Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, February 2, 2007

Scripture: Malachai 3:1-4. Psalm 24:7-10. Hebrews 2:14-18. Luke 2:22-40

Forty days after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph take him to the temple
in Jerusalem for the consecration of their first born. Everything was done
in accordance with the holy laws of the Torah. Perhaps, this excerpt from
(Etz Hayim--a Commentary on the Torah, p.391 on Exodus 13:2 is helpful to
understand the thoughts of Mary and Joseph):"In many ancient pagan cultures
it was believed that the first fruits of the soil and the first fruits, and
the first offspring of animals and humans, were endowed by nature with
intrinsic holiness. The instruction that Moses consecrate the firstborn
may be an aggressive attack against such notions. The firstborn belongs to
God solely by reason of His divine will decreed at the time of the Exodus
and not because of any inherent sanctity." This event of the presentation
of Jesus is celebrated in Christianity as one of the oldest feasts in the
Church and it formerly ended the Christmas season. That is not the reason
why some people leave up their Christmas lights even into February! The
narrative from Luke contains everything we need to know about this event
and it is found nowhere else in the New Testament. It is one of my
favorites because of the rich symbolism, the easy to imagine recreation of
the scene, and the presence of the Holy Spirit withing the principal
characters mentioned--Mary, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna. Jesus, of course,
brings the Holy Spirit to them and they are at peace and feel their lives
have been completed as they look upon Jesus as the Anointed one (their
Messiah). Simeon says Jesus is to be "a revealing light to the Gentiles
and the glory of God's people Israel." Of course, it also contains the sad
note of Mary's heart being pierced with a sword (symbolic of her dolorous
life) and because of this many hearts will be revealed and people will be
divided. As I reflect upon this mystery I am led to think about the Rosary
and the fourth mystery of the Joyful set of mysteries. In my Marianist
community we alwasy attach a fruit of the mystery to be prayed for and in
this one it is the gift of obedience. "Thy Law or Lord is in the midst of
my heart!" Today I encourage us to pray for the gift of obedience to the
will of God as Joseph and Mary do and to be at peace and joyful as Simeon
and Anna who have found the treasure they searched for in the child Jesus.
We all need a listening heart to know what the will of God is and a
generous response to doing that will. We can be strengthened throughout
this day by recalling this scene of the Presentation. We can learn from
the attention and patient waiting of Simeon and Anna in our own search for
the Person of Jesus. Amen.