Word to the Wise
Saturday, December 30, 2023 - Dec. 30 - 6th Day in the Octave of Christmas
[1 John 2:12-17 and Luke 2:36-40]When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. [Luke]
One might think the above quotation is the end of the infancy narrative in the Gospel According to Luke, but there is one more story, not reported this season but with which we are all familiar: the finding of the boy Jesus in the temple - the fifth joyful mystery, as it were! Tomorrow, Sunday, the "presentation" will be read all over again in observance of the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph! It has a lot to do with the three-fold cycle of Sunday scriptures and the way the solar calendar works. The praise and warning of Simeon are still ringing in the ears of Mary and Joseph. At least they have Anna's praise to help them as well. It is worth noting that Anna, on seeing the baby Jesus not only gave thanks but "spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem!" She is a model of a disciple.
Once the temple episodes (4th and 5th Joyful Mysteries of the rosary) are over, the curtain will close and reopen on an adult Jesus, and the story, predicted by Simeon and proclaimed by Anna, will unfold toward Lent and Easter and Pentecost. Our task as "missionary disciples" is to join them and do the same thing. AMEN