Go In Peace
One of the joys of reading this story is that all of us can picture this old man with the six-week-old baby in his arms. We know what it is like – and, perhaps the Vanden Berges better than any of us as they have just welcomed their thirteenth grandchild – to anticipate the birth of a child and then to see that child… and perhaps, to hold that child in our arms. The awe and the wonder of new life… and the promise that it holds… engenders in us a fierce instinct to protect that life… while we watch that child absorb all that is going on around it. So, Simeon gazes at the Baby Jesus, while those big baby eyes openly gaze back at him. Perhaps, he touched that baby’s cheek or felt those tiny fingers curl around his finger. Perhaps, he cooed and laughed as he held that child… or perhaps, overwhelmed with emotion, just stood there… with tears streaming down his face. All we know is that Simeon knew with a certainty that came only from God that this child was one that he had waited for all his life. The burden he had carried in his heart… the one thing he had prayed for each day… he held God’s answer in his arms… and, finally, he was at peace.
But what did he see, really? It was just a little child in his arms… a powerless, speechless newcomer to the world. Whatever salvation that baby might work was still only a promise and a hope. Whatever teaching he might offer would remain hidden for many years. Nothing had happened yet. Herod still sat on his throne and Caesar governed from afar. The world looked as it did before. By the time a mature Jesus would come onto the stage of history, Simeon and Anna would be long dead. So would most of those shepherds who came to see the child in the manger, and possibly Joseph, who watched over him, and the magi we will talk about next Sunday. Thirty years or more would pass before the gospel story started again with the ministry of Jesus. What was it that Simeon saw in the baby that day? What was it that gave him hope… or the certain knowledge that everything was suddenly OK?
“I’ve got you covered.” In any crime drama… war movie… action flick, these are the words that give the hero the courage to engage the enemy again… to dive into the fray and fight with all his heart. “I’ve got you covered.” “There is hope.” “We can do this together.” “I’ve got you covered” was what God said to Simeon that day. “This child… this little one… is your wingman.”
It was the Romans who first documented the wartime advantage of the wing position… of having the cavalry positioned on the wings with the infantry in the center. The role of the cavalry was to protect the infantry from being outflanked. With this protection on both sides, the infantry could move forward and engage the enemy without fear of some unknown force coming at them unseen. This key position has been used in battle ever since. Anyone who has studied military tactics knows that whether we are talking about infantry on the ground or fighter jets in the air, the wing position… the position of wingman… is critical to the success of the endeavor. It is why policemen have partners. It is why fighter jets fly in formation. That teamwork is the lynchpin.
Simeon had waited a long time for this day. Simeon and Anna had both prayed for God’s Messiah to appear. Both of them were a part of a special group of people called “The Quiet in the Land”… ones who had dedicated their lives to praying for God’s Messiah to appear and hastening that day by doing justice and pursuing righteousness, becoming, in essence, living sacrifices each day to God. We don’t know how long they had done this… though we can surmise that Anna had been doing it for almost sixty years… sixty years of faithful devotion… sixty years of quiet, steady belief in God’s promises. They waited for a sign… a sign of hope.
“The cavalry is coming” is a phrase that anyone who watches old westerns knows. How many times do we see the formula… a formula so powerful it can only come from life itself. “The cavalry is coming.” It’s a phrase that every Texan knows that the brave men and women at the Alamo longed to hear during that lonely battle when they were so outnumbered. What does it mean? It means that help is on its way… that salvation is at hand… that the battle can be won… that the impossible is possible …and… that we do not have to do it alone… a greater force is with us… a mighty army stands beside us.
When we read this story of Simeon at the Temple, we read into it a rendering that misses the point entirely. Many of us read (and, frankly, some versions of the Bible translate): “It is enough. Now let your servant depart in peace” and we assume that Simeon gives up his fight… in essence, turns it over to the Baby Jesus… and then crawls away to his little hole to die. But that wasn’t it at all. “It is enough” means “This is all that I needed.” And “depart in peace” doesn’t mean “let go of life”, but “go with the knowledge that all is well.” The Greek word that is used here – “appoluo” – means “to be released, to be set free, to be sent away, to be sent off.” It is accurately translated “dismissed.” To be dismissed does not mean to be discarded… it means that the person is released to go and do whatever task he or she has been given. And “peace” here is not the absence of physical conflict, but absence of mental anguish.
