Message of Abbot Paul - Sunday - Holy Family - 31st December 2023

On the Sunday after Christmas, the Church remembers the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The Gospel for today comes from Luke’s Infancy Narrative and recounts the Presentation in the Temple (Lk 2: 22-40). It’s told beautifully and in great detail by the evangelist. “When the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, – observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord.” In the Temple there are encounters between the infant Jesus and two devout Old Testament-like figures, Simeon and Anna. “Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God.” There’s nothing in the text to indicate that Simeon was a priest, nevertheless in Christian art he’s invariably presented as a high priest. What we do know of him is that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Just look how often the Holy Spirit is mentioned. Another point of interest is that the text is almost Eucharistic”: “he took him into his arms and blessed God.” He recognised the infant Jesus to be the Messiah, the Bread of life born in Bethlehem, the House of Bread. He is inspired to proclaim a short text the Church uses every night at Compline:  

“Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace,

just as you promised;

because my eyes have seen the salvation

which you have prepared for all the nations to see,

a light to enlighten the pagans

and the glory of your people Israel.”

This appears to be the song of an old man who has seen his life fulfilled by the coming of the Messiah: he has nothing more important left to live for. But there’s nothing in the text to indicate that he’s old! The hymn is prophetic in a big way, as the salvation Jesus brings is for all nations: he is a light to enlighten the Gentiles as well as the glory of his people Israel. “As the child’s father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’” Mary and Joseph can’t help but wonder at what’s being said about the infant in Mary’s arms, yet it is her soul that will be pierced through with a sword, for it is she who will share in her Divine Son’s Passion at the appropriate time, when prophecy becomes reality.

 

​Then Anna appears: she really is old and haunts the Temple with her prophetic presence. “There was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.” She too sees in the child Jesus the promised Messiah and Saviour, yet already at this stage in his life we wonder to what Anna is pointing by the phrase, “the deliverance of Jerusalem.” Many in Jesus’ day were hoping for a political Messiah, someone who would overthrow the Roman state and inaugurate not God’s eternal kingdom but a nationalist government. Jesus would have a hard job trying to convince even his own disciples as to the nature of his kingdom and Messiahship.

 

​Luke is a master at summarising situations and he does so now. “When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.” Mary and Joseph return to Nazareth, to the daily running of home and business. It is with them that the child Jesus is loved and nurtured as he grows into a man and prepares to present himself to Israel in the footsteps of John the Baptist as the true Messiah and Saviour of his people. Let us pray for all parents today that they be blessed in their children as were Mary and Joseph in the gift of Jesus.