Lk 2:22-32 (or Lk 2:22-40)
When the day came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought the baby up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to God. And they offered a sacrifice, as ordered in the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
There lived in Jerusalem at this time a very upright and devout man named Simeon; the Holy Spirit was in him. He looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel, and he had been assured, by the Holy Spirit, that he would not die before seeing the Messiah of the Lord. So he was led into the Temple by the Holy Spirit at the time the parents brought the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law.
Simeon took the child in his arms, and blessed God, saying,
Now, O Lord, you can dismiss your servant in peace, for you have fulfilled your word and my eyes have seen your salvation, which you display for all the people to see.
Here is the light you will reveal to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.
REFLECTION
In today’s fast-paced life, people find waiting difficult. They tend to get impatient, bored, and intolerant when things do not happen on schedule or when forced to wait. Yet waiting is a natural part of being human. All of nature waits for the cycle of life to take its course. We learn to wait when there is something worth waiting for. The process forces our patience to develop and our faith to grow. Today’s gospel tells us about waiting as part of our Christian faith. It is not an empty waiting, but a waiting in hope, a hope that unites the longing for something and the anticipation of receiving it. Like an old couple waiting for the day when they would see their first grandchild, the prophets Anna and Simeon personified what it means to wait in hope. Both had a lifetime of waiting. Yet, they never lost hope and their sights were focused on the Child Jesus as the fulfillment of the long-awaited promise of salvation. Can the same be said of us? Are we able to wait for God in our lives? Can we recognize Christ’s presence and love manifested in the events of our everyday lives?
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