ.
What is Simeon saying with these words?
Lord, you are now letting me depart in peace - my life’s purpose is fulfilled, just as you promised
That my eyes, my inner eyes, would see and recognise the one who brings salvation:
The salvation which you prepared and which will come face-to-face with all peoples
A light that will reveal all the nations
And the glory of your people Israel.
I disagree with the usual translations of the final two lines. The genitives – ἐθνῶν and λαοῦ σου – lend themselves to more than one translation. The usual translations make Gentiles and Israel the recipients of revelation and glory, respectively. That’s perfectly correct. But the syntax of the Greek lends itself to an equally valid translation that indicates what the light reveals – namely, the nations and the glory of Israel.
It seems to me that the light of Christ reveals/unveils the nations and the glory of Israel at the same time, as they share the same destiny. ἀποκάλυψιν really means unveiling, uncovering. Revelation is the unveiling of God’s purposes. Simeon now sees that every nation, not just his own nation of Israel, has a purpose which is now unveiled/revealed in the light of Jesus Christ.
By ‘glory’ Simeon is not saying Jesus is going to make Israel great again. Jesus is not going to make Israel a great military power that’s going to overthrow Rome and restore the glorious kingdom of David – which is what many Jews expected the Messiah to do. No. The glory of Israel is to be the light. The light that brings truth and salvation to all the nations was the purpose of Israel’s existence from the very beginning, in the promise God made to Abraham: “And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). Simeon and Anna’s lives are now fulfilled. But so is Israel’s purpose fulfilled! God’s purpose from the beginning was to prepare a people to receive this child, this baby, brought to the Temple by his parents. And it is not just Simeon and Anna and Israel whose purpose is fulfilled, but also the Temple’s purpose! The Temple, the building in which people went to be in the presence of God, now welcomes the one who will become the new Temple: no longer a building, but a person in whom people will encounter God!
Simeon and Anna see all this. But they see it with an inner eye that has been kept alert and sharp because of prayer and quiet waiting. They are teachers to us, that we also should take time every week or even every day to quietly meditate with prayer and a little reading, but mostly waiting for God’s quiet voice to teach us and guide us forward. There are techniques that people use. I don’t believe in techniques and I don’t teach techniques. My approach is simple and appropriate for everyone. Be alert, read a passage from the Gospels – any passage, perhaps the daily passage that’s indicated in the wall calendar you receive every year – and then just sit quietly or start going about your business but keep a corner of your awareness open to receive insight from God about what you read. This is the beginning of the contemplative life, where Christ himself becomes your teacher. If you prefer to read a passage at night, you may find you wake up in the morning with new insight because of what you read before sleeping. It’s amazing what can happen to your inner understanding while you sleep!
An old Sioux saying goes like this: “The longest journey you will make in your life is from your head to your heart.” Many of us are stuck in the head. Even when we read the Bible we read for information. Unless head knowledge becomes heart knowledge there is no point. If you read the Bible on a daily or somewhat daily basis in the way I have just now suggested, it will not remain as head knowledge. It will become heart knowledge and that’s when contemplation begins. That’s where your inner eye looks at your life and sees the presence of God. That was Simeon, that was Anna, that can be you.