As Christmas draws closer, it is a good time to pause and take stock of our Advent preparations. How have we been watching and waiting for the Lord? How have we been attentive to God in prayer?
Father Dan Daly, SJ, an author who serves as our province’s treasurer, prepared a reflection to help you pause this Advent. He uses the Ignatian method of imaginative prayer, called Ignatian contemplation, to bring to life the scene at the presentation of Jesus in the temple from Simeon’s perspective:
Simeon was waiting (Luke 2:22-40)
An Advent Reflection by Fr. Dan Daly, SJ
Simeon sat next to his friend Nathan on the edge of a raised walkway in the Temple. Nathan was pontificating about something, but Simeon was not paying much attention. He was too busy looking at the faces of the people who hurried by.
Several years earlier, Simeon had received a startling message in a dream: An angel told him that the long-awaited Messiah was coming and that Simeon would witness his arrival. For generations, his people had waited for a great leader who would free them from the oppression of foreign kings and establish a land of peace and prosperity. That leader was about to make his appearance! Simeon went to the Temple often, studying the crowds and hoping for the Messiah to come.
Compared to Simeon, we hardly do any watching and waiting at all. Our lives are too busy. We are working and studying, busy with a variety of meetings – even including meetings to plan more meetings. We have stacks of paper on our desks and e-mail messages and texts waiting for replies.
We are busy. Even so, it is good to slow down every now and again and sit quietly for a while. God has already come into the world, of course. But God continues to come into our world and our lives in new and surprising ways. We do not want to miss God’s arrival! In the meantime, watching and waiting orients our lives. We gain a better perspective. We concern ourselves with those things that are most important and do not become overly troubled by things that do not matter that much.
As morning began to move into midday, Simeon noticed a man carrying a pigeon box accompanied by his wife and baby boy. As Simeon gazed at the little boy resting in his mother’s arms, all the noise and activity of the Temple simply faded away. Somehow Simeon knew that his Savior had come.
Simeon hurried over to Mary and Joseph. “Please, just a moment,” he shouted. “I’m sorry to trouble you. I have been waiting for this day for as long as I can remember. Can I hold your boy for just a moment?”
As Mary handed Jesus to him, Simeon was overcome with emotion. Tears of joy streamed down his face as he prayed, “Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace. Salvation has come to your people, and my eyes have witnessed it, just as you promised.” Then he handed Jesus back to his mother and offered a blessing over the stunned couple.
Simeon experienced wonder and joy that day. He saw clearly God’s wonderful plan of salvation and God’s care for him and for the whole world. May our eyes be open enough to catch a glimmer of what he saw that day, and may our hearts be filled with wonder and joy, too.
Download a PDF version of this reflection.
Featured Image: The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple by James Tissot, Brooklyn Museum. Public Domain.
