Tuesday December 26
Luke 2:21-38 Jesus presented in the
temple
After eight days had passed, it
was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by
the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
When the time came for their
purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to
present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every
firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a
sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of
turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’
Now there was a man in
Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking
forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had
been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he
had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was
customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.’
‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.’
And the child’s father and
mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them
and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the
rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the
inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul
too.’
There was also a prophet,
Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age,
having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, then as a
widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there
with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to
praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the
redemption of Jerusalem.
****
Mary and Joseph were pious, observant Jews living according to the
Law of the Lord. Simeon, a devout man led by the Holy Spirit, takes the infant
into his arms to proclaim that Jesus is the means of salvation for all people,
Jew and Gentile. He then tells Mary that the great honor bestowed on her as the
mother of Jesus would entail suffering as well as joy “... and a sword will
pierce your own soul too.” It has been written that Mary had a crown of joy as
the mother of the Son of God and a cross of sorrow, seeing her son hanging on
the cross. Being chosen by God may require sacrifice and suffering as well as
joy.
A mother’s maternal instinct is to love and protect her child from
all evil and harm. As Mary cradled her child, a child whose nature she could
not fully understand, did she know her child’s destiny? In many statues and
paintings of the Madonna and Child she is portrayed as looking fondly, yet
wistfully, at her child. Yet Mary said “Yes” to the Lord: “Here am I, the
servant of the Lord.”
Prayer: Help me to say “Yes” to the Lord. As
Martin Luther stated: “Here the tender mother of Christ teaches us with her
words and by the example of her experience, how to know, love and praise God.”
Help me to follow the example set by Mary. In Jesus name, Amen
Joan Bradley
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