Friday 02 February 2024

Psalm 24

Background

Today the Church calendar marks the presentation of Jesus at the Temple.

Under the law every firstborn male had to be consecrated to the Lord. This meant Mary and Joseph had to journey to Jerusalem. Here they would visit the Temple, offer sacrifices and present their baby Jesus to the Lord.

The Temple courts were always busy, filled with people offering sacrifices and exchanging money for the Temple coin. There would also have been priests on duty offering prayers and carrying out their other tasks. In the midst of this hustle and bustle was a man named Simeon. He had been told by God that he would not die until he had met the Messiah. As he is handed Jesus, he senses that this child is the promised one. This realisation leads him to praise God because he has held the saviour of the world. He has seen with his own eyes the one who will bring light and glory to all people.

Like John the Baptist, Simeon knew God was at work and he waited patiently for the Messiah to be revealed. There was a difference: Simeon was working as a priest in the Temple, and John was out in the wilderness calling people to repentance. Yet they both experienced God at work through Jesus at different moments. They grasped those moments and proclaimed that God is here with us and that the way of salvation is being made through Jesus.

To Ponder:

• In the midst of our busy lives, have there been moments when you've felt a deep sense of God's presence or a realisation that something significant was unfolding?
• How can we cultivate a posture of attentiveness to God's work in unexpected places and moments?