and the elderly Simeon and Anna. The old receive from the young, while the young draw upon the old. In the Temple, Mary and Joseph find the roots of their people.
This is important, because God’s promise does not come to fulfilment merely in individuals, once for all, but within a community and throughout history. There too, Mary and Joseph find the roots of their faith, for faith is not something learned from a book, but the art of living with God, learned from the experience of those who have gone before us. The two young people, in meeting the two older people, thus find themselves. And the two older people, nearing the end of their days, receive Jesus, the meaning of their lives. This event fulfils the prophecy of Joel: 'Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions' (2:28). In this encounter, the young see their mission and the elderly realize their dreams. All because, at the center of the encounter, is Jesus."
In the Gospel account of Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple, wisdom is embodied in the elderly Simeon and Anna — two people docile to the Holy Spirit, led and inspired by Him. The Lord granted them wisdom. Their wisdom is the fruit of a long journey, one of obedience to His law that both humbles and protects hope.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Simeon and Anna even enact a kind of liturgy around the Child as he comes to the Temple. Simeon praises the Lord, and Anna "proclaims" salvation. As with Mary, the elderly man holds the Child, but in fact, it is the Child who guides the elderly man.
That same guidance is given to us as “the light of Christ” fills us with hope. This weekend, I invite you to bring candles from home to Mass. As we bless the candles that will burn on our altar and in our homes, we will pray that their light will remind us of our open invitation to encounter Christ.
— Father Mark
|