Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today we contemplate the beauty of “Jesus Christ, our hope” (1TM 1,1) in the mystery of his presentation to the temple.
In the stories of the childhood of Jesus, the evangelist Luca shows us the obedience of Mary and Joseph to the law of the Lord and to all his prescriptions. In reality, in Israel there was no obligation to present the child to the temple, but those who lived in listening to the word of the Lord and wanted to conform to it, considered it a precious practice. So had Anna, mother of the prophet Samuele, who was sterile; God listened to his prayer and her, he had his son, led him to the temple and offered him forever to the Lord (cf. 1Sam 1,24-28).
Luca therefore tells the first act of worship of Jesus, celebrated in the Holy City, Jerusalem, which will be the destination of all his itinerant ministry starting from the moment he will make the firm decision to climb you (cf. Lk 9.51), meeting to the completion of his mission. Mary and Joseph do not limit themselves to grafting Jesus in a family, people, alliance with the Lord God.
They deal with his custody and growth, and introduce him to the atmosphere of faith and worship. And they themselves grow gradually in understanding a vocation that exceeds them by far.
In the temple, which is “home of prayer” (Lk 19:46), the Holy Spirit speaks to the heart of an elderly man: Simeone, a member of the Holy People of God prepared for the wait and hope, which nourishes the desire of the completion of the promises made by God to Israel through the prophets.
Simeone warns in the temple the presence of the Lord’s Isto, sees the light that reflves in the midst of the peoples immersed “in darkness” (Cfr is 9,1) and meets that child who, as Isaiah prophesies, “was born for us”, is the son who “was given to us”, the “Prince of Peace” (Is 9.5). Simeone embraces that child who, small and defenseless, rests in his arms; But it is he, in reality, finds the consolation and fullness of his existence by tightening him to himself.
He expresses him in a canticle full of moved gratitude, which in the church became the prayer at the end of the day: «Now you can leave, O Lord, that your servant goes in peace, according to your word, because my eyes have seen your salvation, prepared by you in front of all the peoples: light to reveal you to the people and glory of your people , Israel “(Lk 2,29-32). Simeone sings the joy of those who have seen, of those who recognized and can transmit to others the meeting with the Savior of Israel and the people.
He is a witness of the faith, which he receives as a gift and communicates to others; It is a witness of the hope that does not disappoint; The heart of man is witness to God’s love of God, who fills the heart of man with joy and peace. Full of this spiritual consolation, the old Simeone sees death not as the end, but as a fulfillment, as fullness, awaits her as a “sister” who does not annihilate but introduces into the true life that he has already foretold and in which he believes.
On that day, Simeone is not the only one to see the salvation made flesh in the Child Jesus. The same also happens to Anna, a woman more than an octogenarian, widow, all dedicated to the service of the temple and consecrated to prayer.
At the sight of the child, in fact, Anna celebrates the God of Israel, who in that little one has redeemed his people, and tells it to others, generously spreading the prophetic word. The song of the redemption of two elderly thus releases the announcement of the Jubilee for all the people and for the world.
In the temple of Jerusalem, hope in hearts is rekindled because in it, Christ our hope has made entry.
Dear brothers and sisters, we also imitate us Simeone and Anna, these “pilgrims of hope” who have clear eyes capable of seeing beyond appearances, who know how to “sniff” the presence of God in smallness, who know how to welcome the visit of God with joy and rekindle hope in the hearts of brothers and sisters.
