Ps 24:7, 8, 9, 10
Heb 2:14-18
Lk 2:22-40
Indiana Jones – His father has just been shot and is about to die. The evil Nazis force him to go through three deadly traps, finally to arrive in a room full of chalices. There are big ones and small ones, simple ones and ornate ones… too many to count. And then a medieval knight comes out of the shadows and attacks Indiana with a swing of his broadsword; that was all the strength he had. He had been standing there for centuries as a sentinel dutifully protecting the Holy Grail. That’s how I picture our prophet Simeon – this old man waiting and praying in the dark shadows of the Temple. Though the scriptures simply describe him as righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, our tradition always shows him as a man that is not only beyond old, but practically ancient – living for centuries, waiting. I cannot help but imagine him as most nearly blind – but yet faithfully waiting the fulfillment of the prophecy to Him: that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. That the words of the Holy Prophet Malachi would also be fulfilled:
Lo, I am sending my messenger / to prepare the way before me; / And suddenly there will come to the temple / the LORD whom you seek, / And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. / Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.And just as the Holy Family enters, Simeon is filled with the Spirit and makes a beeline to the Christ Child, took this forty day Infant out of the Blessed Mother’s arms and cradles him as if he was his own child. You can just imagine the shock out of Blessed Mother… who is this creepy guy and what is he doing with my Son?! And the words of a beautiful song start flowing from the mouth of Simeon - the prayer that every bishop, priest, deacon, and religious prays every night before they go to bed…
Nunc dimíttis servum tuum, Dómine, secúndum verbum tuum in pace, quia vidérunt óculi mei salutáre tuum… Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.
My own eyes have seen the salvation… a man – possibly blind from old age – suddenly his sight restored and sees the One who is to bring light to every single person and every single nation, the glory of Israel! For that brief moment his life is illuminated and now he may die in peace, satisfied/fulfilled.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what we are celebrating today. Christmas is forty days gone – the decorations are packed up
Every year on this day, to commemorate this understanding of Christ bringing light into the darkness of this world, we bless all the candles that we will use for the coming year. The faithful also bring their votive candles that they burn in their homes to be blessed as well; and hence, this Mass is affectionately and traditionally called “Candlemas.”
As we are reminded that Christ is truly our Light, we remember that the spirit does not end forty days ago, it does not end today, but rather it sets us to look forward to the day of our salvation on Easter. What is fascinating is that this day, sits roughly in the middle between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox (the beginning of Spring). Again, Christmas comes in the darkest and shortest time of the year where everything is dead. Christ brings light and hope into that darkness; and the candles blessed today, perpetuates this light and hope into the climax of new life in the celebration of Easter, with the Easter candle. The Lord has come into the Temple – the Son of God has entered His House and thereby inaugurating the fulfillment of this promise, this prophecy, to an old man who – in a way represents Israel’s anxious anticipation and bringing this light to the entire world.
And to remove any shadow of doubt as to Jesus’ purpose, let us not forget why our Lord was brought into the Temple. This was done according to and submission to the laws of the Old Covenant.
Consecrate to me every firstborn; whatever opens the womb among the Israelites, whether of human being or beast, belongs to me. …And when your son asks you later on, ‘What does this mean?’ you will tell him, ‘With a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of a house of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, the firstborn of human being and beast alike. That is why I sacrifice to the LORD every male that opens the womb, and why I random every firstborn of my sons.’
Although the Blessed Mother maintained her virginity, the Holy Family still went to the Temple to ransom their Child from God: symbolic ritual gesture, acknowledging the cost of freedom from being enslaved and that all life is a benevolent gift from God and belongs to Him. And so the Law prescribes a lamb and a turtledove or young pigeon as a burnt offering. Because the Holy Family was poor, they were allowed to offer two turtledoves or two young pigeons. What I think is so beautiful is that Christ is fittingly not ransomed with a lamb, because He is THE Lamb that ransoms us from slavery to sin into freedom of new life.
In this Holy Exchange the Lord is presented in the Temple, the prophecy is fulfilled to Simeon is fulfilled, the Light to the Nations proclaimed, and the candles will continue to burn brightly to remind us that He is with us and has come to save us. He is the Light and He is the Lamb. We look towards Holy Week and the Easter Triduum where we will see the ultimate fulfillment: where Christ, will be the High Priest and the Victim, the Lamb of God, sacrificing Himself and offering Himself to the Father for our sake, to wipe away sin and bring us to new life. At every single Mass, we make present and realize this incredible mystery of not only our personal salvation, but salvation to the nations. Every day, every single Eucharist celebrated participates in the single and perpetual act of His salvation, which we see with our own eyes… in the sight of every people: a light to reveal Him to the nations… Therefore, at the end of a long and busy day of doing His will we can rest in our beds and close our eyes with song of Simeon: Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled…
