The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Friday, February 2, 2024

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.

Forty days have now passed since we celebrated Christmas.  Few signs of our celebration remain.  Maybe someone in the neighborhood still has their Christmas lights on at night.  Everything has been packed up and stored for next year or thrown away, or eaten.  Weeks ago we returned to our normal routines and it all seems like a distant memory.  We should try to think of how Mary and Joseph and their Infant remained in Bethlehem during these forty days, the time of a woman’s purification after childbirth according to the Law.  Joseph would have picked up work there, at least day labor, returning to the place they had found to live in until they returned to Nazareth.  They stayed because of the need to register for the census, because of the difficulties and dangers inherent in a new mother and newly-born child traveling, and because they would only have had to return to Jerusalem to fulfill another obligation under the Law, that of presenting Jesus, as the first-born male of the family, to Almighty God in the Temple.  He would be offered to the Father by the priest and then his place taken by the animals they brought to be sacrificed.  This ordinance of presentation in the Temple of the first-born son had as its basis the statement of God, “For every firstborn is mine: on the day I struck the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I have sanctified to myself whatsoever is firstborn in Israel both of man and beast.  They are mine: I am the Lord” (Numbers 3, 13).  In the case of the first-born lambs and calves, their offering was completed through their being sacrificed, that is, being truly given up to God by their owners without any chance of taking them back.