Now, Master!
“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.” (Lk 2:29-32)
In today’s Gospel, Simeon was led by the Spirit to the temple so the he could witness Mary and Joseph presenting their Son, Jesus, to God.
Simeon was one of the many people who had waited his whole life for the fulfillment of a promise by God to send a savior.
Many people throughout the ages had waited for that promise to be fulfilled. They died waiting.
Simeon, however, was privileged to be able to see the Promised One before his death.
And he proclaimed God’s praise in the process.
The Church uses his canticle of joy each night in Night Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. Over and over again, we tell God to dismiss us in peace because we have witnessed His saving deeds.
And we have.
Unlike the people of long ago who waited for the promise, we can look back in retrospect on all that was done. We know that God has delivered His people. We delight in the joy of that knowledge.
FAITH ACTION: So often we spend our lives — and our prayers — petitioning God for things. In prayer today, take the time to thank God for all that He has already done for you.