“Master, you are dismissing your servant in peace...for my eyes have seen your salvation...”
These are the words of an old man named Simeon as he held the child Jesus in his arms and somehow knew that this child was the one that he and so many others had been waiting for. I get the sense that a similar feeling was had by Anna just a few verses later as she saw Jesus and began to tell others about who she had seen.
I wonder what it felt like for them. Was it like finding that bench to sit after the long walk? Many miles of walking, feet and legs tired, back a bit hunched over from the backpack and seeing the place to sit up ahead? Then comes the relief of being able to stop, to rest, to take in the beauty around and to know that the load has been lightened. Was that the feeling for Simeon and for Anna?
I know it continues to be a relief for me to know that Jesus is there. It is a relief to know that I have the one to whom I can go, the one to whom I can pray, the one who has never left and will never leave. A relief indeed.
