“Encountering and recognizing Jesus is not enough. We also must be ready to make Him known to others through our words, actions, and prayers.”
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word.”
The blessed Mother and St. Joseph brought the child Jesus into the temple for the rites of purification. Many people must have looked at the child without recognizing Him as the long-awaited Messiah. They just ignored Him as they would ignore the children of insignificant parents of their time. Only the aged Simeon and the prophetess Anna recognized the infant Jesus for who He was.
How come only these two persons recognized and proclaimed Christ to others? They recognized the infant messiah because they both were fully committed to God in one way or another.
We learn from Simeon and Anna five divinely inspired commitments that will help us also to recognize Jesus in our lives and proclaim Him to others.
Commitment to serve
Simeon was fully committed to God as His servant and saw himself as one, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word.” He was not the master of his life, but he submitted completely to God. His entire life was one of obedience to the word of God. Nothing in his life gave him peace until the word of God was fulfilled. He truly had a servant’s heart.
We too recognize the presence of Jesus in our lives when we begin to submit to Him and His authority in all areas of our lives. We are blinded to the presence of God when we pretend to be the ultimate masters of our bodies, time, sexuality, resources, health, etc. Jesus Christ must truly be the master of all aspects of our lives, and we humbly submit to His lordship if we are going to recognize His presence with us.
Commitment to live a holy life
Simeon was also committed to living a life inspired by the Holy Spirit and truly pleasing to God, “This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.” While waiting for the advent of the Righteous one, Simeon ensured that his life was in accord with the holy will of God.
Inspired and sustained by the Holy Spirit, we too should strive for holiness of life. The more that we strive for this holiness of life by the grace of God, we begin to sense God’s presence and action in our lives. We show this commitment to holiness by our constant struggle with sin and our refusal to be mastered by selfishness. We cannot hope to sense God’s presence with us when we are giving in to the many sinful behaviors and choices that we see in our world today.
Commitment to pray and worship God.
The prophetess Anna gave herself wholeheartedly to prayer and worship, “She never left the temple, but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer.” Neither her old age nor the death of her husband prevented her from persistent and continuous prayer. She worshipped and prayed “night and day” i.e., in good or in bad times, whether it was convenient and fruitful or not.
We too must be deeply committed to our prayer life, either in private or at Sunday Mass. We pray even if our conditions do not change, or we do not get what we are asking for. It is very sad to hear that some Catholics are still attending online Masses instead of attending Mass in their parishes. We settle for online Masses, but we are physically present at the malls and cinemas! How in the world can we ever sense Jesus’ presence when we are so casual and careless in our prayer life?
Commitment to search for Jesus
Simeon and Anna longed for the messiah and waited for His coming. Simeon did not get complacent with his righteousness but he “waited for the consolation of Israel.” Anna’s sufferings and pains did not diminish her longing and expectation for the messiah. They both lived in that hopeful expectation of the messiah’s appearance.
We too must be searching for Jesus in our daily lives as Jesus Himself commanded us, “Seek and you will find.”(Mt 7:7) We can search for Jesus in our daily prayer time with His word. Our search for Jesus should bring us to the frequent and fervent reception of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation. We search for Him in other persons whom we meet, bearing in mind that “whatsoever we do to the least of them we do to Him.”(Mt 25:40) We search for Him in the daily events and circumstances of our lives. We cannot recognize His hidden presence with us if we are not consciously and intentionally searching for Him.
Commitment to proclaim Christ to others.
Simeon and Anna spoke to others about Jesus immediately they encountered Him. Simeon simply spoke of His suffering to the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that would be contradicted.” On her part, Anna “spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Lk 2:22-23)
Encountering and recognizing Jesus is not enough. We also must be ready to make Him known to others through our words, actions, and prayers. The more ready we are to make Him known to others, the more easily we begin to recognize Him with us. We cannot recognize Jesus with us when we are more focused on promoting ourselves or worldly causes like the environment while failing to proclaim Christ and His saving grace to the world.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us remember how committed Jesus is to each one of us. He is so committed to us that He freely became one like us to free us from the devil and the power of death, “Since the children share in blood and flesh, Jesus likewise shared in them, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the Devil.” He is so committed to us that He is always ready to help us in our present struggles, “Because He himself was tested through what He suffered, He is able to help those who are being tested.”(Heb 2:14, 18) By virtue of the ongoing Incarnation, Jesus is forever committed to us and He will never abandon or forsake us.
How about our grace-inspired commitment to Jesus? Where are our signs of goodwill to Him who is always committed to us? If we remain uncommitted to Him in any way, we cannot recognize Him with us and we will always find ourselves asking where God is in our lives and in our experiences.
Jesus shows His perennial commitment to us in each Mass as He comes to us again in the hands of Mary and by the words of the priest. Let us begin today to be truly committed to Him so that we can recognize Him with us and proclaim Him to others
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!
Malachi 3:1-4 | Psalms 24:7, 8, 9, 10 | Hebrews 2:14-18 | Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22-32
Image credit: Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash
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About the author:
Fr. Nnamdi Moneme, OMV, is a Roman Catholic priest and religious of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary currently serving in the Philippines. He teaches theology and is a seminary formator for candidates to the priesthood and religious life. Father also gives Ignatian retreats and serves as spiritual director to many of the lay, religious, and clergy in the area.
He earned his first degree in Physics from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. Ordained in 2009, he studied at St. John’s seminary, in Brighton, Massachusetts. Father has an STL/MA in Moral Theology from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines.
Father Moneme blogs at https://toquenchhisthirst.wordpress.com/.
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