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 scripture with 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 |
My analysis here is rudimentary, as with all things scriptural, the depths of meaning exceed any given perspective. But it is a start, and we can build from it larger context, which brings me to the Paschal mysteries.
Types of Jesus and Mary
Another tool for understanding scripture is "typology," or, more largely, "Salvation History" and seeking how, as St. Augustine taught, the New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is revealed in the New.
*** draft in progress ***