Readiness for a new beginning is, perhaps, the most remarkable thing about Simeon – even more remarkable than his faithfulness in waiting or his ability to recognize the Messiah in the unlikely form of the baby Jesus. He was able to release what was finished and embrace the new beginning that God had prepared; to lay down his previous role with grace and humility and hope.

But it is enough for Mary to understand that she is being asked to serve her God and her people; to participate in something worth the risk; a new chapter in the story of God’s promises. She doesn’t know everything she is saying “yes” to – but she knows who is asking and she is brave and bold and strong so she says “yes”, giving her whole self – body and soul and reputation – to the fulfilment of God’s story.

God has cast down the mighty and lifted up the lowly; God does cast down the mighty and lift up the lowly; God will cast down the mighty and lift up the lowly.

These are declarations of faith and they are powerful. They have sustained people in moments of crisis and over generations of struggle. But declarations of faith are not intended purely for comfort or sustenance. They are intended to shape lives; to direct attention and action in accordance with that faith.

Jesus’ story reveals that the king, sitting in judgement over the nations, was not watching from afar and was not simply travelling with the righteous but was with those the righteous cared for. That is the vantage point from which the king watched the world – this is the centre from which all else flows.

The strangeness of this parable lies in the dissonance between the story and what Jesus usually teaches about wealth and reward in the Kingdom of God… …which should make us suspect that this parable isn’t actually about wealth – and may not be about the Kingdom of God, either.

So what, then, might it be about?