Title: The Candle of Christ
Scripture: Luke 2:22–32
Today the church recalls the Presentation of our Lord, when the infant Jesus was carried into the temple by Mary and Joseph to be “presented to the Lord.” There an aged servant, Simeon, took the child into his trembling arms and sang his great Nunc Dimittis: “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace.” Forty days after His birth the true Light is publicly kindled in the courts of God’s house.
Simeon had waited decades, sustained by a single promise: he would not die until he saw the Messiah. Day after day he paced the marble floors, watching widows light their candles, watching priests trim the lamps, watching the sun rise and fall—yet never losing hope. The Spirit had whispered to his heart; that whisper proved sufficient. When at last heaven’s candle appeared in swaddling clothes, the weary saint exhaled his final hymn and was content. Thus does faith outlive every shadow.
Notice the Spirit’s artistry: He moved Joseph and Mary to arrive at the exact moment Simeon entered. The old man, the young couple, and the ancient temple converge in one luminous instant. God delights to weave generations together around Christ. Your gray-haired prayers and your child’s first steps, your midnight tears and your neighbor’s whispered amen—all are threads in the same tapestry of redemption. No act of obedience, no longing sigh is wasted.
Simeon calls the child “a light to lighten the Gentiles.” The candle is not meant for private pockets but for public places. We carry Him into living rooms and boardrooms, into hospital wards and grocery aisles, so that every dark corner may feel the warmth of redeeming love. The world will try to snuff the flame through indifference, ridicule, or outright persecution, yet the wick is wet with the oil of the Spirit; it cannot finally be quenched.
Take heart: the same Spirit who led Simeon still guides you. He will nudge you toward the right word, the timely visit, the courageous stand. Yield to those promptings, however small they seem. Today you may be the candle-bearer who brings Christ into someone else’s temple of fear or grief. When obedience feels costly, remember that Simeon’s greatest joy came precisely when he had given everything and held only Jesus.
Prayer: Lord, kindle Your light in us this day; make us eager to present Christ in every place we walk, until the whole earth glows with the dawn of Your glory. Amen.
