Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
Welcome to the “Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple”. On this 2nd day of the 2nd 2021.
In addition to being known as the “Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple”, other traditional names of this Feast include
· The Meeting of the Lord with Simeon and Anna
· Candlemas and also the
· Feast of the Purification of the Virgin. This in one of my favourite story in the bible because it has Mary and Jesus in the story together.
Backdrop
According to Jewish law, the firstborn male child belonged to God, and the parents had to "buy him back" on the 40th day after his birth, by offering a sacrifice of "2 turtledoves, or 2 young pigeons" in the temple. On that same day, the mother would be ritually purified (thus the "purification"). A bit of biblical numerology here….
Remember the number 2 and 40? Numbers in the Bible means more than just figures, it usually means something. It is no coincidence that the Feast of Purification falls on this day the 2/2 which also marries up with the scripture reading of today taken from Luke 2nd of the 22nd that is a lot of 2s for the day.
Today's feast of the “Presentation of Jesus at the Temple” marks the end of the infancy narratives in the Gospel of Luke:
We next hear of Jesus returning to the Temple as a twelve-year-old boy, teaching the teachers of the Law, and then there is no further report until his public ministry begins, aged thirty. So this reading is significant, it marks the end of one important stage in Jesus's life – his infancy – and the transition into another – his childhood and youth. The Presentation is not merely a 'Rite of passage'. It is more than that, points to the Incarnation of Christ.
Which cemented by three facts:
(1) The Divine Personhood of Jesus Christ, which is now verifiable by temple registers.
(2) The Human Nature of Jesus Christ, son of Mary and Joseph.
(3) finally the most important point- The Hypostatic Union of the Human with the Divine, Jesus is fully Human and at the same time Fully Divine.
Therefore, without diminishing His divinity, He added to it all that is involved in being human.
Now, his Status is not just the Son of Mary and Joseph but -Messiah.
“Presentation of Jesus at the Temple” is uniquely, marked by the witness of 2 prophets well advance in years- or servant of the Lord in the Temple, Simeon and Anna who despite their age continue serving God in His temple. To serve God is a dignified task and they certainly serve God with awe and reverence. The bible tells us that they were well advance in age in fact Anna was way pass 80s. Perhaps the secret of longevity is to serve God. Personally, I can’t think of anything more faithful and obedient than that. God in turn filled their hearts with the promise that they will witness the Messiah before their passing…..
Therefore Simeon sung this song:-
1 Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace:
your word has been fulfilled.
2 My own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people;
3 A light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.
This song also call the Nunc Dimittis, is sung every night at Compline in Catholic and Anglican churches the world over. This together with 1. The Benedictus (Song of Zechariah),
2. The Magnificat (Song of Mary),
Forms the three Gospel canticles.
Personal story: Klinger Scholar
Last week, as I sat down to write a Klingner Musing for our pew sheet I thought about the role of a servant of the Lord in the church. It is a privilege to serve the Lord in all capacities, I myself enjoy serving in the 0715 daily mass, as well as, the weekend High Mass and Feast days like today; I felt the joy and happiness bubbling in my heart every time I serve God I feel rejuvenated each time.
When I think of Simeon and Anna faithfully living out their religious vocations in the Temple… Ps 27 comes to mind.
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to saviour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his greatness in his temple (Ps. 27:4).
Well, these two extraordinary servants of God were handsomely rewarded for their faith in His promise. They savored the sweetness of the Lord as they beheld the living Temple which is Christ. They saw the wonderful new beginning which God had long been preparing in Israel, (P) they were at the precipice of a new covenant!
However, this feast is also tinged with sadness… The mission of the Jesus will only be achieved through great suffering and division, and his mother Mary would not be spared the sorrows which would take her to the very foot of the Cross 33 years later to witness her son’s crucifixion. Simeon and Anna must also feel pangs of sorrow even in this moment of joy. For the Messiah’s arrival in their midst is the sign that their time is up. Yet! These faithful servants teach us to meet new beginnings in hope, but also to accept faithfully the terminations and the losses in life….
The Feast of the Presentation also highlights Christ as the light for all; as Simeon in the Temple proclaims “…a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” (Lk 2:32) That’s where we get the Candlemas!
Mystery of the Rosary
This significant biblical event also reminds me of the fourth Joyful mystery of the rosary. When I pray the rosary with our members of the Cell of Our Lady of Walsingham every weekday, I have a tradition to consider the fruits of the mystery. The fruit of the fourth Joyful mystery, the Presentation of our Lord, is obedience. This makes sense as Mary and Joseph were obedient in following the law and presenting Jesus in the temple.
In the presentation we have two aspects of the law of Moses being fulfilled.
(1) Firstly, it is the actual presentation of the firstborn male to God.
(2) The second is the purification of His Mother Mary.
It is the second point that I have only recently considered as I was praying the Rosary one day…. Is not Mary the Immaculate Virgin of virgins?
As we recite in the Nicene Creed every Sunday, Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilot etc… And as Anglo-Catholics we hold that Our Lady is perpetually a virgin – before, during, and after the birth of Jesus.
So Mary did not need to be purified! But in great obedience and humility to the law, Our Lady presents herself in the Temple for her own purification, as she presents Jesus – God -- to God she also presents herself as Theotokos, the Mother of God, and when we say Mother of God, also Mother of the Hypostatic union.
As always, Our Lady gives us a beautiful lesson that can help us grow closer to her Son. Her actions may cause us to ask ourselves:
· Do I obediently accept God’s will for me?
· Do I whine when things don’t seem to go my way
· Do I humbly accept God’s plan for my life?
· Is my heart pure?
Conclusion
So today on this “Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple”
Let us consider how we welcome Christ into our lives.
· Let us follow the example of Our Lady, welcoming Jesus with an obedient, humble, and pure heart.
· Let us follow the example of Simeon and Anna: serving God with great joy and faith.
Lastly, let us always allow the Light of Christ to shine through us so that we too can bring His light to all other nations! +
A homily by Xeverie Swee