Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Yr C.
Ref.: Luke 2;22-40 “Obedience and Offering in our Lives” Dcn. B. Kenney 2-1,2-25
We present things when making transactions. We present our debit card to receive goods and services. We present our passports to travel internationally. We present ourselves in our work, classrooms, social events, and at holy Mass. To present is a convention of obedience to the law, social norms, customs, and our faith. It is an acknowledgement to self and others of our will, identity, and desires.
This Feast Day of the Presentation of the Lord celebrates Christ's entry into the Jerusalem temple with his parents, forty days after His birth. Out of obedience to the law of Moses, a mother had to present her newborn child at the temple, give thanks, and offer the appropriate sacrifice as part of her purification and the child’s acceptance in the temple. St. Luke tells us that upon the Holy Family’s arrival at the temple, they meet up with St. Simeon.
Simeon, in Hebrew, meaning, “he has heard”, was a devout worshiper, a man filled with the Holy Spirit to whom it had been revealed that he shall not die until he saw the “Christ of the Lord”. Wouldn’t that give you a holy optimism and joy in your life? He lived a blessed life of hopeful anticipation. What a great gift from God.
Simeon witnessed the truth about who the infant Jesus was, as well as the implications for Israel, for Gentile nations, for Jesus Himself, and for Mary. After holding Jesus and giving praise to God, Simeon then spoke to Mary of her role in accompanying her Son in His redemptive suffering, “…and you yourself a sword will pierce”. In a sense, this was a second Annunciation of Mary: her humble acceptance of God’s will, not her’s, was to be done. The St. Bridget Devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Mary begins with the Prophesy of Simeon in solemn remembrance of this encounter. It is a source of signal graces in our lives.
From Christmas Day to today’s celebration of the Presentation is 40 days. This is no accident. It has meaning. In Sacred Scripture, the number “40” signifies new life, new growth, transformation, and transitions from one great task to another.
For example:
- the Great Flood was 40 days and nights,
- Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days,
- Jesus’ Ascension was 40 days after his death,
- Our soon-approaching Lent is 40 dayslong,
It takes time, patience, and grace to make changes in our lives:
- To break bad habits and make good ones.
- To develop a conscience of moral values.
- To grow in faith, wisdom, and understanding of our relationship with God and,
- to sense a belonging with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Now is the time to present ourselves to the Lord and do it with renewed enthusiasm, faith, and hope — to rededicate and offer ourselves to God.
- Do we offer up our daily prayers, our joys, works, sufferings, worries, and love unto the Lord?
- Do we present to the Lord others in desperate need of his love and mercy?
- Do we offer our time to read, meditate upon, and ‘announce the Gospel of the Lord’?
- Do we seek the Lord’s presence in the Scriptures and in the sacraments of the Church?
Our offerings, these presentations of the Holy Spirit, guide and ignite within us the Flame of Love, who is Jesus Christ.
God loves obedience to his Law. In obedience to the temple law, the Holy Family offered, according to their modest means, two turtledoves for ritual sacrifice. Wealthy people may have offered sheep, goats, or oxen. At his Passion, by the grace, mercy, and love of the Father, Jesus offers himself as the pure Lamb of God. He is the supreme offering of sacrificial atonement of our sins. The ultimate expression of his Presentation, his boundless love for us, is found at the foot of the cross and at the holy sacrifice of the Mass. His blood was shed for our salvation on the cross. We receive his true presence: his body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Holy Eucharist, giving us the grace and strength to shine his light in our mission to the world around us.
Today we also observe Candlemas, whereby we bless and light candles that signify Simeon’s words that Christ is “… a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” Jesus is the light of the world. His Church is the Lumen Gentium, the Light of the Nations. As with our Baptismal candle and the perpetual candlelight from Bethlehem we shared during Christmas, He is a light born and offered for us, scattering the darkness in our hearts that we may see the goodness of Christ in each other and live as true adopted children of God. Be a light for others who are part of your world: your spouse, children, family, friends, and co-workers. Help them to see through the darkness of sin and weakened faith. Bring them into the light of Christ; help them to see the God who loves them, forgives them, regardless of their shortcomings and doubts. Do you know of such a person in your life?
Accompany and pray with them on their life’s journey that they may see and learn from your faith in action. Like Simeon, may we realize an answer to our longings, our prayers, through the light of the infant Jesus present in the temple of our hearts. And through the intercession of our blessed Mother may we be an example of obedience, a witness presenting Christ in our lives and in the lives of others, for the glory of God.