This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. The Temple is the place of God’s presence and it is interesting that we are witnessing the meeting between the finite space of the earth and the infinite love of God, between time and eternity. Once again, with the birth of Jesus things have changed: our relationship with God has become totally different. God who was the most holy and so removed from us, now lives as one of us, in our midst.
Around Jesus entering the temple we see a little community of God’s people: Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna. Simeon, described as righteous and devout man, puts his arms around the baby Jesus and exclaims: “My eyes have seen your salvation.” He is the man of expectation; he is a man of deep faith, trust and abandonment in God. His daily life did not prevent him from keeping his eyes fixed on the horizon. The flame of the Holy Spirit makes it more alive, strong, and open to the future. Simeon’s eyes no longer see the darkness in front of him, but the dawn of life, the “salvation” of God: Jesus, the God who saves.
Let us be guided, like Simeon, by the Holy Spirit, training us to listen to God’s voice. At the same time we are invited to call God by a “new” name: He is our Savior.