"Waiting for the Consolation of Israel"
a sermon by Rev. Michael Gladish
December 2nd, 2007
"And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him...." (Luke 2:25)
In this first sermon for the Christmas season this year we are jumping just a little past the story of the Lord's birth to the day of His presentation in the temple at Jerusalem. The reason for this is that the incident refers to a certain prophecy that had led this man to expect the Lord's birth, and today we will be focusing on the use of prophecy in preparing for the Lord. We will also be considering the particular concept of "the Consolation of Israel" mentioned in this prophecy as a way of describing the fundamental purpose and benefits of the Lord's life on earth.
To put it in context, according to the law of Moses (Leviticus 12:1-4) the firstborn of any woman in Israel belonged to the Lord and had to be redeemed, or bought back, by a specific offering to the Lord shortly after birth. The idea was to remind the people of how the Lord had spared their firstborn during the exodus, when all the firstborn of Egypt were killed. So they "owed" the Lord a debt of thanks for this and were obliged to pay that debt.
The payment was to be made at the temple in Jerusalem 40 days after the birth, when the period of the mother's purification had been completed. And it was to include a lamb and a bird -- either a young pigeon or a turtledove -- though in the case of the poor an extra bird could be offered instead of the lamb, thus two turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
So it was that Mary and Joseph brought the baby, Jesus, to the temple in Jerusalem at the age of 40 days, "to do for him according to the custom of the law." "And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem" - not a priest or a Levite, but a particular man - "whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel... (and) he came by the Spirit into the temple" when the Child was there, and "took Him up in his arms and blessed God, and said,
'Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;
For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel'" (Luke 2:25-32).
You see, the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that He would see the Christ before he died, and seeing Him now, presumably as an old man, he spontaneously recognized Him and so in relief and gratitude he offered his blessing.
Now let's see what the story can teach us.
First, the name, Simeon, means "to hear" and signifies obedience. Thus we read, he was "just and devout" -- the word, devout, actually meaning something more like "circumspect," that is, careful, perhaps careful to observe the law. He is clearly chosen for this story because of what he represents. And being just and circumspect, "it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ." What does this mean?
Well, the words, Lord, and Christ, both have specific meanings. "Lord" refers to the Divine love or good, and "Christ," because it means "anointed" and relates to the governing function that has to do with law and order, refers to the Divine truth. "The Lord's Christ" therefore refers to the truth that belongs to what is good, specifically the truth that belongs to Divine love. This is what Simeon had been promised he would see, and one of the key lessons in the story is that we, too, have been promised that we can see the truth that comes from Divine love if we are also just and circumspect, hearing the Word and being careful to observe it.
Now note that the Holy Spirit which reveals all this in the story is, according to John (15:26 & 16:13) the spirit of truth, and the spirit of truth is the right understanding of it, especially the understanding of the spiritual meaning or application of it.
So when we, like Simeon, maintain orderly lives, hearing and doing what the Scriptures say -- which by the way requires regular, thoughtful reading and reflection -- a good understanding will come to us and that understanding will reveal to us the truth of the Divine love, that is, a compassionate and comprehensive awareness of the truth that leads to a blessed eternal life.
But now - key to the story - what exactly is "the Consolation of Israel"?
The word has a most interesting root -- from two words meaning, literally, "to call alongside." It is sometimes translated as "Helper," sometimes as "Comforter," once as "Advocate," and in some translations the original Greek form is simply retained in the word "Paraclete." Apart from the Epistles and a few other Gospel references where the word occurs as a verb, the only other place we encounter the word as a NAME is in John. There, this same word that is translated "Consolation" (with a capital C) is rendered "Comforter" in the Old King James and "Helper" in the New, quoting the Lord saying, "If you love Me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper (another Consolation; another Comforter), that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you" (John 14:16-17).
Interesting! First, in our verse from Luke, the Lord Himself is referred to as "the Comforter" (though the word is translated as "Consolation"), then in John, well into His ministry, HE speaks of "another Comforter." Are we really to understand these as two different things? -- two different beings? Some Bible commentaries clearly say yes. And yet a few verses later in the same chapter of John Jesus says that it is HE who will come to us, and dwell in us, and manifest Himself to us. Note also that the reason given for this "other Comforter" is so that the Father Himself, to whom Jesus would pray, may abide with His disciples forever.
It all looks pretty complicated at first, but then we remember the Lord's words in John 10, where He said "I and My Father are one," or later in John 14 where He said "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." The point is that the Father - Divine love - is revealed and present in the comforting, reassuring truth that Jesus taught, and even more especially in the Spirit of that truth which is called "another Comforter." But these are not really two different things, simply different levels, forms or aspects of the same thing, since it is the truth itself, one way or another, that always is our source of Comfort and Consolation.
Note again: the truth is our one source of comfort and consolation.
