Nunc dimittis1
Simeon was a righteous man living in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ birth. God revealed to Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah. When Simeon laid eyes on Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus into the Temple as a literal babe in arms, he knew this baby was God’s Anointed One. Holding the infant Jesus, Simeon said:
Lord, you now have set your servant free
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior,
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations,
and the glory of your people Israel. (Luke 2:29-32)
Simeon could not have imagined what kind of Messiah Jesus was to be, how his ministry would manifest itself in welcome to sinners and outcasts, in raising up the sick and lowly. Surely, Simeon could not have dreamt that this child would be rejected and suffer a criminal’s death by torture.
Simeon didn’t know how this baby’s story would unfold, but he’d experienced enough of God’s faithfulness to know everything would turn out according to God’s gracious saving will. He was prepared to leave the world – to depart in peace – because he had seen the Light of the world.
As I prepare to leave full-time pastoral ministry and retire, I know that the story hasn’t ended – not for me, and not for St. Matthew’s. I also know that none of us can predict what the future holds; it’s an unknown country.
Still, we have known God’s presence with us in the past and we know God is with us now and has promised to abide with us. Knowing this, we can boldly walk into the future.
The nunc dimittis, has lately become my prayer. I can depart in peace, not because all my work is done, or because I have achieved everything that I had hoped to accomplish in myself or in my ministry. I depart, neither throwing up my hands in defeat nor standing back in triumph. I depart, like Simeon, having seen enough to know that God’s purposes are at work and that God will continue to work through all the people of God, including me.
Like Simeon, we have held the promise in our arms. We have cradled it – in our love and kindness towards one another, in our hands offered in service to those in need, in our advocacy for the oppressed, in our welcome of the stranger, in our humility to confess our failures, and in our confidence that there is new life for us and for the world. We have caught a glimpse of the Light of the world.
Prayer: Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, for these eyes of mine have seen…
- *Nunc dimittis is the liturgical nickname for the Song of Simeon, one of the canticles that has been used at evening prayer since the 4th century. For long centuries, the church used the incipit, the opening word or phrase of a Psalm or Canticle as its shorthand title. We still do this when we refer to the short doxology after the assurance of pardon as the “Gloria Patri,” which is just the Latin for ‘glory to the Father.’ Nunc dimittis translates as “now you let depart.” ↩︎