The
beginning of Luke's Gospel introduces a number of prophetic figures, including
Simeon and Anna (Luke 2: 22 - 38). When the infant Jesus is presented at the
Temple, Simeon and Anna are the first to recognise him as their saviour and the
saviour of the world. Both recognise Jesus as the one who will fulfill their
hopes, and who will purify their world of all evil and injustice.
We might see
Simeon in particular as the patron of all who have searched long and hard for
the meaning and purpose of their lives and finally found it in the life of
Jesus. Recognising Jesus as their saviour, they can finally let go and
surrender their lives to the Lord.
Yesterday
evening, Robert Morris and Kieran Gill made their first vows as Jesuits. Over
the past two years Rob and Kieran have been challenged to allow God to show
them the way through the mountains, valleys and plains of their souls, across
inland rivers and seas to a place of self-acceptance and love where their own
human weakness and limitation are embraced together with their God-given
goodness and giftedness. They have been learning to accept and love themselves
as God loves and accepts them, so that they may love others in the same way and
share in Jesus' mission of reconciling our world.
Both will
need a great deal of love and support in their journeys, as we all do. Indeed,
there is a note of foreboding in Simeon's second oracle, where he recognises
that the message of Jesus is going to cause
trouble:
‘This child is chosen by God for the destruction and
the salvation of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God which many people
will speak against and so reveal their secret thoughts. And sorrow, like a
sharp sword, will break your own heart.'
Simeon's
words point to the direction that Jesus' life will take - he will confront the evil in people's hearts;
he will reveal and seek to purify whatever narrowness and ugliness he finds
there. The oracle anticipates what will occur when Jesus initiates his public
ministry in Nazareth later in Luke's
Gospel. Jesus' words and actions affront and confront people and he receives an
angry response.
We should
expect that as followers of Jesus our words and deeds will sometimes be confronting.
Sometimes we should find that our discipleship is costly.
I've just
returned from Cambodia, where I attended a meeting of Provincials from our Asia
Pacific region. I went into the chapel to pray one morning where someone had
just lit a single incense stick. A soft wisp of fragrant smoke drifted gently
from the burning stick, and as I watched the stick get shorter and shorter, I
thought of the words Robert and Kieran would say while taking their vows:
asking God to receive their lives as a fragrant offering.
Just as an
incense stick is spent in giving reverence to God, so they will spend their
lives in giving reverence to God through selfless service.
We hope and pray that
Kieran's and Rob's lives will be long, and that at the end when they really are
spent, they will nevertheless be happy that they have followed in the path that
God has shown them.
Fr Steve Curtin SJ, Provincial
Pictured: (From left) Rob Morris, Steve Curtin and Kieran Gill.