Mary and Joseph, when it came to the birth of the Child, complied with the imperial law of census registration

 

Mary and Joseph, when it came to the birth of the Child, complied with the imperial law of census registration; now, 40 days after the birth of the Son of God, they are fulfilling the Law of Israel. They take the child Jesus to be presented at the Temple (Lev 12:3-4) before two important witnesses of advanced age, although Simeon’s age is not directly mentioned, something that can be deduced from the “waiting” and the information given regarding “now you may let your servant go in peace.” According to the biblical commentary of the Order of Saint Benedict (78), Luke “joined two independent ceremonies”: that of the purification of the mother (however, this is not a question of moral impurity) and that of the redemption of the firstborn. The child was not redeemed as the Law provided (cf. Ex 13:13b), because he is the one who came to redeem and remain entirely God’s. Another important fact concerns the fact that the firstborn of men is redeemed and that of animals is sacrificed. In the case of Jesus, He was consecrated and sacrificed as the Lamb of God. Therefore, two realities come together here: the consecration, through birth, and the sacrifice at Easter, through the cross. The Christmas of the Son of God is directed towards the Easter of the same Son.

2. As for the Temple, for Luke, it “symbolizes the continuity between Judaism and Christianity”. Furthermore, the “first announcement of the definitive act of salvation took place in the Temple (cf. Lk 1:11). Jesus teaches in the Temple (cf. Lk 19:47) and the disciples continue to worship in the Temple” (Commentary on the Bible, 78) until long after the Christian era (cf. Lk 24:53; Acts 3:1). Faith needs a place of reference, a determining and meeting point for the manifestation of God’s will. Such a place only has meaning insofar as it expresses the presence of God and the welcome of those who belong to HIM.

3. Regarding the witnesses, the first is Simeon, who anxiously awaited the arrival of the Messiah and was filled with the Holy Spirit and by the same Spirit was led to the Savior, the Light of the world, a clear indication that one can only approach and understand who the Son of God is if one has His Spirit. The second witness is Anna, a prophetess, who sees the child, glorifies God and announces the Savior. In Simeon and Anna, besides being witnesses, Luke sees the sign of the Old Testament, of the time of promise and waiting. The advanced age of both indicates the long time in which humanity longed for the Savior, the true Liberator; it indicates, concretely, the fulfillment of Israel's messianic dream, in a certain way contradicting the way of thinking of that people, since the Liberator and Savior, the Messiah, is there as a boy, a fragile child, without riches and without a powerful name either in Israel or in humanity in general.

4. Anna, at 84 years old, being a consecrated widow, spent all her time in the Temple, serving the Lord. Her life was intense in prayer, fasting and giving her time to the will of God. She lived as a disciple in whatever her time allowed, with faith, courage and availability. God granted her the grace to contemplate his Son and the inspiration needed to proclaim him. Anna saw what other Jews could not see. She had the grace to see the “Face of God” in the Child Jesus. She lived the essential, but many of her time lived what their flesh longed for. As a woman, Anna was considered nothing in the society of Israel, but before God, she was a treasure, small and simple. God reveals himself to the little ones, to the humble: “Father, I thank you, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to babes” (Mt 11:25).

5. Anna and Simeon certainly were not able to understand such a mystery, but they were able to understand that God, through that child, was visiting his people; He was fulfilling his messianic promise; he was freeing humanity. While Elizabeth and Zechariah are signs of the Old Testament, Anna and Simeon are signs of the anxious promise of the arrival of the Messiah. In these four characters, Luke shows how the First Covenant and the Second are interconnected and dependent on each other. The Old and New Testaments cannot be separated and vice versa. Sacred Scripture is the totality of the Covenants.

6. Well, Jesus follows the normal course of human beings, respecting their laws, being part of their history and culture, because he is also 100% man, without ceasing to be 100% God. In his humanity, he grows, develops physically and intelligently, in wisdom and grace. He did not play at being a man, he did not assume humanity as a shell, as a box, as a means through which the Word passes. Humanity was truly assumed. The Word became one of us. That child is the divine Person of the Word in his new condition: he is human with humans to save everyone. He wanted a family for himself, prepared in faith, love and hope. A family marked by self-giving, a life of service and total detachment and availability. The family loved by Jesus bore His marks.May each disciple understand Jesus Christ more and more, deepening his faith in the Covenants (Old and New Testament), being a total contemplator of the wonders of God, totally obedient to His Word and forever available to His divine will. Furthermore, he must be a bearer of light, the true Light, Jesus Christ, who “coming into the world enlightens every human being” (Jn 1:9). Jesus Christ is the Sun “that rises from on high” (cf. Lk 1:78), the Sun that visited all (cf. Lk 1:78) and illuminated all who lay in darkness. Now, with the presentation of the child in the Temple, the whole world can glimpse the Light of Heaven, the hope of salvation and the fulfillment of God’s Plan for the liberation of all who respond to Him. The disciples are precisely those who turn to God and are not afraid to be light in the Light; those who, once enlightened, are not afraid to be instruments of enlightenment in the world.