(Luke 2:32-35)

He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!"Jesus' parents were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby's mother, "This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. 35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul."

Simeon warns Mary that this "sword will pierce your own soul too." Simeon is making reference here to the words of the prophet Ezekiel: "Let the sword pass throughout the land" (Ezek 14:17). Ezekiel is thinking of a selective sword of judgment, destroying some and sparing others, a sword of discrimination and division. It was this sword of division at work in Egypt when the Angel of the Lord went through the land striking down some and sparing others.

Jesus makes reference to this sword when He speaks to His disciples of His mission on earth: (Mat 10:34-36) "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (35) For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law-- (36) a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' This sword is at work when some members ,but not all members ,of a family believe in the Lord Jesus. The sword divides the believers from the unbelievers: punishing the one and saving the other.

We see this sword doing its work of discrimination in what Mark tells us in his Gospel: (Mark 3:31-35) Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. (32) A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." (33) "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. (34) Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! (35) Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." What a strong statement! Jesus announces the replacement of His natural family. This might even be read as a rejection of all blood relatives. And, how this must have hurt Mary. How this must have pierced her soul! Can you imagine your own child rejecting you and claiming others as family?

Jesus, of course, was not really rejecting Mary. Rather, He was telling her that being a blood relative ,His mother or brother ,is no guarantee that the sword of judgment will not strike. Mary has no special claim on Christ simply because she gave Him birth. Mary has to realize that with Jesus only one kind of relationship ultimately counts: a relationship based upon faith, belief, and obedience. Unless there is that kind of relationship, the sword of division and discrimination will do its work of judgment even in the life of Mary. Mary, then, has to recognize that even she has to get on her knees before Jesus and worship Him as Savior and Lord or else she will be cut off from Him. And, when we look at Luke's Gospel, we see that Mary does do that (Lk 8:19-21; Lk 1:45; Lk 1:38). Jesus is a sword of division.

This means that you, like Mary, have to put your relationship with Jesus as Savior and Lord before family ties. For if you don't, the sword will strike you down. Perhaps the dreadful consequences of this sword are evident in your own family ,some have put Jesus first, and others haven't. Pious devotion has seen the sword piercing Mary's heart as she stood at the foot of the cross and saw her son die ,the problem with that interpretation is that the picture of Mary at the foot of the cross is from John's gospel, not written at the time of Luke. So that pious tradition isn't entirely satisfactory. The most challenging statement to Mary in Luke's gospel itself is where Jesus talks about his true family being those who do the will of God ,he doesn't come to bring peace, but will set son against father, mother against daughter. The demand of the gospel is placed upon everyone, Mary included ,but in Luke's view Mary has emerged successfully, not because she's Jesus' mother, but because she did the will of God. Mary has no special status as Jesus' mother ,her greatness comes because she believed the word of the Lord and obeyed his will. You can easily imagine how proud and how delighted Mary and Joseph were at the maturity and promise of their son. How unprepared they must have been, Mary in particular, at Simon's last sentence; 'And a sword will pierce your own soul too.' Letting go of a loved one is not easy for anyone to do, it must be very hard for a mother who has cared and devoted their lives to such an immeasurable degree and for so long to take a step back and let their precious child experience the hardships of the world on their own strength. Joy and pain are often two sides of the same coin. Yet this, of course, is not a reference to Jesus leaving the comfort of the carpenter's workshop and entering into his full-time ministry, here is a veiled reference to the pain and horror of Good Friday, and in the life of our Church we know how meaningless and hollow the festivities of Easter morning would be without the penitence and the painful solemnity of the three hours on Good Friday afternoon.