PRESENTATION OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

*FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD IN THE TEMPLE*

Malachi 3: 1-4; Psalm 24: 7, 8, 9, 10; Hebrews 2: 14-18; Luke 2: 22-40

Jesus is the light of revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for God’s people. Today is Consecrated Life Day, when we pray for all consecrated vocations in the Church. Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Lord which occurs forty days after the birth of Jesus and is also known as Candlemas day, since the blessing and procession of candles is included in today's liturgy. Before the revision of the General Roman Calendar this marked the end of the Christmas season. The feast was first observed in the Eastern Church as "The Encounter." In the sixth century, it began to be observed in the West: in Rome with a more penitential character and in Gaul (France) with solemn blessings and processions of candles, popularly known as "Candlemas." The Presentation of the Lord concludes the celebration of the Nativity and with the offerings of the Virgin Mother and the prophecy of Simeon, the events now point toward Easter.

As we go through today’s readings, we may have flashbacks to images we heard during the Christmas season. For today is the fortieth day since Christmas. Today’s feast is the close of the infancy narratives for the liturgical year. Once again, we hear that Jesus was taken to the Temple forty days after His birth to be presented to God according to the Jewish law. There is much to reflect upon in the readings for this feast.

In the First Reading from Malachi, we hear that the Lord God is sending a messenger (an angel, a prophet, a proclaimer of  Good News) to announce that God is coming to the temple. The messenger is to announce a cleansing and purifying of the people of God and the temple. This reading has been taken to refer in a minor way to John the Baptist and in a major way to Jesus. Both came to proclaim the Good News. Both called for metanoia – change of heart, purifying of lifestyles. Jesus is seen in the temple many times throughout the Gospels. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is brought to the temple to be presented to God according to the Jewish Law. In another passage in Luke’s Gospel, we hear that in His youth, Jesus remains in the temple listening and teaching while His mother and Joseph search for Him for three days. Jesus comes into the temple throughout His public ministry, one time turning over the tables of those who are making God’s house a den of thieves – thus cleansing and purifying the temple for the holy service of God. Our Responsorial is the psalm speaking about the Lord, the Ruler of Glory, entering into the holy place. This psalm is tied to David’s bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the City of Jerusalem to the tent where the Ark would dwell. Yet it is also appropriate for this feast when we celebrate Jesus being brought into the temple for the presentation on this day, the fortieth day after His birth. The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews emphasizes Jesus’ role as the new high priest who is both human and divine. He can fully identify with us because of His human nature, yet He is the ultimate high priest because He is GOD Who offers the perfect sacrifice, through His suffering and death.

The Gospel gives us the account of Jesus being brought to the temple at the time of the presentation. First, we hear that Mary and Joseph follow the traditional custom of bringing the forty day old Infant to the temple. They show that even though they are entrusted with the Author of life and the Savior of the world, they are not above the law. Their sacrifice of two birds shows that they were not of the wealthy class who would offer a lamb for sacrifice. The couple and their Baby are greeted by two holy persons who sense the importance of the Infant who is being presented. Simeon, who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not experience death until he had seen the Anointed of the Lord (the Messiah, the Christ), praises God and says he is now ready for death since he has seen “a revealing light for the Gentiles and the glory of God’s people, Israel.” Simeon goes on to say to Mary that the Baby she holds in her hands will be the downfall and rise of many in Israel and that Mary’s own life will experience hardships because of the Infant.

The second holy person to encounter the Infant and to speak about Him is the prophetess Anna. She also gives thanks to God as she recognizes that the Baby will be the source of deliverance for God’s holy people. These two individuals had seen thousands upon thousands of couples and their infants being brought to the temple over the years. Yet, they were able to see the specialness of this Infant and His parents. Both Simeon and Anna were attuned to God’s presence in what some would call ordinary happenings in a way that others did not even have a clue. Based upon Simeon’s proclamation that Jesus is the revealing light to the Gentiles, since the eighth century the church has blessed candles used in sacred worship on this day. That is why this feast is also called “Candlemas.”

Simeon and Anna were two venerable elderly people dedicated to prayer and fasting and so their strong religious spirit rendered them able to recognize the Messiah. In this sense we can see in the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple an extension of the ‘Pro Orantibus Day’ (For those who pray) that is celebrated on the feast of the Presentation of Mary (21 November). On this day, the Church demonstrates its gratitude to all those in the community that dedicate themselves in a privileged way to prayer, to those who have a particular religious vocation to the contemplative life. In the figure of the venerable Simeon, Jesus’ presentation in the temple, also reminds us that prayer and contemplation are not just a waste of time or an obstacle to charity. On the contrary, time could not be better spent than in prayer as true Christian charity is a consequence of a solid interior life. Only those who pray and offer penance, like Simeon and Anna, are open to the breath of the Spirit. They know how to recognize the Lord in the circumstances in which He manifests Himself because they possess an ample interior vision, and they have learned how to love with the heart of the One whose very name is Charity.

So what does all of this mean for you and for me? I see a challenge to be like Simeon and Anna. Not in the fact of hanging around the House of God all the time (although that is not a bad practice), but being able to see God’s hand at work in what most people would say are just ordinary events. God’s Light is still shining in and through people for the sake of others. My response and your response should be to be open to the Light of God shining out to people whom we meet. We should also realize that God is present with us and that we must let God’s Light shine through us.

*MEDITATION:* When have I been aware of the presence of God in the ordinary people and experiences of my daily living? How have I pointed out the specialness of others due to the fact that God’s Light is shining through them? How can I let the Light of God shine through me and through others?

*PRAYER* Blessed are You, Lord God, source of Light. Through Your Goodness, You desire that all people come into Your Light where they will received warmth, energy, healing, knowledge, and joy. Yet, we have sometimes tried to stifle Your Light and we have chosen to stay in the darkness of doubt, cold, sickness, sadness, and sin. We ask that we may be more open to Your Light shining in the world of darkness.

© Rev Utazi Prince Marie BenignusSFDPM