Presentation of the Lord, 2010

Homily after the Gospel Presentation of the Lord, 2010

Abbot Mark

Simeon and Anna are very much integral to today’s celebration of the liturgy of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple.

Simeon and Anna were well on in years, and so are some of us. The fact that so many of us have been or are still suffering from the winter viruses emphasises the vulnerability of our lives.

Living in community is a great support for young and old but in circumstances like the present even the young will feel the frailty and uncertainty of good health. That is not a bad thing in itself. For we become more open in these circumstances to the reality of God. When we are weak or under par then our need of God is all the more evident.

Sickness and old age are God-given times to refresh our understanding of the fragility of all of life. They are opportunities for us to renew ourselves yet again in the mystery that is God’s love in us. The one who is holy is the one who keeps rising up from their sin and from their forgetfulness of God.

Abraham and Sarah received new life when they were old, against all odds, when a promised son was born to them. Simeon and Anna lived in hope of seeing the One who was to come. Their vibrant lives can only have hastened the advent of the One they were looking for. Their love of God and their trust that their dream would be fulfilled in God’s good time made their lives all the more fruitful and full of meaning. They didn’t know when it would happen only that it would. Their old lives were renewed and fulfilled when they recognised the new life of God in Mary’s child.

It is not any different for us. The Lord asks for faith, for trust in him and that we believe in the daily reality of his presence. We are not now waiting for the coming of the messiah. He has come. But we have to let that happen again in our own lives. Like Simeon and Anna we have to be mindful of God, to remain attentive and ready to receive the Lord in his word whenever he comes to us.. This word is brought to life again each time we hear and respond to it.

The celebration of the liturgy is the lifeblood of the Church. It is in our liturgy that we re-invigorate the life of each other every time we celebrate it, and by extension, renew the life of the whole Church.

So today, even in our weakened state - conditioned as we are by the winter viruses – we should be all the more aware of our need of God. We can’t do it on our own. But what we can’t do, God can!

St Paul says, ‘When we are weak then it is that we are strong.’ When we realise that we are weak and allow God’s strength into our frail lives, then it is that our weakness becomes our strength. It is God who is upholding us as he did Peter when he walked on the water. When Peter’s confidence failed him it was only then that he began to sink. We become true disciples when we allow God’s word into our hearts and believe it and live it.

Prayer is always answered. We need to ask for the eyes to see where and how God answers us when we pray. Then we must confidently take that answer in both of our hands and move forward, sure that God is indeed leading the way. The hopes of our daily lives and of our future are always bright when we look to see where God is leading us. So today let us offer the light of our faith and our hope to the Lord who himself lights up our life and our world.