The Law is mentioned three times in this reading: everything is being done “according to the Law.” Jesus appears as fully within the Law; everything is being done the right way. But we know with hindsight that he was put to death in the name of that same Law. Can you still see the eight-day-old baby once you have mentioned his death?
Sometimes it can be a good thing to set aside some of our hindsight. When hindsight gets in before sight itself, it can blind rather than illuminate. We have to give Jesus time to grow up – not only in himself but in us.
What else is mentioned three times in this reading? The Holy Spirit. But remember, this is the Old Testament Holy Spirit. It is not yet the divine Person of the Christian Trinity. It was the undifferentiated Spirit of God that hovered over the waters at the beginning of creation (Genesis 1:2). The new Spirit would take people right out of the embrace of the Law.
It took an old man, Simeon, to discern the new thing that was happening. And the elderly woman, Anna, is also aware. They are wonderful examples of the clarity that can be found in old people. Every night of life the Church’s Night Prayer repeats Simeon’s canticle. “Now, O Lord, you can dismiss your servant in peace….” It is deeply meaningful. Every day is like a short lifetime, and nightfall reminds us of approaching death. The end is therefore not to be dreaded as something we have always excluded from our consciousness, but welcomed as a fulfilment – much as the body welcomes the prospect of rest and sleep.
Commentary on the Presentation of the Lord (2.02.2025)
The Law is mentioned three times in this reading: everything is being done “according to the Law.” Jesus appears as fully within the Law; everything is being done the right way. But we know with hindsight that he was put to death in the name of that same Law. Can you still see the eight-day-old baby once you have mentioned his death?
Sometimes it can be a good thing to set aside some of our hindsight. When hindsight gets in before sight itself, it can blind rather than illuminate. We have to give Jesus time to grow up – not only in himself but in us.
What else is mentioned three times in this reading? The Holy Spirit. But remember, this is the Old Testament Holy Spirit. It is not yet the divine Person of the Christian Trinity. It was the undifferentiated Spirit of God that hovered over the waters at the beginning of creation (Genesis 1:2). The new Spirit would take people right out of the embrace of the Law.
It took an old man, Simeon, to discern the new thing that was happening. And the elderly woman, Anna, is also aware. They are wonderful examples of the clarity that can be found in old people. Every night of life the Church’s Night Prayer repeats Simeon’s canticle. “Now, O Lord, you can dismiss your servant in peace….” It is deeply meaningful. Every day is like a short lifetime, and nightfall reminds us of approaching death. The end is therefore not to be dreaded as something we have always excluded from our consciousness, but welcomed as a fulfilment – much as the body welcomes the prospect of rest and sleep.
Fr Donagh O’Shea OP
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