On this Feast of the Presentation, Mary and Joseph, honoring
their religious tradition, bring their baby to the Temple in Jerusalem. They
encounter two very wise and elderly people there, Simeon and Anna, whose wisdom
amaze and give Mary and Joseph much upon which to reflect about their infant
son. In the persons of Simeon and Anna God is fully present. How well do we
honor the elderly in our families and in our midst? In the free market
mentality of American society, there are some who view our elderly as unproductive
freeloaders who contribute nothing to the Gross National Product and are a
drain on the economy and society. The cynicism of the free market regards them
as nothing more than a commodity, that can be bought and sold, rather than
value them as Temples of the Holy Spirit in whom God resides.
It is true that
as we age, we begin to grieve the growing frailness of our bodies and perhaps
the lack of sharpness in thinking we once possessed. We can either bitterly
flail out at these losses, or we can use these losses to grow into grace, as Fr
Henri Nouwen once wrote. As our independence and self-reliance begins to wane,
we have the opportunity to fall deeper into the embrace of the God who loves
and created us. As our eyesight dims, our eyes are able to focus more sharply on God. We are able to transform from the state of just getting “old” to
becoming “ancianos” (Spanish for ancient and wise ones).
This is what the
Gospel challenges us today; to see within those who are elderly and within
ourselves as we age, the growing “light” of God’s wisdom and grace. It is this
Light of God to which we pay great reverence and honor. May we be able to say
with Simeon toward the end of our lives, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according
to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the
sight of all the peoples.”
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