"Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel...Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts...and took the child in his arms and praised God saying, 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation...a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.'" Luke 2:25, 27a, 28-32
Hundreds of years before Simeon was born, a prophet delivered a message of consolation to Israel that reverberated through the ages and lingered during the long silence of God, until it found its fulfillment in the person of Christ. "Comfort, comfort my people," was the heart cry of God for Israel, and it is his cry for the world. Through the prophet Isaiah we catch a glimpse of the desperate love and longing of God for the restoration of his people. Israel had suffered so much because of their sin, and God knew the only answer was to provide comfort through a salvation that was lasting and eternal. What Israel did not understand, or the world know, was that the consolation of God would come through a Savior who would provide deliverance from sin and suffering for all of mankind.
God's heart for Israel and yes, the world, is for all to be released from spiritual bondage, and find life and freedom in Christ.
And so, Jesus came. Simeon sees him, carried in the arms of his mother, and knows the time of waiting is over. He reaches out his time-worn hands and gently draws his Savior to himself. The promised one is finally here; Israel's consolation has come. Simeon holds eternity in his arms, the fulfillment of God's promise to him and to the world. The mystery of God is revealed in the words of praise offered up by a man who knew God, and now sees him in the face of the Messiah: "For my eyes have seen your salvation...a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." Simeon caught a glimpse of the mysterious plan of God that was about to unfold - the redemption of the world through the promised Savior of Israel.
The message of God to Israel is his message to the world, and it continues to reverberate through time. "Comfort, comfort my people," remains the cry of God's heart, and it is once again awaiting its fulfillment in the person of Christ. Just as he saw the agony of Israel and ached to bring her consolation, so now he sees the brokenness of the world, he hears the groans of creation and the cries of his people, and longs for the consummation of his eternal plan. In our own desperation we sometimes become impatient and question God's timing. We wonder how he can see our suffering yet continue to wait to provide relief. We don't understand why evil is allowed to keep flourishing, why he doesn't step in and deliver its final blow. But our God is the same loving God who waited thousands of years before sending his promised Son, and he is the one who sends messages of comfort and hope to those awaiting his consolation. "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (II Peter 3:8-9). "They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:3b-4). He isn't callous to our suffering. His heart of love sees our need and the desperate state of the lost, and in the mystery of his love provides for both perfectly.
The hope, comfort and salvation of the first Advent that we celebrate is the same hope, comfort and salvation that we look forward to in the second: Christ. But we have not been subjected to a long silence as we await his second coming. The cry of God's heart echoes down through the ages, its message of love to Israel and the world written in blood shed on a cross and preserved in the nail scars in his hands. This is the mystery and consolation of God.