Blog:"(and you yourself a sword will pierce)": an Easter reflection
Blog post: April 2, 2024 by Michael
At The Presentation in the Temple (Luke Ch. 2), the Evangelist tells us of Simeon's blessing of Mary and Joseph:
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted
(and you yourself a sword will pierce)
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
God speaks to us, St. Paul instructs us, "through his prophets in the holy scriptures" (1:2), but not always so plainly as Simeon to Mary:
(and you yourself a sword will pierce)
Making sense of the "Senses of Scripture"
I work with my RCIA students on interpreting Scripture through the "Senses of Scripture," which teach us to approach text at various levels, starting with the literal words.
(and you yourself a sword will pierce)
Literally.
Next, we are to look upon it allegorically: what's the larger idea? what does it represent? Then we are to consider it morally: what is the right and wrong God wants us to discern, which leads us to the anagogical, which asks where does it lead us?
| Literal | "[S]o that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed," the child will be contradicted and, parenthetically, the mother will be pierced by a sword; given that parenthetical addition, we can read here that the son will be pierced by a sword, as well. |
| Allegorical | Here we can consider other translations, such as the NASB (1995) "and a sword will pierce even your own soul", which requires the figurative reading, as how can a "sword" can pierce a "soul" -- "even your own soul", actually? Applying the allegorical take, Simeon here tells the Mother that she will suffer along with the child who is to be a "sign that will be contradicted."
As to the implication for the child, the literal reading suffices: the child will be "contradicted" and, like the mother (though allegorically), pierced by a sword. |
| Moral | Taking Simeon directly, "so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed," we are to believe in the child. |
| Anagogical | Be ready, stay faithful, and while suffering will happen as consequence of belief, believe in the child we must |
*** draft in progress ***