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Bonaventure’s Commentary on Luke’s Gospel Thirty Days of Reflection and Prayer 12 Day Three: Read and meditate on Luke 2:22-40 Luke 2:29-32: “Simeon took Jesus in his arms and blessed God, saying: ‘Now you dismiss your servant, O Lord, according to your word, in peace, because my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all peoples : a light of revelation to the Gentiles and a glory for your people Israel.’” Bonaventure tells us: So Christ is glorified because of the salvation of all people , the light for the Gentiles, and the glory for the Jews. The first manifests clemency, the second wisdom, the third power. And because of the peace he brings to console an elderly man. So in this canticle Christ is praised as peace, salvation, light, and glory. He is peace, because he is the mediator. He is salvation , because he is the redeemer. He is light, because he is the teacher. He is glory because he is the rewarder. And in these four consist the perfect commendation and magnification of Christ, indeed the briefest capsulation of the entire evangelical story: incarnation in peace; preaching in light; redemption in salvation; resurrection in glory. And because this canticle contains in itself the fullness of the praise of Christ and the consolation of a dying old man, it is sung in the evening at Compline. Wherefore, these three canticles – of Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon – are ordered so that one begins where the other leaves off: the first at Vespers, the second in the morning, and third in the evening. Also it is signified in this that every station in life must praise God for the incarnation: virgins, married people, and widows; those in contemplative life, prelates, and those in active life; lay and clerics and religious, who must be consecrated to God. 13 Reflection I have a small bronze plaque that bases its depiction of Luke the Evangelist on tradition. One of these traditions is that Luke was an artist. So my plaque has Luke painting away at his easel. I have published a book with the title Luke: Artist and Theologian and argued that Luke does theology by his artistic writing. In the three canticles that he alone has, he stops the action of his Infancy Narrative to have a major character sing an aria, as it were. There is Mary’s Magnificat , followed by Zechariah’s Benedictus. In the passage under consideration ancient Simeon halts the action of Joseph and Mary’s presentation of Jesus and sings of God’s universal love in Jesus for all peoples. This Jesus, shown earlier to poor Jewish shepherds, is for Gentiles too. He is mediator, redeemer, teacher, and rewarder. Prayer O Lord, I pause for the prayer that completes my day, my Compline. Help me to acknowledge in word and deed that you are a savior not just of my kind, but of all folks. Help me to appreciate and value the wisdom and humor of my elders. Grant these things through the intercession of Saints Simeon and Anna. Amen. ...

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