"Only God can enable us to understand our neighbour according to the 'feeling', the intuition of the 'Spirit'. Then we perceive in him or her an irreducible personal existence beyond limitations and errors, beyond even the disappointment we may have felt for a moment. The other is in the image of God, not
of us."
- Olivier Clement [20th C.], "The Roots of Christian Mysticism" (To welcome the Word-made-flesh into our
lives is to welcome our neighbor as well. Strive to do so this day.) |
1 Jn 2:3-11; Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 5b-6 Lk 2:22-35 When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents
brought in the child Jesus
to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Lord, now let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:
my own eyes have seen the salvation
which
you prepared in the sight of every people,
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
(and you yourself a sword will pierce)
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be
revealed.” Reflection on the Scriptures
Mary and Joseph walked the simple way of innocent trust in God in a
most loving way. In today's gospel - this year, the same as Sunday's Holy Family gospel - they go up to the temple in Jerusalem to be faithful to the law. They meet Simeon, such an Old Testament prophet type of person, who comes into the temple "in the Spirit." In that moment, Simeon is able to hold on to the promise he has hoped in with innocent trust. Simeon's hope has not been narrow. He has been listening to the promise carefully. He is beholding not only "the glory of your people, Israel,"
but "a light to reveal you to the nations." Simeon's longing coincided with God's longing - that all God's children be one. In the Spirit, how else could Simeon dream, except with a reconciling and loving spirit? Simeon's hope is not naive. And so he instructs Joseph and Mary in its depths. There will be people who contradict this vision of unity and peace. They will choose being unique and special, being chosen and righteous over being inclusive and forgiving. And, of course, Mary's own heart will be part of the suffering that is the cost of discipleship. To see her precious son so rejected would be like a sword piercing her own heart. Simeon himself could not have imagined
how true that would be as she would behold his heart opened with a lance on the cross. The poor couple, who could only afford two small birds for their offering, came home blessed. We can only imagine what they
taught their child about being a light for all people, about unity and forgiveness, about trust in God and sacrifice. When Jesus was led into the desert by the same Spirit that was with Simeon, he was ready for his mission. Dear Lord, Jesus, we thank you for your becoming one with us. We thank you for these days to help us continue to understand and embrace your coming. We thank you for being light in our darkness. We thank you for these scriptures which help us see what you wish to reveal to us. So we ask you today to heal whatever darkness might be left over after Christmas. Restore your own peace in our hearts. Let your Spirit lead us to the places where we can reveal your light to
others. Prepare us for the swords that will pierce our hearts as we give ourselves to being your disciples for others. by Andy Alexander, S.J.
The Existence of God by Francois Fenelon SECTION XXX -
Of Man (human nature).
Let us not stop any longer with animals inferior to man. It is high time to consider and study the nature of man himself, in order to discover Him whose image he is said to bear.
I know but two sorts of beings in all nature: those that are endowed with knowledge or reason, and those that are not. Now man is a compound of these two modes of being. He has a body, as the most inanimate corporeal beings have; and he has a spirit, a mind, or a soul--that is, a thought whereby he knows himself, and perceives what is about him. If it be true that there is a First Being who has drawn or created all the rest from nothing, man is truly His image; for he has, like
Him, in his nature all the real perfection that is to be found in those two various kinds or modes of being. But an image is but an image still, and can be but an adumbration or shadow of the true Perfect Being.
Let us begin to study man by the contemplation of his body. "I know not," said a mother
to her children in the Holy Writ, "how you were formed in my womb." Nor is it, indeed, the wisdom of the parents that forms so compounded and so regular a work. They have no share in that wonderful art; let us therefore leave them, and trace it up higher.
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