“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 the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” (Luke2:29-32)
Today as we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the temple, we are reminded of the above prayer of Simeon when he saw the infant Jesus and taking him into his arms.Imagine how Simeon embraced the infant Jesus in his arms, praising God and having the confidence to proclaim that he has seen the salvation in this little child. And there was Anna, who, like Simeon has been waiting for that moment to encounter the fulfillment of the promise made in the Old Testament. They were both filled with excitement and joy and declared in the temple that this fulfillment of God’s promise has finally come. Their long wait has ended, it doesn’t matter how old they were nor how long they have waited, the faithfulness in their hearts is what matters most. They might have offered countless prayers, uttered countless hopes and suffered many disappointments.
What we have in this Feast is a reminder about faithful serving and hopeful waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises. The story of Simeon and Anna is a story of many of us - keep on hoping and looking ahead of what God can do to our life and giving up is not an option.
This is the hope that this Jubilee Year 2025 is offering us. As Pilgrims of Hope, we must be able to live like Simeon and Anna who have showed us what it means to hope for the best and believe that God can do more than what we can expect of Him. I firmly believe we have numerous ‘Simeons’ and ‘Annas’ in our midst, in our parish community. Those who patiently work so hard without any acknowledgements, those volunteers who tirelessly show up in times even when they themselves have other things to consider in their family or personal life. They are the signs of faithfulness and hope for us who are too impatient to wait.
The infant Jesus presented in the temple is thesource of our hope and like Simeon, we can be bearers of hope in a world at times filled with discouragements. As Pope Francis said, “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us, and help everyone gain strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far sighted vision.”