One old tradition that seems to have survived the Church’s many schisms and reforms is the practice of singing The Song of Simeon (often called ‘Nunc Dimittis’ from the first two words of the hymn in Latin) towards the end of evening prayer. If we think back on the prayers we’ve reflected upon so far, this tradition makes sense. We ‘start’ the day by resetting our minds by reminding ourselves of who God is to us, invoking the Spirit to be with us, calling ourselves into praise and community, reflecting on God’s wisdom in creation and as revealed in Jesus. In a sense we’ve recapitulated the whole story of the Bible in these prayers. At this point, then, Simeon’s words seem very apt:
Lord, you are now releasing your servant in peace, in accordance with your word:
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared before the face of all the people:
a light of revelation for the Nations
and the glory of Your people Israel
In the context of Luke’s Gospel, these words are uttered by an elderly man to whom God had promised he would not die before seeing Israel’s salvation. When he sees the infant Jesus, he understands that that salvation has now come, not only for Israel but for the whole world, and he can now die in peace.
Our appropriation of his words at Vespers or evening prayer may not be quite that dramatic, but they’re equally appropriate. For having reminded ourselves of all these deep truths of our faith, we too have seen what God was doing in and through Jesus, and so we too are ready to face the rest of the night and day, and all those concerns and cares we brought with us into worship, in peace.
So then, Vespers is a service that is primarily about the praise and glory of God for all of ‘salvation history’, but, if we’re paying attention, it also does a lot of psychological and spiritual work within us, leaving us in a place where we are better able to handle the vicissitudes of the day with faith — showing up in our relationships with God, each other, ourselves, and the world around us.
Lord, you are now releasing your servant in peace, in accordance with your word:
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared before the face of all the people:
a light of revelation for the Nations
and the glory of Your people Israel
Matthew Root 