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.
Mary and Joseph were faithful to all that was expected of them, attending to the legal requirement of purification with a lesser sacrificial option available for those who were too poor to offer more, as well as to the presentation of Jesus, their firstborn, in the temple, giving him in a special way to God. Mary and Joseph were therefore among the righteous poor who had a particular claim on the heart of God.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
We are meant to be imitators of Simeon in the way he set his greatest hopes and desires on the coming of Christ. When we ask ourselves the question of what would give us the greatest sense of fulfillment for our lives as a whole, what answer do we give? Is Jesus, the desire of all nations, truly our desire as well? When he comes to the temple of our hearts do we too find such joy that we need nothing else? We don't have the give the pious answer for the sake of piety. We should be realistic about where we are so we can express a genuine desire for deeper conversion to where we would like to be. After all, what happens for us each day at mass is something even greater than Simeon taking Jesus into his arms. We receive Jesus entirely, flesh, blood, soul, and divinity, in holy communion. Then, just like that, we are out in the world once more, preoccupied with worldly desires, and the sense that a little bit more of this and a little less of that would finally give us complete fulfillment.
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.
By faithfulness to prayer and to the Scriptures Simeon had trained his heart to hope in the Lord. The Holy Spirit himself was the one who prepared him to find such joy in the presentation of Jesus. Through prayer and faithful reading of the Scriptures Simeon learned about the amazing things the Lord planned to do through the messiah. He became increasingly certain that this would be the thing that would not only be a light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel but the satisfaction of the longings of his own heart as well. What he found when Jesus was presented in the temple was the fulfillment of the prophesy of Malachi.
And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts (see Malachi 3:1).
Scripture and the Spirit had taught Simeon to desire and to delight in the Lord. Because his heart was ready he was able to say "Lord, now let your servant go in peace". In other words, he finally had all that he needed. His restless heart had finally find rest in the Savior.
What about us, whose priorities are, at best, more skewed? We too can learn to discover what Simeon found in Jesus. The degree to which we don't currently experience it is precisely and invitation for ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us as he did for Simeon.
"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."
Parts of us, our old self seeking fulfillment in the temporary things of this world, must fall, so that the new life of Christ can rise within us. The things the contradict Christ must be removed from our hearts so that we too can find the peace that Simeon found in him. It is not only possible but is exactly what God intends for us.
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