At the end of each service of worship, when I tell you to “go in peace to love and serve the Lord,” I do not mean that such service will be easy… that there will be no trouble in your life… or that the struggle is over and you can rest. I mean “go in the knowledge that God goes with you… that your wingman is here.” Simeon knew that the battle for righteousness was not over. Simeon knew that there were still long days ahead… days of fighting for the soul of God’s people… days of struggle for justice and mercy in an unjust and unmerciful world. But… “the cavalry had arrived.” The battle was not over, but help was here… tangible help. God’s Messiah was in the world. Simeon’s wingman had appeared.
Last week, when things at the church seemed to be at their craziest, four of us met for prayer in the morning. After we read our devotional and talked about all that needed to be accomplished and how weary we were, we prayed together. As we were walking out, Carol Gonzales came up behind me and raised both of my hands up. She was reminding me of the story in the Bible when children of Israel went into battle. Whenever Moses’ hands were raised, the Israelites were winning and whenever he lowered his hands, they lost. When he grew tired and could not hold his hands up any more, Aaron and Hur held up his hands until the sun set. That allowed Joshua and the children of Israel to win that battle. She was letting me know that she was there to help… to hold up my hands until we had accomplished all that we had to do. The cavalry had arrived.
But any military person can tell you that the successful use of the wing position depends upon the knowledge that there is a prearranged plan for the battle and that the infantry understands that plan and the objective for the battle. How would you finish the phrase: “If you don’t know where you are going…”? Let me try that again. How would you finish the phrase: “If you don’t know where you are going…”? Maybe I can help. If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there. If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else. If you don’t know where you are going, there’s no point fighting over how to get there. If you don’t know where you are going, you’re never going to get there. These responses have been attributed to anyone from Lewis Carroll to Yogi Berra or an ancient Chinese proverb. They serve to stress the importance of knowing the objective.
How do we find the objective for this particular battle? In exactly the same way that both Simeon and Anna found it… in scripture. God does not make a secret of God’s objective for humankind and, in fact, Jesus summed it all up for us in two commandments: To love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul; and to love your neighbor as yourself. And how will we know when we have achieved this objective? John’s vision in Revelation tells us that when we are all gathered around God’s throne and every knee bows to the authority of Jesus Christ, that objective will have been achieved. Our Westminster catechism summarizes it in the very first question: What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
If that is the objective, then we know what we have to do… Share the story. One of the reasons that my father was so committed to mission work was that he was convinced that Christ would not return until every person had heard the good news. If he could help in the achievement of that objective, he was determined not to rest until he had done his best to get the word out. What gave him the courage to leave his home in the United States and go abroad as a missionary? The knowledge that he was not alone. The cavalry was riding with him. His wingman was there.
The ones who saw this baby… who knelt in the straw at the stable … those who laid their gifts before him… those who held the tiny child in their arms… they would never know what became of him. But it didn’t matter. They knew the promises of God in the scripture… and they believed that this child was the child who was promised to them. So, Simeon stands there in grateful wonder. It is the future that he holds in his arms. It is his hope and consolation. He has seen it. He has touched it. He is satisfied. It is, as he said, enough. And then Anna adds her own joy and praise to the moment. They praise God for his gift and they go… not to crawl into their beds and wait for death to overcome them… but to continue the battle that they have been fighting for decades… armed with the knowledge that God is with them… Emmanuel.
Your God has come to you…not so that you can abandon the battle and rest… but so that you can re-engage the enemy armed with the knowledge that “the cavalry is here”… your wingman has arrived. All will be well… for what seemed impossible is now possible. Do not let your hearts be troubled… depart in peace. Whatever needs to be done, can be done. For our God is with us… Emmanuel. Amen. Luke 1:26-38