The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Thursday, February 2, 2023

Luke 2, 22–40

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”  The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce — so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. 

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple was first celebrated, according to surviving records, between 200 and 300 A.D., around the time when Christianity was legalized and the formal celebration of feast days made possible.  The Feast commemorates how the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, in accordance with the law prescribed in Leviticus 12, went up to the Temple forty days after the birth of their Son to present him to the Lord as their firstborn.  The purification rites for Mary would be concluded at that time as well.

“When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord.”  Though St. Luke writes his Gospel for Gentiles, he pays careful attention to Jewish customs.  This shows his concern with getting the details and the sequence of events in the Lord’s life correct.  We have this concern also to thank for the only account we have of the Lord’s Presentation in the Temple.

We can picture for ourselves the vast, crowded city of Jerusalem and how Mary and Joseph, with the Infant Jesus wrapped in his Mother’s arms, made their way through its gates.  They then would have walked the busy road to the Temple precinct and worked their way through the crowds and the animals.  They would have had to stop to purchase the turtledoves required for the sacrifice, and then they would have gotten in line.  The noise, the smells, the numbers of people must have been formidable.  Mary kept Jesus wrapped up in blankets and held him securely.  She may have breastfed him as they waited for their turn for the sacrifice.  It seems that Simeon appeared after the sacrifice.  We are not told that he was an old man st the time, but it is supposed that he was.  His taking the Child in his arms away from Mary had to happen very quickly for it to happen at all.  He prophesies that Jesus will grow to be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel”.  We see in Simeon the yearning of the Prophets and of the Jewish people who were languishing under the heel of a priesthood very many of them regarded as illegitimate due to its dependence on bribery and also under the Roman occupation.  Simeon knew that he would die soon after his eyes beheld the Christ of the Lord, and so much did he desire to see him that he rejoiced when this day arrived instead of grieving that his own days were ended.  “There was also a prophetess, Anna.”  This prophetess lived in the Temple or, at least, in the courtyard, as though waiting her whole life for the coming of the Savior.  She waited for this one moment when she would see him.  

To all the people in the Temple, whether priests, officials, Pharisees, or ordinary folks, Joseph and Mary were ordinary parents carrying out their duty, and Jesus just another little Jewish boy.  But to Simeon and Anna, he was everything.  It was the Holy Spirit who spoke in their hearts and told them about him, and they came to openly proclaim him as the Savior and to give thanks to God for him and their living to see him.

A single glimpse of the Lord Jesus would be worth a life of suffering and waiting, for to see him is to see the face of eternal and infinite Love.