*Sacred Scripture* Simeon’s Song of Praise – Rembrandt
July 19
Simeon sings a song of praise to God at the sight of His Lord and Savior, the Baby Jesus, before all the people in the Temple. Artwork by Rembrandt.
Lk 2:25-38
The Presentation in the Temple
25Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel,* and the holy Spirit was upon him.
26It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord.
27He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
28he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
29“Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
30for my eyes have seen your salvation,j
31which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
32a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.”k
33The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
34and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradictedl
35(and you yourself a sword will pierce)* so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
37and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
38And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.m
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/2
Saying the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always.
1-A prayer from Raphael the Archangel:
*While you are on this earth, you must praise the Lord God and give him thanks.
2-A prayer from Tobit and Tobias:
*They began to sing hymns of praise, giving thanks for all the mighty deeds God had done while his angel Raphael had been with them.
3-A simple Jesus prayer:
*Lord, Lord, Jesus Christ…Son of God…have mercy on me…Be kind to others…Work Hard…Be joyful.
4-Another prayer:
*When all that God asks of us is to be quiet and keep ourselves at peace-attentive to the secret work He is beginning in our souls-Be Empty and See That I Am God.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Cor 12:9–10
Simeon’s Song of Praise – Rembrandt
Rembrandt painted the scene of Simeon blessing Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:21-35) twice, and the two paintings tell us as much about the artist himself as they do the subject matter.
The first, painted when Rembrandt was 25 years old, is a crisp, ornate scene with the temple itself presented as a character in the story (see below). Rembrandt’s characteristic illumination shines like a spotlight coming down from heaven, making Jesus the brightest figure in the scene. Simeon holds the child as he gazes up to heaven. Another attendant in the temple looks on, hands raised in praise. Nearly two dozen other figures line the background, looking on. Here young Rembrandt shows what he’s capable of. Your eye could spend an hour touring the canvas, and you still wouldn’t see all that’s there.
The second, painted thirty-eight years later in 1669, the year of Rembrandt’s death, is very different. Gone are the crowds looking on. Gone are the columns, and filigree, and architecture. Gone is the brilliant beam of light. The crisp brushwork of a steady young hand has given way to the shaky, mottled, impressions of the old master’s touch.
All the painter gives us is a picture of an old man at the end of his days seeing the Christ before his Maker calls him home. The old cleric smiles down on the child who looks back up at him. Simeon’s hands are pressed together in prayer. The third (and only other) figure in the painting is draped in shadow as a way of highlighting just how intimate this moment is between Simeon and the Messiah he’s holding.
The contrast of these two paintings is most certainly a commentary on Rembrandt’s own life. At 63, he is less concerned with impressing his audience. His humble world has focused in on Christ. The youthful Rembrandt’s Simeon, a masterpiece to be sure, puts on full display all the technique and ability he has mastered. If, at 25, he can already do this, imagine where he’ll be at 35.
But old Rembrandt is content to deliver warmth over detail, individuals over a crowd, and simplicity over grandeur. The ornate trappings of the temple are gone, and so are the crowds. All we see is an old man and his Lord.
Simeon is different in this painting because Rembrandt has changed.
Frederick Buechner, in his novel Godric, wrote, “An old man’s thoughts are long.” Simeon, perhaps, had been a show-off in his youth. We’re not told, though we do know what youth is like. But by the time Mary presents Jesus to him in the temple, he is an old cleric at the end of his run—weary, confident in his God, and alive with hope. In the year of his death, Rembrandt presents a man ready to take his leave, content that his life had led him to this moment he had longed for all those years.
Surely this is a commentary about the painter as much as it is about the priest.