One
of my favorite radio personalities was a man named Paul Harvey. He was from Chicago, and he had a 15-minute daily
segment that was syndicated all over the country. He was a master story teller, and a part of
his monologue always included back story to someone who would have been a
well-known historical figure. It was always intriguing because he told obscure,
but significant parts of their story. It
helped the rest of their life story make sense, and he always ended by saying,
“And now you know the rest of the story.”
If
you ever heard him, his voice and the unique way he would weave his monologue
were unforgettable. His use of the
phrase, “the rest of the story,” has stuck with me over the last 24 hours. I was having a conversation with a friend
yesterday, and we were reflecting on Luke’s narrative. While we were talking, it dawned on me that I
left out a couple of the characters that were included in Luke — one in
particular, whose name was Simeon. I
don’t think this story is complete without him.
Simeon,
like Zechariah, was a priest, serving in the temple. He, like Zechariah, was an aging man, but a
man who had received a promise. Luke
tells us that God had made him a promise that would not die without seeing the
fulfillment of the prophecy concerning the Messiah. He worked in the temple, and happened to be
there when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus in for his dedication. Luke says that Simeon felt compelled to enter
the temple while Mary and Joseph were there. Coincidence? Doubt it. Chance meeting?
More like the fulfillment of a promise made. As the narrative says, the reason
he went in at that exact moment was because he was “compelled by the spirit.”
That’s
just the way God is, and I think completes the way Luke tells the Christmas
story. First, we are assured that God
hears us. Second, Luke wants us to know
that he finds favor with us. He then, by
including the shepherds, makes sure that we all know, regardless of who we are,
that Jesus came for everyone. And now,
through this little “chance” meeting with Simeon and these young parents, a
promise made was now kept.
Luke
wants us to know in the midst of everything else he is saying, that our God is
one who can be trusted. Again we are
reminded that in the story, God never forgets the person. In the middle of this story of the arrival of
the Messiah, we get this amazing news.
He came to an old man, a young teenager, a group of stinking shepherds,
and now a priest. So we can be assured that he hears us, likes us, included us,
and can be trusted. They mattered, and
so do we. Like Paul Harvey would say, “And
now we know the rest of the story.”
Text
for the week: Luke 2:22-35
