Heavy Hearts

~~~ Feast of the Presentation of the Lord ~~~

~~~Malichi 3:1-4~~~ Psalm 24 ~~~ Hebrews 2:14-18~~~

 ~~~ Luke 2:22-40 ~~~

Simeon and the prophetess Anna had been patiently 

waiting in the temple for the Lord.

Today's Gospel gives us the rare glimpse 

of a woman praying and fasting

within the temple proper itself.

Anna lived and prayed their for most of her life.

You might consider her a consecrated female 

since the death of her husband.

The two of them were faithful to the promises of the Lord.

"...Jesus likewise shared in them,

that through death he might destroy the one

who has the power of death, that is, the Devil,

and free those who through fear of death

had been subject to slavery all their life..."

We do not have any reason to believe

 that Simeon and Anna feared death,

but after seeing Jesus in the Temple 

that day they were

content to die.

What they had been waiting for 

most of their life had come to pass.

They were blessed with the presence of the Lord in the Temple.

They both had been guided to wait there in the temple.

"...It had been revealed to him (Simeon) by the Holy Spirit

that he should not see death

before he had seen the Christ of the Lord."

 Imagine the surprise of Mary and Joseph

 hearing Simeon presenting himself

for God to take just for seeing their son, Jesus.

He goes on to prepare them for the heartache

they were going to experience in the coming days.

As a mother I cannot imagine being told 

of future heartaches concerning my child.

There is a good reason why we are not 

given the privilege of seeing the future.

For most people it would be too overwhelming.

I do wonder how Mary and Joseph

 were able to hear these prophecies

and continue to experience the joy of their son, Jesus.

Being told a sword would pierce your heart...

"—and you yourself a sword will pierce—

so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

The thoughts of many hearts may be revealed...

Mary must have been

confused as to what those words really meant.

I like to think that when I come to Mary in prayer 

she has an understanding

of my prayer already in her heart.

She was given insight into what troubles our hearts most.

She has the insight of a mother's love.

After leaving the temple 

they must have been filled with joy.

They must have also had heavy hearts 

trying to understand the words

that had been spoken to them about their child.

How could they make sense of how prophetic 

the words were to become?

Blessings through hearing heart breaking news.

~~~Peace~~~