Arulvakku

02.02.2021 — Encounter and Joy

Presentation of the Lord, Tuesday – 2nd February 2021 — Gospel: Luke 2,22-40

Encounter and Joy

What a joyous and significant event is this for Mary and Joseph, bringing their first-born child to the temple to be dedicated to God. The Jerusalem temple, the centre of Israel’s faith, is a place of encountering the Lord and place of joyful fulfillment.

In the middle of the 5th century this feast was named as “Feast of the Encounter or Meeting”. It is a reminder that on this occasion Jesus entered his Father’s temple for the first time and there Simeon and Anna came forward to meet the baby Jesus. It is also the encounter between the Old Testament, as represented by Simeon and Anna (Old Israel) and the New Testament represented by the triad of the Holy Family (New Israel). 

The “Feast of the Encounter” is also the “Feast of Joy.” Mary and Joseph have the joy of observing the precepts of God. Simeon and Anna are overwhelmed by the joy of meeting the Messiah. Their praise was inspired by the Spirit of God. Because they were righteous, devout and waited patiently for the child, God bestowed on them this gift of great joy. Their excitement began to spread as more and more people came to hear the good news.

Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna are God-bearers, who have an experience of the encounter within them and who themselves are filled with inner joy.