The days went by, and soon the baby was given his name. He was to be called Jesus.
One day, when Jesus was about six weeks old, Joseph said to Mary:
"Now that we have a child, we must go up to the Temple in Jerusalem and give an offering to the Lord. We cannot afford a lamb. But we can at least take pigeons or a pair of turtledoves."
So Joseph and Mary left Bethlehem, and carried Jesus with them to Jerusalem, five miles away.
An old man came up to them in the Temple.
"My name is Simeon," he said. "I have been waiting for you a long time. All my life I have been waiting to see the Messiah. And now the day has come."
He took Jesus from his mother's arms, and as he held the baby he began to pray.
"Lord, let me now die in peace," he prayed. "For I have seen the Messiah, the Saviour of all nations and the glory of the Jewish people."
Simeon turned back to Joseph and Mary, who were looking at him in wonder.