Nunc dimittis

Last week we thought about the Magnificat and this evening I want to think a bit more about the other Song of Praise that we sing in the Evening Prayer service, which is the Nunc Dimittis.

Nunc Dimittis is the Latin for the words ‘now you are dismissing’, and the words are those of Simeon contained in the gospel of Luke (2:28-32) as the baby Jesus is taken by Mary and Joseph to the Temple – there they will make their sacrifice to God as a thanksgiving for the gift of the child.

At the Temple they meet Simeon, a man who we are told is righteous and devout (2:25). He seems to have been waiting quietly for the promised day when God would save his people – through the Holy Spirit God had promised Simeon that his life would not end until he had seen the Messiah.

In the baby Jesus, Simeon recognised his Messiah and he praised God, satisfied that his life’s work was done. And we’re told that Mary and Joseph were amazed at what was being said about Jesus.

These words are tremendous words of faith and praise – the faith to recognise that it was ok for earthly life to end, that ultimately the big picture is a lot bigger than we can ever imagine. And also the faith to recognise that, though we may not understand heaven, or be able to give a perfect description of what happen there, one thing that we do know is that life there is good – a place of no suffering, no pain, no tears or mourning or sorrow.

These are difficult things for us to accept. We so often hold on to the past and the present and fail to see the hope that is ahead. But Simeon was satisfied – God had delivered his promises as Simeon always believed he would, and he was happy for earthly life to end – ‘Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word.’

And he goes on ‘for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples.’ When he saw Jesus he didn’t, like many of the Jewish people, see a Messiah who would come to rule with military power and force, he saw only a child who would offer salvation to all people. He had studied his scriptures, he understood perfectly well that God’s ways are not our ways; that God’s plan is nothing like the plan we often lay out.

In Jesus Simeon saw a Saviour – he saw a little child who was vulnerable and loving, trusting, and loved – and, as a Saviour, Jesus, though not at all weak, allowed himself to be vulnerable, to be beaten and tortured and put on the cross, all of the time loving those who were killing him, trusting and knowing that this was only a part of the great plan of salvation, and praying that people, recognising his pain and his love for them, would love him too.

And Simeon also recognised that this wasn’t a Saviour just for the Jews – this was a Saviour for the Gentiles as well – here was a Saviour for all people – ‘To be a light to lighten the Gentiles, and to be the glory of thy people Israel’.

Simeon, who was a devout Jew, recognised that the sort of salvation that Jesus was offering was salvation which gave everyone a chance, regardless of place of birth or background or anything else. The Jews had looked inwardly, concerned only for themselves. They were dominated by the great Roman military power, and they wanted their land back, and their culture – they wanted to see a Saviour who would deliver these things for them.

In Jesus they found a Saviour who was not interested in destroying Rome, or building a great Jewish nation, but a Saviour who would quietly do everything that could ever be needed to ensure that nobody would ever have to fear an earthly power again – Jesus didn’t physically remove the Romans, but he reminded all people that the Romans were just a small passing bit of a history that lasts for all eternity, and it is that eternity that people should be looking to.

And that’s where we leave the Nunc Dimittis in our Church liturgy – rightly we celebrate salvation for all, and we seek the kind of spirit and faith that led Simeon to trust unquestioningly, but Simeon had more to say.

The picture he paints to Mary and Joseph after is not a happy one – in the verses immediately following he warns that ‘this child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

Simeon recognised a Saviour that wouldn’t be accepted by all – his path would be one of suffering and rejection before the victory of the cross could be claimed. And he was offering a warning to Mary that she would also suffer – as any mother who sees her child suffering would surely suffer herself…

And so Simeon’s presence in the Temple reminds us that salvation is offered for all people, but won’t be accepted by all, and he also reminds us of the need for faithfulness and patience as well as trust in God.

And there is one more thing that I want to think of as we think about Simeon, and that is the role of the Prophet – the words of Simeon could have been dismissed as those of a mad or at best, sentimental, old man, and so often the words of a prophet are not heard perhaps because they are often uncomfortable words – the Jewish Scriptures pointed the people to a Saviour just like Jesus, but many still didn’t want to hear, because he didn’t look like they wanted him to look like.

They pointed to a suffering servant coming not to overthrow governments but to offer salvation for all who accept that offer of salvation, but the people wanted the military ruler – that’s the one they could understand, but a ruler who had come in that way could never appeal for people to love him - to idolise him perhaps, even to worship him, but never to truly love him.

And the rejection of prophecy is one that we can all fall into as we try to impose our own will on a situation rather than look for God’s will. While I was preparing this sermon I found a poem which reads :-

‘I was hungry and you formed a humanities club and discussed my hunger. Thank you.

I was imprisoned and you crept off quietly to your chapel in your cellar and prayed for my release.

I was naked and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.

I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your own health.

I was homeless and you preached to me of a spiritual shelter found in the love of God.

I was lonely and you left me alone to pray for me.

You seem so holy, so close to God, but I’m still very hungry, and lonely and cold.’

Simeon I think was a very realistic man – he understood people’s natures, he understood that people liked to talk of a Saviour, but may not be quite so keen on the reality, particularly of a Saviour who didn’t do exactly what they wanted…

And prophets, like Simeon, will often say tough things, but implicit in their words is the offer of hope which Jesus provides for us all, and it is that that must motivate us to praise God in our words and actions every day. AMEN