Like Anna and Simeon in the temple, we can share our experiences of the Lord, for whom we have been waiting
I recently visited my relatives in Germany, and while I was there my great nephew was born. I got to meet him and hold him before I left to come back to the United States and what a treasure that was. I would like to reflect on this experience that many of us have had as we celebrate the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple.
Holding a tiny baby releases in us great expectations and sometimes great fears. As I was holding my new nephew, I was thinking about all the possibilities of what his life will be like. There are great opportunities, since his parents are very talented and very committed to giving him everything possible for his own growth and well-being. That sounds like the parents of so many newborns that I know. But I also wonder, as happens in every human life, what challenges and suffering and loss he will experience and who will be there with him to carry that burden.
When Jesus was presented in the temple, there were two faithful people awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promises. Simeon and Anna were people of great faith and great prayer. When Simeon lifted up Jesus, he was able to finally put his spirit at rest, for he had seen the coming of the Messiah. To put that kind of burden on a small child and his parents is quite a prophetic thing to do. As any good prophet, Simeon passed on his message, knowing that his life and its purpose had been fulfilled. It’s our job as parents or people who have influence on young people to share with them the prophecies that God has entrusted to us. How has God been faithful to us, and how will we communicate that faithfulness to the young ones? How have we experienced the real presence of Jesus Christ in our lives, and how will we give testimony of that to the little ones around us?
We shouldn’t neglect reflecting on Anna and her place in the presentation in the temple. We are given a glimpse at what a holy person she must’ve been. Her faithfulness and love of God is poured out as she witnesses Jesus coming into the temple. Having waited all these years to witness the coming of the Messiah, Anna tells everybody she meets who Jesus is and why it’s important to notice Him. He’s just a baby, but He is the Messiah. She wants everyone to know that and to be touched by that truth. How can we be like Anna, witnessing to everybody we know, and even the strangers in our midst? How can we notice Jesus in each other, in our worship together as a community and in the nature and universe that God has given us? Are we taking the time to witness in word and deed to the presence of Jesus in our lives?
This Feast of the Presentation is an interruption in the cycle of ordinary Sundays of the Church year, but it is a great interruption. Now that the holidays are over and we’re into that pre-spring time of the year, it is too easy to be lulled into complacency of faith and life. Are we anything like Simeon and Anna, preparing ourselves and awaiting those experiences that will awaken our faith and witness of Jesus? Have we developed the boldness to speak about Jesus, or do we cower out of fear?
Jesus is the light of revelation for us and the glory of the people of Israel.
Father Donald Wester is retired and serves as lecturer of homiletics at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.
