MARY LISTENS TO TWO OLDER PEOPLE. AND DISCOVERS SOMETHING NEW.
You already know how the story begins. You have heard it so often: that workplace, the old family home, going out to make a phone call. Coat in hand, another appointment waiting, you almost finish the sentence for them.
Then a familiar story brings a new detail, or a question you never thought to ask. An older person is more than your memories of them. They can still surprise you. In Luke’s Gospel, even Mary and Joseph are amazed by two people they meet in the Temple.
A child, two parents and an unexpected meeting
Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to Jerusalem to fulfil the Law. They meet Simeon, a righteous, devout man awaiting Israel’s consolation. Moved by the Spirit, he takes the child in his arms and blesses God.
Luke describes the parents’ amazement. Then comes Anna, a very elderly widowed prophetess, faithful in prayer. She recognises the significance of the encounter and speaks about the child to those awaiting Jerusalem’s redemption.
The Gospel does not call Simeon and Anna Jesus’ grandparents. That affectionate image must not be confused with the text. They are figures of faith and expectation; their meeting with the young family also suggests the beauty of an exchange between generations.
Mary does not need to know everything already
Mary hears something about her son. Some words are unsettling: Simeon speaks of a sword piercing her soul. Her motherhood is not described as a life protected from every question.
This makes her listening close to ours. When tired, we often want reassurance alone. Yet an encounter can be valuable because it helps us see our lives more truthfully.
Listening to someone older does not mean accepting every recommendation. We can disagree without dismissing them, ask questions without treating them as children and explain choices without humiliation. Respect leaves room for judgement.
Questions that open a story
Alongside asking about blood pressure or medicines, ask what they enjoyed at twenty. Who was their closest friend? What work would they have liked to try? Is there a song that reminds them of someone?
Practical care matters enormously, but a person is more than their care needs. They have desires, humour, a character and perhaps a faith different from yours. Making room for these changes an encounter.
Speaking to grandparents, older people and grandchildren in 2024, Francis recalled Simeon and Anna and the affection transmitted through witness. We need not wait for a special occasion to start talking.
When family relationships are complicated
There are difficult relationships, absences and wounds too. The Temple scene does not require intimacy to be rebuilt where conditions are unsafe. Not everyone had loving grandparents or attentive parents. Reflection on generations must include that truth.
A meeting may happen elsewhere: with a neighbour, someone at church or through an organised service. There is no need to find a perfect family photograph.
Mary and Joseph arrive with a child and leave with words to treasure. Next time, perhaps you can put your phone away and ask: what happened next? You do not yet know which piece of life will be entrusted to you.
