My Eyes Have Seen

"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 sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32)

 These words were spoken by Simeon at the Presentation of our Lord after he took the infant Jesus into his arms. “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.” (Luke 2:26) What a beautiful gift Simeon received, a promise that he would see the Christ before he died and at that moment knew that nothing more was needed in this life. He had attained what we all hope to attain one day, to behold the Lamb of God. When was this revealed to Simeon? Was he a young man at the time and now an old man who had waited many years for this promise to be fulfilled? Did he ever wonder when this was going to happen? Did he have days that seemed unbearable and he wished that God would fulfill his promise soon? We have all received a similar promise from God, that we will one day see him face to face if we remain hopeful and walk in his truth. Do we wait patiently for this promise and keep our eyes fixed on Christ as Simeon did? Or do we get caught up in the sin and drudgery of our world and feel that God has forgotten about us?

There is a tension ever present in our lives between living in this world, while also living for the kingdom which is to come. We are called to live in this world, to be the light of Christ and make visible to others the love of Christ. We are called to step into the darkness of this world so that the light of Christ within us can cast aside all that is not of Him. Yet, at the same time, we need to not get caught up in the sin and darkness of this word, to not fall into despair when our world seems to be crumbling down around us. We need to keep our eyes fixed on Christ and allow his unfailing light to lead us to eternal glory.

This morning as we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord, there was a beautiful procession. All of the priests had a lit candle and gathered at the back of the chapel. These beautiful words were part of the introductory address to the people, “So let us also, gathered together by the Holy Spirit, proceed to the house of God to encounter Christ. There we shall find him and recognize him in the breaking of the bread, until he comes again, revealed in glory.” After the prayer, a couple of the priests lit the candles of all those who were attending Mass. We were called to be the light to the world. This was a beautiful ritual that I had never partaken in and felt so blessed to be a part of it.