A reading from the book of Genesis (15:1-6; 21:1-3)
Some time later, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
‘Do not be afraid, Abram!
I am a shield to you,
and will give you a very great reward.’
Abram replied, ‘Lord God, what are you giving to me? I go my way childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus.’ Abram continued, ‘Look, you have given me no offspring, and see, a member of my household will be my heir.’ Then the Lord’s word came to him saying, ‘This man will not be your heir; no, the issue of your own body shall be your heir.’ Then taking him outside, he said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can. Just so will your descendants be,’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord and this was reckoned to him as righteousness.
The Lord treated Sarah as he had said, and did what he had promised her. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time God had promised. Abraham named the son born to him Isaac, the son to whom Sarah had given birth.
These two separate short passages from the book of Genesis tell of the promise made to Abram by God, and of the fulfilment of that promise when Sarah gives birth to Isaac. God is described as the ‘shield’ of Abram. God has already promised him descendants ‘like the dust on the ground’ (13:16). Now they are to be ‘like the stars’. Abram ‘put his faith’ (’aman) in the Lord. The long night of waiting comes to an end with the fulfilment of God’s promise. The text stresses that this child was born to Abraham, whose name has been changed, ‘in his old age’. Abraham is one hundred years old (21:5). It is also emphasised that the elderly Sarah, who had laughed at the very thought of becoming a mother (18:12), is indeed the mother of Isaac, whose name means ‘he laughs’.
Psalm 105 (104) The psalm praises the fidelity of God, who remembers for ever the covenant made to Abraham.
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews (11:8,11-12,17-19)
In faith Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a place which he was to receive as an inheritance, and he set out without knowing where he was going.
In faith Sarah also, in spite of being barren and beyond the age of conception, was made able to receive the seed to bear a child, because she believed that he who had made the promise was faithful. Because of this, from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore which cannot be counted.
By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. Although he was waiting to receive the promise he was prepared to sacrifice his only son, of whom he had been told: through Isaac will your name be carried on. He reckoned that God had the power even to raise the dead, and from there, figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back.
These verses from the letter to the Hebrews focus on the faith of Abraham and of Sarah. Abraham, through his faith, as repeatedly affirmed in the book of Genesis, is to receive both a land and numerous descendants. He trusts God to lead him to a new land. He trusts God who promises children as many ‘as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore’. His trust in God will also involve trial, but God strengthens him to be ready to sacrifice the son of the promise, knowing that God had ‘the power to raise the dead’.
A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke (2:22-40)
And when the days were complete for them to be purified in keeping with the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord – as it is written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male shall be called holy to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is prescribed in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was a righteous and devout man, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had seen the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came into the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, Simeon himself took him into his arms and blessed God and said:
Now, Master, you are letting your servant
go in peace according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
which you have made ready in the presence of all nations;
a light for revelation to the gentiles
and for the glory of your people Israel.
As the child’s father and mother were wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Look, he is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is opposed – and a sword will pierce your soul too – so that the thoughts of many may be laid bare.’
There was a prophetess, too, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple, worshipping night and day with fasting and prayer. She came up just at that moment and began to praise God; and to speak about the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When they had completed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s favour was on him.
Two prophets, Simeon and Anna, welcome the child in the temple of the Lord. Simeon, who has longed for this day, knows that this child is ‘a light (phos) for the gentiles’ and ‘the glory (doxa) of his people’, so that he is now ready to be ‘let go in peace’. The widow Anna will continue to speak about the child to all who await ‘the deliverance’ (lutrosis) of Jerusalem. Their faith reflects that of Sarah and Abraham, for they are willing to wait long for God’s fulfilment. Mary and Joseph comply with the practices of faith by bringing the child as an offering to God, and Mary is warned of the sword of suffering which will come to her. As Abraham faced the trial of offering his son to God, so Mary and Joseph are ready to follow the paths God will show them.
How are Mary and Joseph examples of faith to inspire us?
Families are nurtured by joy to face the trials ahead.