Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary, ‘Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed #– #
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace towards me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
I have been a fool; you forced it on me. You ought to have commended me, since I am not in any way inferior to those ‘super-apostles’, even though I am nothing.
and you make a food offering to the Lord from the herd or flock #– #either a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfil a vow, or as a freewill offering, or at your appointed festivals #– #to produce a pleasing aroma for the Lord,