So let's start this week at the end with the beginning in mind. In verses 34-35, Simeon says to Mary, "This child (Jesus) is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
Here Luke tells us that Jesus' ministry is about the revealing of hearts. When a person comes into the presence of Jesus, the true nature of his or her heart is revealed. As John, the Gospel writer says, Jesus is "the light [that] shines in the darkness" and "the true light that gives light to every man." (John 1:5, 9) A Jesus-shaped faith is identified primarily by heart transformation. Recognize that this does not simply mean behavior modification. Rather, Jesus has come to change who we are from the inside-out.
We witness heart transformation throughout this passage.
We see it first in the shepherds. Who were they? Better yet, we might ask, why are shepherds included in the story? First of all, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, right? The prophet Micah tells us in Micah 5:1-5 that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem (vs. 2). Verse four of this passage says, "He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth." Thus, Luke's inclusion of shepherds hearkens, perhaps, to the Micah prophecy itself. Second, Luke includes shepherds to show that the the Gospel of Jesus includes the poor and low of status. However, Alfred Edersheim in his 19th century book, Sketches of Jewish Social Life, asserts that these may not have been any set of random shepherds. Edersheim says these shepherds might have been the shepherds who watched the sheep destined for temple sacrifice in Jerusalem.
Edersheim says, "For, close by Bethlehem, on the road to Jerusalem, was a tower, known as Migdal Eder, the 'watch-tower of the flock.' For here was the station where shepherd watched their flocks destined for sacrifices in the temple. So well known was this, that if animals were found as far from Jerusalem as Migdal Eder, and within that circuit on every side, the males were offered as burnt-offering, the females as peace offerings. It seems of deepest significance, almost like the fulfillment of type, that those shepherds who first listened to angels' praises, were watching flocks destined to be offered as sacrifices in the temple. It is when we remember, that presently these shepherds would be in the temple, and meet those who came thither to worship and to sacrifice, that we perceive the full significance of what otherwise would have seemed scarcely worth while noticing in connection with humble shepherds."
The shepherds experience a heart transformation. They go from complete fear and terror at the vision of the angels to great rejoicing as they realize a Savior has been born for them. So with whom did they share the good news? If we take Edersheim's direction in this path we might conclude that the shepherds shared the good news of Jesus with people in the temple including Anna and Simeon which would have alerted them to look for Jesus as he was brought to the temple. Edersheim says, "Thus the shepherds would be the most effectual heralds of the Messiah in the temple, and both Simeon and Anna be prepared for the time when the infant Savior would be presented in the Sanctuary."
The next to experience heart transformation is Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary's heart is filled with wonder (vs. 19) as she considers the coming of the shepherds and continues to ponder the truth that her child will be the Savior of the world. Mary along with Joseph marvel again at the temple when Simeon takes the Messiah in his arms and praises God (vs. 33). We might see ourselves in this passage as we, too, ponder how God's presence and faithful promises fulfilled in Jesus intersect what may seem natural or even mundane in our lives.
Simeon also experiences a heart transformation. Simeon had spent his life expecting to see the Messiah (as revealed to him by the Holy Spirit - vs. 26). Simeon is transformed from a seeker to a worshiper when he encounters the Messiah in the temple. Can't you just imagine him holding the Messiah in his arms and praising God? He was literally holding in his arms his own Savior! It is Simeon, as we saw in the beginning, who explains that Jesus will reveal the thoughts of many hearts.
So what about you and me? Where do we encounter the heart transformation in this story? I believe we find our answer in verse 21: "On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived."
While circumcision in Judaism was a physical act, it was always meant to be a sign of what God was/is doing in the heart.
Consider these words: "Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt." - Deuteronomy 10:16-19
Consider also: "Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done - burn with no one to quench it." - Jeremiah 4:4
Finally, consider what the Apostle Paul says: "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God." - Romans 2:28-29
Jesus came to circumcise the hearts of human beings...to bring light to darkness, to bring righteousness to unrighteousness, to bring hope to despair, to bring purity and holiness to the impure, and to bring life to the lifeless.
Origen in the third century says, "So, when he died, we died with him, and when he rose, we rose with him. Likewise, we were also circumcised along with him."
As we enter this final week of Advent and prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us invite Jesus to fill our dark world with His light and to circumcise our hearts - giving us hearts of pure love for God and neighbor - giving us hearts of praise and worship that sing "Glory to God in the highest!"
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