IF CHRIST HAD NOT COME (2)                                            Luke 2:21-35

and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.” (v35)

In today’s reading, we came across the starting words which Simeon spoke to Mary. “And a sword will piece your own soul too” I wonder what Mary thought of that disturbing remark. One moment she was experiencing the thrill of holding the incarnate Son of God in her arms, and the next moment she was being told that as a result of His coming into the world a sword would piece her soul. Simeon’s prediction, I believe, had reference to the sufferings that Jesus would have to endure later in life, and of which Mary, His mother, would be a witness. Strangely, the prediction made by Simeon to Mary seems to apply to millions of people the world ever during the period in which we celebrate Jesus’ birth, though the form of suffering is completely different. The season seems to bring a sword that pieces many a soul. Christmas may bring joy and cheerfulness to some but to others it brings great pain. The theatres may be full and the shops and streets festooned with lights but for many this just accentuates the pain they are feeling in their hearts. Let’s be sensitive at this special time of the year in those who carry some inward pain and not expect them to put on a happy face just because it’s Christmas. The pressure to come up to expectations is often what pushes such people over the edge.

PRAYER LINE: Father God, please help me to be conscious of the needs others. May I be aware of the pain that some are carrying at this season of the year. Give me a heart that is sensitive and perceptive. In Jesus’ Name. Amen (EDWJ)

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Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning (Ps 30:5b)