Issue 37 Encountering JesusBlog | Encountering a deepening relationship
Encountering a deepening relationship
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 26.12.23
When it comes to reporting the headlines about the birth of Jesus, some eyewitness accounts rarely get a mention. Our retelling of the Christmas narrative leaves much on the cutting-room floor. It’s as if the drama of heavenly hosts, wise kings and the virgin Mary sucks all the oxygen out of the carol service.
The account of elderly Simeon and the prophetess Anna, coming only eight days after the birth of Christ (Luke 2), is an example. Yet Simeon’s encounter with the infant Jesus at the Temple is one of the most powerful ever to be recorded in Scripture. In Rembrandt’s superb depiction1, Simeon, with failing eyesight, has approached the little family of Joseph when they visited the Temple. Here the angelic choirs, lavish gifts and assorted farmyard smells are replaced by a quiet, private, and intimate encounter with Jesus. As was the custom of Rembrandt’s day, Simeon is not looking at the baby Jesus that he is holding awkwardly in his arms. But with astonishing bright eyes and a piercing clear focus, Jesus is looking directly at him. Encounter is happening.
Eternal discovery
We all need to fall under the gaze of Jesus. It is the most profound and significant experience in life that we can have. And in doing so, it is the start of an eternal kind of life that begins right here, right now, and continues way beyond the end of our time on this earth.
Encountering Jesus. Some speak about crossing a line, stepping forward at an ‘altar call’ or meeting Jesus for the first time. Just this week, a friend told me of a teenage family member who had become a Christian at a youth camp. ‘He just can’t stop talking about Jesus,’ they said.
