The Presentation of the Lord
Malachi 3:1-4
Hebrews 2:14-18
Luke 2:22-40
Simeon “was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him.” The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would see the Messiah before he died. A lifetime of waiting, of waiting for the Messiah, the Saviour of Israel.
How did he spend his life? The Gospel tells us nothing about this. But we can imagine that it was not always easy for him to maintain such a holy life for decades.
He probably had to fight against the idea that everything could be in vain. That all the waiting was for nothing. That God had forgotten about him and his people. There were certainly enough occasions for these thoughts during his lifetime.
And yet Simeon remained steadfast. He resisted the darkness, the depression and, above all, the fear of death, which is the root of all temptations and sins. The Holy Spirit stood by his side in his battle against the whisperings of the evil one.
Anna was a prophetess. The Gospel tells us what family she came from. She married young, but her husband died early. We do not know whether she had children.
But from the fact that as an eighty-four-year-old widow she never left the temple, we can assume that she had not had any close relatives for a long time. Perhaps death had robbed her of her children, just as it had robbed her of her husband.
Anna served God night and day with fasting and prayer. This is how she fought against darkness, discouragement and fear of death. She fought against the whispers of the evil one. And, like Simeon, she endured and waited for the salvation of Israel and for her own salvation.
But one day, that what prophet Malachi had predicted happened: “The Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts.”
Mary and Joseph bring their firstborn to the temple as prescribed. Simeon and Anna recognise the Saviour immediately. In a single moment, they realise that their waiting had a purpose. That all the voices that wanted to discourage them and make them give up were coming from the evil one and that it was good not to follow them. Suddenly the fear of death has completely disappeared. “Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation.”
Salvation, the light to enlighten the Gentiles, the glory of the people of Israel, appears as a little child. This child has come to atone for all the sins of the people. He has come for all those who were tempted by evil. He has come for all Israel, and for the Gentiles.
In the letter to the Hebrews, we read that God “took to himself descent from Abraham”. Abraham is the father of all believers. The descendants of Abraham live in a world full of temptations to evil, in a world that is deeply characterised by the fear of death and all the sins that it brings about. The descendants of Abraham are those who try to remain steadfast believers in this world as best they can. And God has made himself one of them.
Jesus Christ is equal to all his brothers and sisters, except for sin. He, the Son of God, lived the life of a mortal human being. Therefore, he knows our weaknesses. He himself has been through temptation. That is why he can help all those who are tempted.
The root of all temptations and sins is the fear of death. Therefore, it makes sense that also our redemption takes place precisely there: Through his death and his resurrection, Christ has defeated our death. In the letter to the Hebrews, we read that the Son of God became a mortal human being “so that by his death he could take away all the power of the devil, who had power over death, and set free all those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.”
Sometimes, we can still feel the fear of death. The forces of evil, with their whispers, have not yet completely disappeared. We still live surrounded by temptations that want to lead us away from faith, hope and charity. We are still waiting for the completion of our salvation at the return of Christ at the end of time. But we no longer have to wait in uncertainty, doubt and darkness, as Simeon and Anna did for most of their lives. Because we know that our Saviour has already come. Because we know that the devil has been defeated and that we have been freed from the slavery of fear of death.
Christ accomplishes his work of redemption through the sacraments, in baptism, confession and the Eucharist. In the sacraments, our eyes already see the salvation, the light and the glory of the Lord.
Let us embrace our Saviour, just as Simeon and Anna did, and let us, strengthened by the light of the sacraments, joyfully wait for the completion of our salvation!
Amen.
