By the Way: Lifting up, not pulling down

By Shane Hein on January 13, 2024.

34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed.

One of the most common misconceptions concerning the nature of God is the assumption that all He is really interested in is justice. I think many of us have grown up with an impression of God as this heavy-handed ruler, sitting on the Heavenly throne, watching us intensely to make sure that we don’t place one toe out of line. And, if we do, He immediately springs into action, banishing us from His presence.

Much of this impression comes from the consumption of some really bad theology, or from having no theological education at all. Some of it, though, comes from having grown up in an environment where there is no grace, no understanding, no positive reinforcement, and no outward expression of love. And because the relationship between human parents and their children are supposed to be a reflection of the Heavenly Father’s relationship with us, all too often it is assumed that God must operate in the same way.

Jesus has come to correct this misconception of God’s nature, and of His feelings towards us, His human creation. Notice the order of words in the text above: “…for the fall and rising…”. Normally when we hear or see those terms together, they are listed in the opposite order: “The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire”, for instance.

The choice of words here, and the order in which they appear, is not a coincidence. Simeon, through the guidance of God’s Holy Spirit, is proclaiming that this child, Jesus, has come into the world not to oversee the downfall of the rebellious human race, since it is doing a good job of that all on its own. Rather, Jesus has come to help it to rise from the fall.

God, unlike us, has absolutely no desire to see even one of his children fall, no matter how disobedient to the Law he or she has been. Like a good employer, a caring instructor, or especially a loving parent, His joy is not in celebrating the fall, but rather in facilitating the redemption.

Blessings,

Rev. Shane Hein is the pastor at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Medicine Hat

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