On the “Meeting” of the five: Mary, Joseph, Christ, Simeon & Anna. Fr. Mark Greenaway-Robbins, The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, February 2, 2014.
Forty days ago the infant-Christ was carried in his mother’s arms – for the first time. Leaving the temple of the womb, Jesus became enfolded within the love of Mary and Joseph. Miracles passed: songs of the heavenly beings; a visitation by shepherds; adoration by the mysterious Magi. With a newborn child, forty days is a long time. Routines become humdrum. Patterns of breastfeeding, sleep, and toileting, come and go. So does play, parental adoration and the haze of sleeplessness. But there was another cause for deprived sleep – anticipation. The fortieth day approached. It was as if, all their waiting had been configured by nine months. And yet there was more – the fulfillment of the laws of purification. How that holy family longed to be holy again. The Mother – the God-bearer – was forbidden to enter the sanctuary. Even she who bore the Holy One of Israel – waited. Their budget was tight. And the day approached. Their means were stretched. The cheapest option when choosing redemption – two turtledoves – seemed beyond their reach. Joseph, had he the luxury to pause and ruminate – carpentry is an arduous trade – might have mused on Noah’s turtledove which sacrificed its life for a twig. And that second dove, which would rest upon his adult son. (True, the sacrifice would be unclear at the watery beginning of the child’s ministry.) It was time. Joseph, the guardian, escorted his wife and child towards the sanctuary. The doves struggled for freedom – tiringly. The destination would be their calvary. Unseen and unknown, to this nuclear family, were two elderly characters filled with life and longing. Their lives had been a search for the promises of God. A priest and a prophet were looking for their king. Simeon and Anna would not leave this life until they had witnessed the promise of life in the Messiah.
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