Bishop Glen John Provost
Bishop of Lake Charles
The Presentation of the Lord
February 2, 2014
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

“[F]or my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”  Luke 2:30-32

Light and darkness are opposites and incompatible.  When we enter a dark room and turn on the light, there is no longer darkness.   Light and darkness cannot coexist.  If we can grasp this notion, then perhaps we can understand why it is important for Simeon to see the Lord. 

Simeon was “righteous and devout,” the Gospel of St. Luke tells us, “awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the holy Spirit was upon him” (Luke 2:25).  In this way St. Luke lets us know that Simeon was a Jew who knew the promises of the prophets.  He was simply a “righteous” man who knew the Messiah had not yet appeared, and he wanted to see Him before he died.  To Simeon the world was in darkness until the Messiah would come.  But God had given him hope.  God had revealed to him that he would not die “before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord” (Luke 2:26).  And this is what happened when Mary and Joseph came to present Jesus in the Temple.  

Taking Jesus in his arms, Simeon said these words that became his canticle.  “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).   

Before the Presentation, Simeon had not yet seen the one who was the light.  But on that eventful day Simeon could then state that his life was fulfilled.  Simeon could see the light because he had made room for the light in his soul. 

The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is all about salvation.  According to the book of Exodus, God commanded the first born male be presented in the Temple as a countersign to the final plague of the Exodus—the killing of the first born.  In the act of presenting the first born, this would show that God “redeem[s] every first-born of [his] sons” (Exodus 13:15).  The Presentation was a sign of redemption for the Jews, a sign that God was making them His people.  They belonged to God.   When Jesus is brought to the Temple, God is fulfilling His redemption in Jesus, His Son.   For this reason Simeon calls Jesus the light. 

The darkness of sin can blind us.  We are physically able to see, but spiritually we can remain blind.  Christ dispels that darkness through redemption because He is the light.   To highlight this truth, we traditionally bless candles on this day.  The lit candles remind us of the light that we should see and take into our lives.  

Light and darkness cannot coexist.  Darkness vanishes when we turn on a light.  This is the idea.  The light of Christ cannot exist in our souls at the same time as we find ourselves living in sin.  Simeon could see the light because he removed that in him that would defeat the light. 

Pope Francis recently issued an apostolic exhortation entitled The Joy of the Gospel.   In this document he laid forth his ideas on the new evangelization, how the Church might more joyfully proclaim the Gospel.  He writes, “[A]nyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love” (The Joy of the Gospel, 120).  Evangelization calls us to joyfully proclaim the Gospel.  This joy comes from a converted heart that has “truly experienced God’s saving love.”  There is no joyful proclamation unless we have first experienced in conversion the mercy of God. 

This is what is happening in the Gospel.  Simeon was righteous and devout.  Thus, he can see redemption coming and proclaim it joyfully.  His purity of life opened his heart to recognize the Messiah when he saw him.   The light was so evident and powerful, penetrating and brilliant, that Simeon could recognize it even in a little baby, such as Jesus was.

Light and darkness cannot coexist.  To let the light of Christ into the darkness of our souls requires us to let the light do its work of dispelling darkness.  We cannot remain attached to darkness.  We cannot prefer darkness rather than light.   There is no “joy of the Gospel” unless the light shines.  We must let the light take over in our lives, “a light of revelation.”