The Presentation of the Lord 2-2-25
For a moment let us picture the old man, Simeon, and the old woman Anna, in today’s Gospel story of the Child Jesus being presented at the Temple. For many decades Simeon “the just and pious one , awaited the consolation of Israel.” For years upon years both of them, Simeon and Anna, had been coming to the Temple faithfully, determined, and hoping that even if the Messiah did not come in their life-time, they, in their time, might be seen at least as faithful. Imagine then their ecstasy when they encountered the infant Messiah in the Temple, waiting to be found by them. We can almost see Simeon’s face as he looked into the eyes of this infant child and realized God had fulfill Simeon long awaited wish. So much so was his happiness and cried out with joy and with tears streaming his face
“Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace
just as you promised;
because my eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared for all the nations to see,
a light to enlighten the pagans
and the glory of your people Israel” (Lk.2:29-30).1
They both are a wonderful inspiration for all of us to seek faithfully and trustingly for presence of God in our lives. And that presence is so often made manifest by the people who walk with us right beside us at times. like Simeon or Anna or like those who help us when we feel alone, or when we hear that people are praying for us, when we thought no one cared no one noticed. .
The other day I heard a hymn called- Walk with Me ”, recorded by a group known as The Porter’s Gate. And some of the stanzas stood out as so meaningful as to what these two people, Simeon and Anna, went through in their own lives and in their desire to be faithful to God’s promises. It is also a story of God’s faithfulness to them. A faithfulness that kept them holding on and patient upon the will of God. The lines of this hymn also show how we need each other to inspire our lives and to improve our efforts to be true as children of God. And those stanzas from song were-
Let us lead with patience, with a gentle word
Bearing every burden, laying down the old hurt
When our feet are stumbling and the climb is steep
All you people of good will, would you walk with me?
Would you walk with me through the wilderness
When we cannot see through our differences
When the dust has settled, and the votes are cast
Would you walk with me?
Let us lead with kindness, with a listening ear
Hearing every story, laying down our old fears
Though our hearts are broken, and the pain runs deep
All you people of good will, would you walk with me?
Would you walk with me through the wilderness
When we cannot see through our differences
When the dust has settled, and the votes are cast
Would you walk with me?
Also, as I thought of Simeon and Anna looking down at this baby in their arms, the memory and scene that came to me was of when my daughters were born. I remember right after each of their delivery the nurse would come into the room each time with one our baby daughters, and look at us as she presented our child to us, and she would say “What is her name?” Reflecting on that moment, I could imagine both Simeon and Anna asking of Mary and Jospeh what the name of their child was. And as his parents said his name, Jesus , to each of them, instantly through the blessings of the Holy Spirit and their understanding of what that name meant, each, would have been infused with the awareness of the very specialness of this child and they would know their long time of waiting was over.
In the ancient Jewish tradition, 40 days after a child was born his parents would come to the temple to present their son and a dedicate him God. During this presentation and dedication, as Pope Benedict XVI points out in his book, The Infancy Narratives, Mary and Jospeh personally “handed over this child to God…..” Jesus is “ given over completely to God. . . . and from now on belongs to Him completely.3.
Not recorded in Luke’s gospel but is found elsewhere in the ancient texts of the Old Testament was the fact that the parents, and unable to provide a lamb for sacrifice, could if poor good offer a couple pigeons for their their offering to God and then pay 5 shekels to the treasury of the temple in order to buy back, there son from God and return him to his family. As I thought of this custom or mosaic prescription associated with the presentation of the first born male, I thought of how much God would pay some 33 year later to buy back, so to speak, all his sons and daughters, through the giving over, the complete sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ.
Often when we see our child for the first time, their life can kind of flash before us and we try to see, if only, for moment their tremendous specialness, and what we hope will be a fantastic life for them..
In the sacrament of Baptism, at the beginning of the rite the celebrant asks the parent’s “What name do you give this child?” Parents often spend a lot of time reflecting and maybe even researching what name they will give their child. The naming of a child is very important, powerful, and lasting. Throughout all the decades of this child’s life, all people will know them by that name. Mary in the immaculate conception of Jesus was told to name him, Jesus. The name, Jesus, in Hebrew will become “Yehoshua” a word that means “God saves.” 2 As we think of that we might reflect on own name and what does our name mean? What does it mean not only in definition of the word but also in terms of our place in our family and our place in our family’s history. Many times, we have been named for one of our relatives. In that naming of us, the circle of life continues to complete itself in us.
Jesus ’ name, God saves, was both for the mission he would fulfill and for his relationship to God, to God his father. The prophet Malachi in the first reading this weekend reminds us of the specialness of this moment of Jesus’ presentation in the temple, when he writes- “Thus says the Lord God: …. And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts…..” Malachi 3:1 These words give us pause to think about all the ways that Jesus has come or is coming into our own lives, through prayer, through the Eucharist, and yes, through each other.
Also, in this moment of presentation by Mary and Joseph, Jesus, who is God makes manifest the fact of how he also shares now in our humanity. This sharing is needed for our sake so that we may be cleansed of sin and restored to our rightful position as a child of God. This is clearly echoed by St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, in our second reading this Sunday, when he writes: “Surely he did not help angels but rather the descendants of Abraham (i.e., us); therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.”
It is through this sharing in our humanity that we too can share in his divinity through the eucharist now and then one day in all eternity. The journey toward that unity within us began that day when our Godparents or parents pronounced our name for all eternity, as the celebrant asked, “What name do you give this child.”
1. Voicings.com
2. Will you Walk With Me, Porter’s Gate
3. Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives (Image, 2012)
