But most importantly, we know that Simeon has one singular goal he wants to accomplish before he dies. The spirit of God has revealed to Simeon that he will not die until he has seen the Messiah, the Chosen One of God. That s all Simeon is living for, the only thing that gets him out of bed every morning. He hangs out in the temple every day, checking out the new babies being brought in by their parents, looking for that one special infant who will deliver the children of Israel. Perhaps many people walking the streets of Jerusalem that day stopped to see the new baby, to coo at him and tell his parents how cute he was.
Babies are so warm and appealing, so unassuming, so vulnerable.
Babies don t challenge us, they only depend upon us and respond to our love. It s easy to love a baby, and it s easy to worship the Christ-child. But the flattery must have faded when Simeon started talking about how this infant would be the cause of the rising and falling of many, and how he would be opposed by many and would cause great pain to His mother. Mary must have thought. If we are to be saved, if God is going to intervene in our behalf through this infant named Jesus, it s going to be a painful experience, for us as well as for him.