What kind of mental picture do you have of Simeon? Perhaps one of an old, wizened man, with a life extended beyond what could naturally be expected, close to death but still hanging on because of the promise that he would not die before seeing the Messiah? Maybe… but maybe not.

Luke doesn’t tell us anything about how old Simeon was or how long he had been waiting. We know from Luke’s choice of words that Simeon had been waiting expectantly, with eager anticipation, but not necessarily for a long time. And we also don’t know that Simeon’s words in today’s reading indicate that he was ready to die. In fact, they might mean exactly the opposite.

The specific words Simeon used carry the picture of a sentry being relieved from his post, or a slave being dismissed from his duty, or a servant being assigned to a different task now that his current task has been completed. In other words, Simeon may not have been saying, “Lord, I’m ready to die.” He may have been saying, “Lord, I’m ready to live.”

Like Simeon, we too have seen God’s salvation. We see it in the manger on that first Christmas night. We see it in Jesus’ teaching and preaching and miracles throughout his three years of earthly ministry. We see it in the Palm Sunday procession and the Good Friday crucifixion and the Easter Sunday resurrection. We see it in Jesus’ ascension into heaven on the Mount of Olives, and we’ll see it again one day when he comes again in glory.

And here’s the best part: we’ve been given a calling to carry out during our time on this earth, a command to make disciples of all nations, a purpose as we too say, “Lord, I’m ready to live.” We have the best news of all to share with a broken and dying world, and we have the privilege of living out this good news through our words and actions every single day. We have the sure and certain hope of heaven, and we have the joy of strengthening our sisters and brothers in the faith with this hope. We have good works that were prepared in advance for us to do, and we have the spiritual gifts to complete those good works in service to God and to our neighbor. We have so much living to do!

At my church, we use the Compline liturgy during midweek Lent services. I love closing the worship service by singing these words of Simeon in the Nunc Dimittis and then leaving the light and warmth of the church building for the dark and chill of the world. Yes, Simeon may have been an old man close to death. But he may also have had quite a bit of life left, a life that he lived for God. Eventually, we’ll all be called home by God. In the meantime, though, we’re called to live for him now—a calling that we’re privileged to carry out every day.