Most of the time it just doesn't seem to be so. Rather it often seems to us that the truth hurts, or in any case causes irritation. So we beat around the bush, or we prefer to hear and say things that aren't really true. When asked how we're doing we say "fine" when we're not fine, or when asked what's on our mind we say "nothing" when in fact our minds are racing. We praise our children when they know quite well they don't deserve it, and we also criticize them when they don't deserve it. (It would be far better, for example, and far more reassuring to a child if we said "I see you worked really hard on that" rather than heaping praise on a half-baked project.)
We think it is better to withhold the truth, to tell people what they want to hear, or to tell little white lies, than it is to be direct, but sooner or later the facts will come out, and then the consequences may be much worse than if they had been known all along. Mind you, it is important to speak the truth with compassion, for it IS love that saves, while truth apart from love condemns. But real love tells the truth, and tells it in a way that does comfort and console.
All this is true on the spiritual plane as well. We prefer to hear teachings that make us feel good about ourselves, rather than teachings that point out our faults or responsibilities. And we prefer to tell people things that will make them like us, or like our church, rather than things that may raise doubts or questions for them. But the truth is the basis for a heavenly life, and sooner or later the truth must be told or we are all going to be in a heap of trouble.
For example, one reason the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone is so popular is that it makes life easy. In fact it's a free ticket to heaven, no matter what a person does, provided he accepts the atoning sacrifice of Christ. But like all false comforts, the comfort of this teaching doesn't last, since those who flaunt the rules go to hell, and there suffer miserably despite being as happy as it is possible for them to be.
Again, real love tells the truth, but it does so in a way that brings comfort -- at least to those who care, who are just and circumspect. This, then, is why the Lord came into our world. This is what Simeon and all who longed for redemption in Israel were waiting for: -- a revelation of the truth with love. And it is what we ALL long for in our own lives.
Now of course the Jews of that time had the truth of the Word for their spiritual lives! But it had been completely distorted and abused by the selfish, worldly loves of those who administered it. In fact it was not used to help people but to keep them under control, and to lay heavy burdens of guilt and material compliance on them. So the Lord came to free people of all this nonsense, and He did this by reframing the truth in a loving context, restoring its original meaning and drawing on His own inner wisdom to reveal new and deeper concepts than anyone had seen before.
The point, as we are taught in the True Christian Religion (#85-86), is that the Lord through His life in the world restored the link that was broken between goodness and truth. He was born as to His finite conscious mind knowing nothing, though His Infinite love inspired everything He did, and as He learned what He was taught from the Word He instantly perceived the love and wisdom within it and was able to refute and reject the falsities that had been associated with it. So He purified, or as we say, glorified the truth in His own mind, at the same time teaching this truth with infinite love in all His words and examples. And this was the Consolation of Israel. This was what men and women and children everywhere most needed and most longed for in the dark days leading up to the time of His birth.
And honestly, isn't this what we all long for most in our own lives? Isn't this what we need more than anything else?
We can begin with ourselves. Do we know the truth about ourselves -- what we really love, what we really want, why we act the way we do? Wouldn't it be better to know than not to know? Yet these things can be revealed to us if we search the Scriptures and the heavenly doctrines, justly and devoutly paying attention to what we learn.
And then we can consider the world around us and all the influences that play upon us, from the simple comments we hear in daily conversations to the impact of the media, politicians, salesmen, businessmen and academics; in short, everything we see and hear. WHAT IS THE TRUTH? Isn't that the basic question we are always asking? WHO CAN WE BELIEVE? What can we count on? Isn't this the Consolation of Israel that we also seek? (Israel, after all, represents our own intellectual spiritual life.)
But the very seeking, and the prophetic promise that if we seek with all our hearts we will find the truth before we die, is for the most part what keeps us going (see Jer. 29:13, also Deut. 4:29). It gives us hope. It motivates the search. It helps us bear the grief and consequences of all the falsities we encounter and the foolish mistakes we make along the way. At least, for example, when we realize that we've been led astray we can say, as scientists and engineers often say, "Well, that didn't work," and move on to try a better way.
And of course the Lord Himself shows us that better way. He shows us in the stories of His own life on earth and He shows us even more in the revelation of His love and wisdom that we call "the Writings." There is no essential difference between these; one is simply a deeper view and explanation of what is contained in the other. They work together to provide the clarity and Consolation we need in what can be a very dark and confusing world.
Again, the key to a successful life is knowing the truth, and more than that, understanding it. Yes, the truth can hurt, like antiseptic in a wound, but in the long run it is what comforts and allows us to heal. Applied with love, as the Lord applied all the teachings of the ancient law, it is what brings salvation. Let us therefore be like Simeon, just and devout: trusting, waiting, seeking, hoping for the Consolation of Israel until we are prepared to receive Him and He does in fact come to us in the glory of His Word.
Amen.
Lessons: Isaiah 9:1-7, selections
Luke 2:22-35
True Christian Religion #87-88
