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My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation
December 29, 2006
"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."
Fifth Day of the Octave of Chistmas
Father Matthew Kaderabek, LC
Luke 2:22-35
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, 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. 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. 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. He came in the Spirit to the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: "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." The child´s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; 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 and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Introductory Prayer:Dear Lord Jesus, I come before your manger to pray once again. With eyes of faith I want to contemplate all that transpires in your Gospels, taking it all in and treasuring it in my heart like the Blessed Virgin Mary. I know not all the events that will fill this day. However, I do know that if you are with me, no evil can occur. Dear Jesus, be with me in this time of prayer, and teach me. Let me decide to be like you and your Mother. Petition:Lord, teach me to hope in you alone. 1. The Hope of the Jews. Time after time, when threatened by or subjected to war, exile, famine or slavery, God sent the Jews a leader to guide them through their sufferings. Two thousand years ago they were raising their voices to God, begging him to send the long-awaited Messiah, who they believed would deliver them from the hated Romans who occupied their homeland. God’s answer was Jesus, his own son, who came to save all men, body and soul -- not from suffering, but from sin. Yet, how many Jews refused to accept him as their savior, fully convinced that the Messiah would be a great political leader and deliverer! No one, not even Christ Jesus, who would perform many miracles, was going to change their mind. They were going to dictate to God how the world ought to be saved. Suffering, patiently endured out of love for God, was incomprehensible to them. Often we ourselves can get angry at God for not delivering us from suffering. Sometimes “salvation through the cross” doesn’t sit very well with us. We complain loudly and point a finger at God, and ask him how he is going to solve our problems and the problems of the world. We forget that through his Passion Jesus redeemed suffering and gave it salvific value. We need to ask God to help us to hope in him. 2. Simeon’s Hope. Simeon had been waiting a long time to see Jesus. He was a man who lived attentive to the Holy Spirit’s voice, a man who listened, a docile man who was led. He awaited not just any savior, but the Consolation of Israel. His hopes were firmly placed in Almighty God, who had revealed to him that he would behold the Christ, the Anointed One, before dying. Led by the Spirit, Simeon enters the Temple and encounters Mary and Joseph, as they bring their child to present him to the Lord. Rejoicing, he asks the parents if he can hold Jesus. Mary and Joseph, unsure of what is transpiring, can surely see in Simeon’s glistening eyes that something very special is occurring. His joyful words, pronounced as he looks up toward heaven, amaze them: “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, with tears rolling down his cheeks, finally embraces Emmanuel, God-with-us. His hopes are definitively fulfilled. His life is fulfilled, and he prays that his Master might “let his servant go in peace.” Simeon knows how to hope in the fulfillment of God’s great plan. 3. Ablaze with Hope. Certainly this unusual scene would have included many bewildered onlookers. People about their Temple worship would have noticed the enthusiasm of the old man, and would have been made to wonder. Could it be true? Is the smiling baby truly the Promised One? Listening attentively, Mary and Joseph marveled as glory, sorrow and contradiction were each forecast into Christ’s future. They were already accustomed to placing all of their hope in God. Simeon’s own strong hope became a blazing beacon, so that the hearts of all could be lit anew. We need to learn — like him, and like Mary and Joseph — to hope unconditionally in God’s master plan, so that others can look to us for that contagious hope in providence. Conversation with Christ: Dear Lord, teach me to be docile to your plan for my life. So often I am tempted to plot my own course, without asking your opinion. Be my guide and show me the way. Teach me to trust in you, and hope in your salvation. I want to depend on your will, seeking it out above all my human priorities. Resolution: At some point today I will pray for the Pope and the Church.
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Given the tempo of the liturgical season with its feasts it is easy to overlook that one saint who for many centuries was, after Mary and Joseph, the most venerated person in European Christendom.