The Jewish law required that all first-born, both of men and of animals, should be offered to the Lord (Ex 13:1-16). The children, who obviously could not be sacrificed, were redeemed. The parents brought to the priests of the temple a pure animal to be sacrificed in place of the son. The rich were offering a lamb, the poor a couple of turtle doves or pigeons. Mary and Joseph submitted to this provision. Luke did not miss the opportunity to point out that the family of Nazareth was not able to offer a lamb, that they were poor.
After recalling this theme, the evangelist immediately introduces a second: the scrupulous observance by the holy family, of all the requirements of the law of the Lord. Insistently and almost excessively reiterating it (vv. 22,23,24,27,39), he wishes to emphasize that, from the earliest years of his life, Jesus has faithfully fulfilled the Father’s will, expressed in the Holy Scriptures.
The message is addressed to all Christian parents. Their duty is not only to give the children an education, work and an insertion into the fabric of civil society. They are called to a most important mission: to consecrate their children to the Lord, from the earliest days of their lives. They should not subject them to special rites, but to instill in them deep convictions. Educating in the faith is more than just teaching prayers and imposing the fulfillment of religious practices. It means putting in the hearts of the children the love for “the way” traveled by Jesus, to offer them to the Lord that they will become builders of peace and a new world.
We know that children learn more with the eyes than with the ears. The Christian life of the parents is the best way to give catechesis to the children. If parents pray at home, the children learn to pray with them; if the parents read the Bible, the children learn to seek the light of their lives in God’s word; if parents participate faithfully to the meetings of the Christian community, the children will follow and become committed Christians; if parents practice love, forgiveness, generosity towards the brothers/sisters, the children imitate them. That’s how Christian parents consecrate their children to the Lord.
In the second part of the passage (vv. 25-35), which is the center of today’s Gospel, an old man, Simeon enters. He is described as “a just man and fears God, awaiting the consolation of Israel” (v. 25).
As the years pass by, bitterness often accumulates and older people like to look back to the past. The days come when one says: “They make me sick!”, in which one sleeps little and badly, “the sparrow stops chirping and the bird-song is silenced” (Eccl 12:1-4). Then they willingly take refuge in the memory of youth; abandon themselves to a melancholy regret and exclaim with Ecclesiastes: “Youth and dark hair will not last” (Eccl 11:10).
Simeon teaches how to grow old. He also remembers, but has no regrets; no recriminations on the present, does not complain that “the former times were better” (Eccl 7:10). He remembers God’s promises and awaits the fulfillment with unwavering confidence.
It’s an old example: He does not want to return a young man because he knows of having fulfilled his own life, leaving himself always guided by the Spirit. He feels his forces decline, and yet he remains capable of cultivating high hopes.
He lives in the light of the Word of God, for this reason, even though he realizes that his days are coming to an end, he does not fear death. He is happy and asks the Lord to welcome him into his peace.
He does not fear the evil he sees around him. He does not let himself be taken by impatience nor despair if the persistence of violence and injustice still occurs, a bit everywhere.
He talks with God and looks forward, conscious that, in a short time, nothing will change. However he rejoices, contemplating the dawn of the new world. He rejoices like a farmer, at the end of the season of sowing, dreams of heavy rains and abundant harvest.
Simeon is not selfish. He does not think of himself, of his own advantage, but of others, of all humanity, of the joy that all will experience when the kingdom of God will be established.
Simeon took the child from the arms of his parents (v. 28). With this gesture, he becomes the image of the people of Israel who, for centuries, has been waiting for the Messiah. He now welcomes him and, with joy, bless the Lord: “My eyes have seen your salvation, which you display for all the people to see. Here is the light you will reveal to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel” (vv. 30-32).
Simeon looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel (v. 25), surely remembering the Lord’s promise: “As a son comforted by his mother, so I will comfort you. You shall be comforted in Jerusalem. At the sight of this, your heart will rejoice” (Is 66:13-14).
Simeon rejoices when he sees and takes the messiah of God in his arms. He now offers him, in the name of Israel, to all peoples.
This moving scene depicts the task of transmitting the faith within each family. Every generation of Christians accepts the Lord, from the hands of their fathers. They hand it to the delighted children and grandchildren, so that it becomes, for them, the light that gives meaning to every event in life.
Simeon continues with a second prophecy, addressed to Mary. Her son “will become a sign of contradiction.” For someone he means salvation, for others he “will be a cause of ruin and a sword will pierce the soul of the mother” (vv. 34-35).
Luke, like John, introduces, from the beginning of his Gospel, the theme of conflict caused by the light of God, destined to enlighten all nations. The wicked “hates the morning as their darkest hour, the time for them to fear” (Job 24:16-18).
The image of the “sword” that will pierce the soul has been interpreted in the past as the announcement of the drama of Mary at the foot of the cross. Not so. The “mother of Jesus” is understood here as the “symbol of Israel.” In the Bible, “Israel” (female name in Hebrew) is a woman, a bride, made fruitful by God. She conceives, and gives birth to her own son. No one better than Mary could represent this mother Israel. Simeon understands the plight of his people. In Israel—he said—a deep laceration will happen. In front of the messiah, the envoy from the sky, some will open up mind and heart and welcome the salvation; others will close themselves in denial, declaring their own downfall.
Luke has in mind the situation of his community in which many believers have been marginalized because of their faith in Christ, by their best friends and by their family members. Later in his Gospel, with a clear reference to this prophecy, he will report the statement of Jesus: “Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, in one house five will be divided: three against two, and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law” (Lk 12:51-53).
In the third part of the passage (vv. 36-38), another elderly person appears: the prophetess Anna. She is eighty-four-years old and this number, which is the result of 7×12, has a clear symbolic meaning: 7 means perfection, while 12 represents the people of Israel. Anna is therefore the “woman–Israel–who,” having accomplished her mission, gives the world the expected messiah.
This prophetess is of the tribe of Asher, the smallest, the most insignificant of all the tribes of Israel. In fact, in the blessing Moses pronounces upon the people before his death, she appears last (Deut 33:24). The reason why Luke points out that Anna belongs to this tribe is to show, once again, that the poor are better prepared to recognize Jesus as the savior.
Anna is a woman faithful to her husband to the point of not remarrying. Her choice has a theological significance for the evangelist. Like the aged Simeon, “Anna” is the “symbol of the faithful remnant of Israel,” the bride of the Lord. In her life she has only one love, then lives as a grieving widow until the day she accepts Jesus as her Lord. She then again rejoices as the bride who finally finds the groom.
Anna has not moved away from the temple of the Lord (v. 37). That’s the home of her groom. She does not go looking for lovers, nor wastes time with the idols. She does not go from house to house to pass the night in empty talks, in gossip and slanders. She knows that the days of life are precious and should be spent in intimacy with the Lord and to serve the community.
Older people never feel useless when they live in expectation of the coming of the Lord. They can always perform many humble services that are valuable and bring joy to others. They have, above all, as the old prophetess, the task of talking about Jesus to those who are looking for a way of life. They have enriched themselves with spiritual experience. This is the most precious heritage that must be bequeathed to future generations.
The passage ends (vv. 39-40) with the return of the Holy Family to Nazareth and the record concerning the growth of Jesus. He was no different from the children of his village if not because “he was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him.” Despite being the son of God, he accepted in all our human condition and shared since childhood, all of our experiences.