Today’s Sunday Gospel will be our last Gospel reading for the Year 2008. It is about the Presentation of the baby Jesus in the Temple that you can read in your Bibles if you turned to Luke 2:22-40.
“22 When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses [Joseph and Mary] took [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, 23 just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” 24 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.
25 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. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. 27 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, 28 he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
29 “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word,/ 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,/ 31 which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,/ 32 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; 34 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 35 (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Panhuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advance in years, having lived seven years with he husband after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four…38 And coming forward at the very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.”
While the reaction of Mama Mary and St. Joseph was one with awe, it was also a validation or confirmation that indeed the child born to the Virgin Mary was truly the Son of the Most High as told to them by the Angel Gabriel. After months of hardship, especially when Joseph had to bring the pregnant Mary to Bethlehem for the census, this was something of a great relief to them, that two, not just one, but two holy people in the temple had virtually confirmed that the Messiah had indeed arrived in their midst.
Simeon was the most intriguing character in this story, because this old man was destined to be one among the few to first meet the Holy Redeemer as the Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die until the day he would see the Messiah. When he took the child Jesus in his arms, he knew that the child is the Son of God.
What was fascinating was the prophecy that Simeon gave to Mama Mary when he said, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted 35 (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Yes even today, 2,000 years later the persecution of Christians continue in many places like China or in strict Muslim countries, despite the signing of the United Nations (UN) sponsored Universal Declaration on Human Rights, where freedom of Religion is guaranteed by the signatory countries.
That statement that a sword would pierce Mama Mary shouldn’t be taken in the literal sense because we know from scripture that a sword never struck Mama Mary. However like most mothers and by Divine permission, Mama Mary’s Immaculate Heart was so entwined with the Sacred Heart of Jesus that she actually suffered whatever blows that the Jews or the Roman soldiers lashed at Jesus during his agony and crucifixion. It is for this reason that we call Mama Mary the co-redemptrix and that we have a church in honor of the entwined hearts of Jesus and Mary in the Alliance of Two Hearts Parish in Banawa.
Jews in those days always presented to the Temple their first-born male child in recognition and gratitude to God for the blessing they received from him. The mother of the child also had to offer a lamb or if they cannot afford it a pigeon to remove her ritual uncleanliness according to the laws of Moses. Today Catholics do not have such rituals, but it is always right to give thanks and praise to God for the blessings of the children he gives our family. Now it’s our turn to thank God for the Blessing of fulfilling his promise to send his only begotten Son Jesus Christ to save humanity from our sins.