Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. As we hear in today’s Gospel Mary and Joseph, as good and pious Jews, bring Jesus up to the Temple in Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As they present Jesus to God, the prophets Simeon and Anna present Jesus to his parents and to all of us.
Simeon, a “righteous and devout” Jew, is filled with the holy Spirit. He presents Jesus as the “Messiah of the Lord.” The mission of God’s Messiah is to bring healing and salvation to all people:
“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 sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”
Simeon declares that Jesus is the Savior for both Jews and Gentiles.
Next the prophet Anna, who devoted her life to worshiping God “night and day with fasting and prayer”, presents Jesus as the savior as she speaks “about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.” Redemption is freedom from slavery. This slavery might be physical or psychological or spiritual. Sin and guilt can also enslave us. Jesus frees us from this slavery by overwhelming us with God love, mercy, and forgiveness.
In today’s Gospel we hear that Jesus’ mission is to all people, both to Jews (“glory for your people Israel”) and to pagans (“a light of revelation to all the Gentiles”). In this Sunday’s Gospel Jesus will tell us: “You are the light of the world…your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” Our light is a reflected light, we are called upon to reflect Jesus’ mission of healing and salvation to all people. We are to exclude no one. We are given the light of Christ, “a light of revelation to the Gentiles and glory for Israel.” Let us let this light of Christ shine today and each day of our life.
Image: “Nunc Dimittis” by Lawrence OP is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.