Saint Luke tells us that

there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, . . . And inspired by the [Holy Spirit] he came into the temple . . .

Did that ever happen to you?  . . . Did you ever do something or go somewhere for no good reason at all; . . . you hadn’t planned it; you hadn’t even thought of it until that very moment; . . . but for no good reason at all you are moved in your heart … with an impulse you really don’t want to resist because the idea is pleasing or makes you happy; . . . so, for no good reason at all you do something or go somewhere . . . and encounter someone or something you simply needed to see; . . . encountered someone or something for which it was a blessing for you to speak with or see?  … Or have you ever done something or gone somewhere and encountered someone for whom it was a blessing for them to see you or speak with you?  . . . Did such a thing ever happen to you . . . and afterward you felt as if the Lord God Almighty had intended for it to happen; . . . that it was something you were free not to do, but were glad that you did it because it was as if God were looking out for you in inspiring you to do what you wouldn’t ordinarily have done; . . . or as if God were looking out for someone and employed you as a vehicle of His grace?  Did that ever happen to you?

    Well, Saint Luke tells us that such a thing is not unusual; . . . it happens all the time; . . . it happened to Simeon many, many years ago.  He was on his way to market to pick up the morning news and something to fix for supper . . . and just on an impulse (with no particular purpose in mind); . . . just on an impulse Simeon decides to drop by the Temple.  . . . And then Simeon sees, cradled in the arms of a young woman; . . . Simeon sees his heart’s desire.  Simeon is moved to wander into the Temple for no particular purpose, and he encounters Jesus; . . . he sees, in the countenance of that infant child, his salvation; . . . Simeon sees in the countenance of that infant child his salvation from the burden of the profanity which washes all about him like sewage; . . . salvation from his own participation in the profanity of humanity’s staggering blindness.  . . . Simeon sees God’s salvation and light in the infant countenance of Jesus.  . . . Simeon goes to the Temple for no good reason at all, and he encounters Jesus . . . and becomes a vessel of God’s grace by explaining to us Who this infant is(!):  a light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of His people Israel; . . . a light to heal humanity’s blindness, . . . and the crown jewel of Judaism’s faithfulness.

    . . . The prophet Malachi tells us that

The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; . . . [and] he is like a refiner’s fire; . . . he will purify [the priesthood of believers] . . . [so that] they present right offerings to the Lord.

But, at the bidding of the Holy Spirit, Simeon now explains to us that the fire of God is not a fire that burns but Light that enlightens; . . . that the refinery of God is not punishment . . . but Redemption!  . . . The Lord God Almighty has not purified us by burning our sins from us; . . . He has purified us by making us a new creation; … He has purified us by the sacred death of His Christ . . . so that we who are baptized into Christ’s Death and Resurrection might be born again.  . . . And the crucified and risen Jesus has set His Holy Spirit as a guard over our innocent lives to continually remove sin whenever we ask.  . . . For, as the Apostle writing to the Hebrews observes,

he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people.  For because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.

    And so, here we are, like Simeon; . . . here we are, not because we necessarily intended to be here, . . . but because the Holy Spirit inspired us . . . and we consented.  . . . Here we are, the priesthood of Christ, whose privilege it is to present right offerings to the Lord.  . . . Here we are, prepared to offer and present unto our heavenly Father our selves . . . our souls and our bodies . . . to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice.  And our heavenly Father, adoring and cherishing this right offering of ourselves to Him, . . . fills us with the grace of Jesus, . . . so that we might be vessels of the divine Light which enlightens the nations; . . . which enlightens profane humanity . . . who continues to struggle with staggering blindness.