ABBOT ELIAS DIETZ, O.C.S.O.
Homilette – Presentation, February 2, 2019
The Light and The Glory
It is really only today that we complete the Advent-Christmas season. And it is clear that the church wants us to carry something with us from this time into the rest of the year. Just like our procession this morning: we carry candles as we go forward; we carry with us into the future the light and glory we have discovered in the Christ Child during the darkest part of the year.
Notice, too, how the liturgy reminds us each day of the Advent and Christmas seasons, grounding us daily in the events surrounding the Incarnation: we sing Zechariah’s song at Laud’s, Mary’s at Vespers, and Simeon’s at Compline.
In the case of Simeon, it is a song of gratitude and completion: “I have seen your promise come true; now I can go in peace.” To sing these words at the end of each day is to see our daily lives as the arena for these same deep and significant events.
Ideally the Lord becomes incarnate and grows in the hearts of all believers who recall him each day. If we are attentive like Simeon, God’s work unfolding in our lives will be as real as the warmth and weight of a Child in arms. And if we are as deeply grateful as Simeon, we will be ready at the end of each day to say: “Lord, I have seen your salvation; I’m ready to go in peace whether for this night or for all eternity.
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