Gospel: Luke 2:22-40
When the days were completed for their
purification according to the law of Moses. Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to
Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. Just as it is written in the law of the
Lord, every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord. And to
offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in
accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now 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. It had been revealed to him by the
Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the
Lord. He 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, he took
him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, you may let your
servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your
salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for
revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother were amazed at
what was said about him; and 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 contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce—so
that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
There 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, and then as a widow
until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and
day with fasting and prayer. And 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.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of
Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor
of God was upon him.
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Reflection:
There is a story of a dying man who had one
fervent wish before he dies. His fervent wish was to see Jesus in the flesh and
to talk to Him even for a short while. Unfortunately, his wish did not become a
reality for he died without seeing Jesus. Is there a magic word for us to see
Jesus? Or is there a secret for us to see Jesus?
When the child Jesus was brought into the
temple to present Him before the Lord. It was in fulfillment of the Jewish law
which states that a child should be brought into the temple to present him
before God forty days after its birth.”
We have in our gospel a Holy man named Simeon
who had one wish before he dies and that is to see Jesus. And Simeon was very
blessed to see and hold in his arms the child Jesus. Was it pure luck that he
was able to be with Jesus and His parents up close and personal? No, luck has
nothing to do with Simeon’s meeting with the Holy family. Simeon as stated in
our gospel was a righteous and devout man.
He was a good man; he was a man who
wholeheartedly strived to follow the teachings of his faith. That’s why God
through the Holy Spirit gifted Simeon the very rare opportunity to be with the child
Jesus in the temple before he dies. What a way to die! Isn’t this our wish also
before we die? We would want to see Jesus and we would want to hold the hand of
Jesus as we take our last gasp of breath?
When a person is near death, he/she would
normally say that he is already seeing his departed relatives around him.
Rarely would we hear a dying person say that he now see Jesus by his side.
By the life of Simeon, we now know the secret
as to how we would be able to see Jesus as we fade out of this world. We have
to be righteous and we have to be devout followers of Jesus. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
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