Nunc Dimittis - Please can I go now?

“Nunc Dimittis”, or ‘please dismiss us now’ is a piece of choral music that has
been used in church liturgy down through the ages at the conclusion of night prayers. It comes from Simeon’s words in Luke 2:29. Simeon strikes me as a fascinating figure in the  Christmas story, appearing as he does when the 8 day old baby Jesus is presented in the Temple for the first time.

Fascinating, that he immediately recognises the significance of the moment when Joseph hands him the baby so that he might bless the child. Cradling the Son of God in his arms, who is blessing who, I wonder? And the words that he speaks indicate how much he was aware of the future destiny of this child.

    “…destined to cause the falling and rising of many… a sign that will be spoken against …”

    And to Mary “.. and a sword will pierce your own soul too… **

Fascinating also to me, is Simeon’s own self awareness of his role in this moment. Here’s this old man, waiting all these years for God to fulfil his promises through the sending of the Messiah, and somehow knowing that it would somehow happen in his lifetime. And when the moment comes, when he recognises who this child is he bears in his arms, his immediate reaction is - “Now, can I go?..” It’s as though, knowing that there is no further service left for him to do this side of death, besides this moment of bearing witness to the Messiah, he is just longing to pass over to that other place. It is the eagerness of a child who, having done all his chores, is waiting for the word - “yes, you can go out and play in the garden now.”

I sometimes think that I have entered into that ‘waiting’ zone. My cancer has made me more aware than at any time previously of this journey that we are all on. I know that the time is not yet, but I perceive a distant shore that has come into view, yet still a long way off.  And like a sailor out at sea, I continue to work through the daily business of keeping the boat steady, my hand on the tiller, but my eyes more fixed than ever on that shore. When the time comes, I hope then to be able to say “Now, let your servant depart in peace”, but until then, I also want to know the moving of Your Spirit, daily prompting and motivating me to do all that you would have me do in the here and now.

** Luke 2:34,35