+ Lumen ad revelationem gentium: et gloriam plebis tuae Israel. “A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel.” Together, according to the ancient tradition, we have sung these prophetic words of Simeon whilst receiving the blessed candles. We have processed with them held alight in our hands. And we have heard these words yet again, proclaimed just now in the Holy Gospel: lumen ad revelationem gentium: et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.
What is this light? What is it that the ritual purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple—something required by the Law and of itself by no means extraordinary—makes clear to us? Let us first underline that this ritual takes place in the Temple, in Jerusalem—in the place where, at the time, God is considered to be present on this earth. This is no local synagogue: it is the Temple. And let us consider Simeon: a devout old man (seemingly not a Levite or someone regarded as holding any official religious position) had been promised sight of the long-awaited Christ of God. Simeon is inspired to come to the Temple for this ritual and, taking the child Jesus in his arms, proclaims without hesitation: “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel.” Simeon’s eyes have finally seen God’s salvation: he holds Salvation Himself in his arms! This Child is the light for revelation to the Gentiles (that is, to us). He is the glorious fulfilment of all that for which Israel hoped. This is precisely what the light of this feast makes clear. This is what our blessed candles help us to see—that in the child born in a stable in Bethlehem we have the definitive revelation of God in human history; we have the gift of salvation from our sins made man. And so too, as Simeon makes clear, this revelation, this coming of salvation, is not only for the Chosen People: it is also for the Gentiles. The Incarnation is not merely the fulfilment of the expectation of Israel; it is the once and for all revelation of God’s saving mercy to the whole of humanity. Thus, Candlemas consummates Christmas, as it were, with Simeon making explicit that which the shepherds and the Wise Men implicitly recognised in the child Jesus. (This is one reason why the devotional Christmas crib is only removed after Candlemas—the Christmas feast continues, as it were, until today.) Indeed, the light of this feast places the reality of who the Christ-child in fact is in sharp relief. And in so doing, it demands of us a response. Having today ourselves seen God’s salvation, having held aloft that light in our own hands, we cannot remain indifferent. We are free, certainly, to choose how we respond. But we can no longer pretend not to have seen He whom Almighty God from all eternity willed to send for our salvation. We may be weak and need to say in all humility with St Peter: “Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.” (Lk 5:8) But then, in time, we shall come to know the Lord’s grace and understand why He called us. We may be inclined to first go and do this or that, as were those called in the ninth chapter of St Luke’s Gospel (vv. 59-62); but we need to understand that our seeing the Saviour, our coming to know the reality of Who the Christ-child is, admits of no procrastination. Its implications come before everything else. It could also be that, having seen the Saviour, we choose to turn away and return to the riches we have built up for ourselves, as did the rich young man in St Mark’s Gospel (10:17-22) in spite of the love our Saviour has for us. For whilst He shows Himself to us in this feast, our response to what we are shown must needs be our own. The light that we carry in our hands today should enable us to see more clearly, but it does not blind us. We are called to become faithful sons and daughters, indeed heirs, of the Kingdom of God, not slaves or prisoners. Whilst this light indeed does not blind us, as the Epistle intimates, the light of the Lord’s presence in the Temple is also something that purifies us and judges us. And so it should be today. Thus, the candles we carry should serve also to burn away all that is not of God in us, banishing the shadows of vice that lurk in our souls and replacing them with grace and virtue. Lumen ad revelationem gentium: et gloriam plebis tuae Israel. “A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel.” Let us beg the Lord now, here at His altar, that the revelation that we celebrate today shall truly illumine our hearts, minds and souls so that we may see that which the Lord asks of us in the different circumstances in which we live and work, and have the courage to do it. And through our so doing may those still blind to the reality of Who the Christ-child is themselves come to see the salvation God has prepared for all people. + Comments are closed.
|
Thinking of a monastic vocation? Please read:
Am I called to be a monk? Newsletters /
|
Advent 2024 | |
File Size: | 370 kb |
File Type: |

After Pentecost 2024 | |
File Size: | 332 kb |
File Type: |

Lent 2024 | |
File Size: | 378 kb |
File Type: |

Advent 2023 | |
File Size: | 362 kb |
File Type: |

After Pentecost 2023 | |
File Size: | 353 kb |
File Type: |

Lent 2023 | |
File Size: | 376 kb |
File Type: |

Advent 2022 | |
File Size: | 344 kb |
File Type: |

After Pentecost 2022 | |
File Size: | 369 kb |
File Type: |

Lent 2022 | |
File Size: | 430 kb |
File Type: |

Advent 2021 | |
File Size: | 832 kb |
File Type: |

After Pentecost 2021 | |
File Size: | 480 kb |
File Type: |

Lent 2021 | |
File Size: | 614 kb |
File Type: |

Advent 2020 | |
File Size: | 684 kb |
File Type: |

After Pentecost 2020 | |
File Size: | 283 kb |
File Type: |

Lent 2020 | |
File Size: | 303 kb |
File Type: |

Advent 2019 | |
File Size: | 369 kb |
File Type: |

After Pentecost 2019 | |
File Size: | 350 kb |
File Type: |

Lent 2019 | |
File Size: | 347 kb |
File Type: |

Advent 2018 | |
File Size: | 816 kb |
File Type: |

After Pentecost 2018 | |
File Size: | 937 kb |
File Type: |

Lent 2018 | |
File Size: | 787 kb |
File Type: |

Advent 2017 | |
File Size: | 1189 kb |
File Type: |