God Speaks to Us...Often in Unexpected Ways.

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

you may now dismiss your servant in peace.

30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,

31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and the glory of your people Israel.”

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Luke 2: 25-35

Continuing with the passage of Scripture above, I just want to emphasise how God speaks to us in the most unexpected ways.  He is not limited.  I think, often, we are the ones who limit Him.  He has no boundaries!  And Praise Him for that!  There is no prescription or procedure to follow in order for us to hear Him.  Of course, staying tuned into the whisperings of the Holy Spirit and keeping an attitude of never-ceasing prayer are the most conducive states of being to receive God's messages most effectively.  But, I believe, that when God wants to speak, even the most reluctant of ears will hear Him.  Even non believers can't help but hearing Him when He decides to address them.  Look at Hagar.  She was an Egyptian slave, and the Angel of the Lord, Himself, came to her directly and spoke to her face to face.  No second-hand message there!

At any rate, my point here is, keeping our ears and all our senses, really, pointed towards Heaven, like powerful satellites, will help, but never discard the unexpected.  Like Mary and Joseph.  I mean, really!  Their lives went from unexpected to bizzare!  If Mary was anything like me...which she probably wasn't... AT ALL...but just for kicks, let's pretend that we have a bit of the maternal commonality going on... by the time she was taking Baby Jesus to the temple, she was hoping things had calmed down a bit, and that she could just fall into some kind of routine with her infant:  "Ok, after the temple, we'll go home, I'll give the baby a bath...gotta keep the germs away, and the Almighty only knows how many germs most be at that place! then, HOPEFULLY, he'll take a nap, so I can take one too (wishful thinking!) maybe get dinner going...and maybe...only maybe...Joseph can finally fix that leak under the kitchen sink...I mean, jar...or basin..."

I'm sorry, I'm really digressing.  The point I've been trying to make ... very inefficiently...is, life is full of divine encounters!  And we never know when or through whom God will deliver an important message to us.  Therefore, we are called to seek wisdom and make our ears attentive, for we don't know when we might be in the presence of a messenger. But, don't be too hard on yourself if life catches you by surprise.  It happens!  We are easily distracted.  We are humans.  That's exactly why we need Jesus...

Next time, we will see what else Simeon spoke to Mary and how that might have impacted her young soul.  For now, I pray the Lord will help us keep Proverbs 2: 1-5 in mind:

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.