This coming Sunday is the Feast of the Holy Family. The gospel is part of the infancy narratives of St. Luke and this week is the story of the “Presentation in the Temple.”

25 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.

Luke records the inspired reaction of Simeon to the bringing of Jesus into the temple. We seem always to think of this man as old, though there is no evidence apart from his cheerful readiness to die (v.29; cf. 26). Attempts to identify him as a priest or an important citizen are without foundation. The name was a common one; apart from this story we know nothing about him. But the story does indicate that he was “righteous” and “devout.” The first accolade is likely meant to tell us that he was in a right relationship with God and man alike. The second accolade, “devout” (eulabes) is a word, only used by Luke in the New Testament, describing a person who was attentive and careful about religious duties and obligations.

The expression “awaiting the consolation of Israel” is not a quote from an OT prophet nor an expression found in rabbinic writings, but it is not unwarranted to hear the echo of Isaiah 40:1-2 – Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service has ended, that her guilt is expiated.”  The word “service”, elsewhere in the OT describes servitude or exile or combat service.  “Expiated” means that person has been redeemed and pardoned. By the time of Simeon, Israel has been a vassal, subjected nation for almost 600 years while still holding to the promise of the restoration of the throne of David and a new age for the city of Jerusalem. The hope for such consolation was believed awaiting fulfillment in the promised Messiah.

 26 It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. 27 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, 

It is of note that St. Luke’s emphasis on the role of the Holy Spirit in Luke and Acts of the Apostles is already on display in these infancy narratives. Zechariah was a righteous man associated with the Temple who prayed the Benedictus after the birth of John the Baptist. Simeon, another righteous man associated with the Temple, also in the Spirit, will be led to his own unique prayer (vv.29-32).

In fulfillment of the promise the Spirit brought Simeon into the temple at the same time as Joseph and Mary. Simeon was ‘in the Spirit’, which includes being inspired by the Spirit but seems also to indicate something more: a special sensitivity. Simeon blessed God by offering up a prayer of praise

28 he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: 29 “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” 

Through the gift of the Holy Spirit he had lived to recognize the Messiah in the infant Jesus and was now able to leave this life in peace knowing that the salvation long promised in the covenants and proclaimed by the prophets was coming to bear for the sake of the world. But the words of the prayer have many allusions to the history of salvation as revealed in the Old Testament scrolls.

• The promise to Abraham: “For my part, here is my covenant with you: you are to become the father of a multitude of nations.” (Gen 17:4)  It has long been the hope/prophecy that the fates of those within and outside Israel are connected.
• It was a theme often repeated by the Prophet Isaiah: “In days to come, the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it.” (Is 2:2) When nations arrive their desire will be that God “may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” (v.3).

The prayer shows that this salvation is not for any one nation but for all. This is clear enough in the expression “all peoples,” but Simeon spells it out by speaking of both the Gentiles and the people of Israel. Some have seen a distinction in the expression “a light for revelation to the Gentiles,” as compared to “and glory for your people Israel.” But as Leon Morris notes [p.105]: “It is probably only the poetic structure that links a light for revelation with the former and glory with the latter, for he would bring revelation to Israel as to others. But there is appropriateness in linking glory with Israel. There is much about glory in the Old Testament‚ particularly in connection with God’s manifestations of himself to his people. But Israel will see glory in its truest and fullest sense when it sees the Son of God (cf. John 1:14). His being a light to Gentiles means no diminution of Israel’s glory, but rather its full realization.”

So there is more at play than simply the fulfillment of a divine promise to one righteous man. It is a gift of wisdom and insight that this one righteous man recognized that all the promises of God were being fulfilled in the infant being carried into the Temple.

In these few verses, the focal point of the narrative involves the presentation of Simeon as a reliable witness: a righteous and pious man, an agent of the Holy Spirit, his physical location in the Jerusalem temple, and his understanding of the message of Isaiah not only in terms of covenant promise fulfillment but also in expressing his praise to God.

Image credit: Giotto di Bondone, Presentation of Christ in the Temple | Lower Church in the Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi | PD-US