When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
the parents of Jesus took him 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:
“Lord, now let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:
my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you prepared in the sight of every people,
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of 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.”
— Luke 2:22-35
Today’s Gospel is incredibly rich, and there are many things we could learn from it. We could look at Simeon’s faithful waiting as an example of complete trust in God’s promises, or marvel at the unexpected way in which The Lord fulfills His promise to Simeon by letting him meet the Christ when he was still a little boy.
One of the things I like the most about this Gospel is how it shows all the different ways in which the Holy Spirit acts in Simeon’s heart:
We are told the Holy Spirit reveals to him that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. This shows us how the Holy Spirit can reveal to us knowledge that we couldn’t otherwise learn.We are told the Holy Spirit leads him to the temple, which shows us how by being docile to His motions in out heart we can go forth and walk along the path that God wants us to walk.
We are told that he recognizes Christ immediately, which shows us how by acting in the Spirit we can develop uncommon wisdom to recognize what is from God and what isn’t.
Simeon is the perfect example of a man led by the Spirit, and he shows us just how important it is to remain in a state of grace so that we can be more sensible to His motions in our heart. May we all live as men and women led by the Spirit and be constantly on the lookout for his promptings, so that we can keep aligning our will to God’s.
Like Simeon, we have seen our salvation in Christ. And just like him, we can also go in peace, to face our daily battles, strengthened and comforted by the faith and the knowledge the Holy Spirit has blessed us with, keeping our gaze firmly on Our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.
Juan — Simple Man
Thank you for reading, and God bless you!
If you liked this reflection and would like to read weekly articles on faith and masculinity, check out my blog and subscribe here:
