Some thoughts to assist you as you grow to adore Jesus,

At the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on Eleazar, Aaron’s son. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar went back down. 29 When the people realized that Aaron had died, all Israel mourned for him thirty days. NUmbers 20:28-29 NLT

²⁸  Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, ²⁹  “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. ³⁰  I have seen your salvation, ³¹  which you have prepared for all people. ³²  He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” Luke 2:28-32 (NLT2)

We can thus already see that Christianity, as a genuine revealed religion, cannot be a communication of knowledge, a “teaching”, in the first place, but only secondarily. It must be in the first place an action that God undertakes, the playing out of the drama that God began with mankind in the Old Covenant…… Just because God’s Covenant is his battle of love with sinful man does not mean that this battle of love can be understood and assessed by man. Indeed, the fact that God’s love transforms him, converting him or hardening his heart, expresses not the essence of that love, but its effect.

Simeon has become my favorite characther in the scriptures, and his quotes from scripture grab my heart every time we sing or say them. He knew, having seen the Messiah, that everything God had promised him was fulfilled, and therefore he could be content with death.. He was ready for it to be time….

Along with reading that in my devotions this mroning was reading the end of Aaron’s story. He climbs the hill, knowing at the summit that all of God’s promises have been fulfilled, and it was just okay for him to die, it was time.

At this point, neither of them needed another lecture, another Christian Book to read. As Balthasae noted, as the genuine true religion, Chirstianity is not primarily about teaching, about the communication of knowledge. It is not just about God revealing a plan, whether that plan is the covenant, or the way the world will end.

All that secondary stuff, the stuff God does, the drama He sets into action, and even the effect of love is secondary to especiencing the love of God, communicated not just rhough words, but through the presence of the Holy Spirit, through the revelation of Jesus, in our midst, never forsaking us, never abandoning us.

When it matters, He is here… and it always matters.

And so we preach, and teach, and give people the sacraments, always realizing that what matters is not what we do, but that they know God is here… and He loves them..

One day, the lessons learnt, there will be a time of no more teaching. Simply the fact that we are with the Lord. AMEN!

Balthasar, Hans Urs von. 2004. Love Alone Is Credible. Translated by D. C. Schindler. San Francisco: Ignatius Press. page 70