Second Christmas week
Luke 2: 21-35,39, 40
On the eighth day, when it
was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the
name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
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| Anna de Gelder |
When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and
Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the
Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be considered to be consecrated to
God”). They also had to make the gifts of offering decreed the Law: “a pair of turtledoves
or two young pigeons.”
And
behold there was in Jerusalem a man named Simeon. He was devout, entirely
dedicated to the Good, and lived in expectation of him who was to bring the
consolation of the Spirit to the people of God. The Holy Spirit was upon him,
and through the power of the Holy Spirit,
it had been revealed to him that he would not die before he had seen Christ,
the Lord. Inspired by the Spirit, he went into the Temple, just as the parents
brought in the child to fulfill the custom of the Law. And he took the child in his arm, praising
the divine Ground of the World, and said
Now you let your servant depart in peace, O Master,
according to your word.
For now my eyes have seen your healing deed which you have prepared before the
peoples:
A light that leads the peoples of the world to
revelation and makes your own people shine in the spirit.
…And his father and mother were amazed that such
words were spoken about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his
mother:
Behold, he will cause the fall of many among his
people,
but he will also let them rise again.
He is a being who will call up dissent;
a sword will pierce your soul, too.
Through him,
the thoughts and ponderings of many hearts will be revealed.
…And when they had completed everything that the Law
of the Lord demands, they returned home to Galilee, to their town Nazareth. And
the child grew, maturing in his spirit-filled soul; divine grace was upon him.
Holy Nights
January 5, 2020
Luke
2:21-35, 39, 40January 5, 2020
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| Rembrandt |
The
mother has just brought her little son into the world. The pain and suffering
of childbirth have yielded to her joy in its sweet and innocent fruit. It was
understood that the first-born son was to be consecrated as belonging to God.
He was to be presented at the Temple and symbolically ransomed back from God
for his parents through a small offering. Imagine the parent’s surprise when
Simeon declares that this child will himself “ransom captive Israel.”
But
this will not be accomplished in a blaze of light and glory. It will create
opposition. The forces of darkness will rise up. Hearts and thoughts will be
exposed. Souls will be pierced.
Souls
especially. For this redeeming of the people will not take place on an outer,
political level. He will not overthrow the Romans in a great battle of swords.
He
will overthrow hearts. He will pierce souls.
For
now the sword will be the Word of God, the sword of truth; the sword that opens
up, that cuts away the old and reveals the vast interiority of the kingdom of
the heart, a realm of joy and pain.
The
Word of God is made flesh and dwells in our midst. He pierces hearts and we
open to another life that is wide and timeless—the inner kingdom. His great
presence stirs the joy-pain of a new creation.
May
our souls, filled with his spirit, mature. May divine grace be upon us.
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