What we begin to understand

The story continues for Mary and Joseph.
Their little baby becomes a week old and they learn as they can, the responsibility of becoming new parents.
A tradition when one had a little boy was to do the rite of circumcision on the 8th day.
Luke 2:21
[When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.]
It was a formal gathering where the baby was given the name chosen and then it was officially done.
On this particular day it was most meaningful for someone who had been waiting…many years.
25-32
[In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel.
And the Holy Spirit was on him.
The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died.
Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple.
As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:
God, you can now release your servant;
release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;
it’s now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
and of glory for your people Israel.]
33-35
[Jesus’ father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words.
Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother,
This child marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel,
A figure misunderstood and contradicted— the pain of a sword-thrust through you—
But the rejection will force honesty, as God reveals who they really are.]
This I am sure was not the plan of Joseph and Mary when they took baby Jesus to the temple.
But God…set it up for Simeon to see, (again seeing with our own eyes) the baby.
He had waited all his life and he anticipated this moment many times.
He knew what to look for, as he was in tune with the HOLY SPIRIT’S leading.
This had to be both very exciting and a little confusing for Mary and Joseph.
Still not fully realizing the magnitude and the depth of ‘their little baby boy.’
What we begin to understand while reading this story over and over, is the orchestration of God.
It all happened at the right time, for the right reason with the right people so scripture could be fulfilled.