Presentation of the Lord – Candlemas

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord – Candlemas
This year, as the feast falls on a Sunday, we have the joy of celebrating both first and second Vespers. Sr Philippa shares some thoughts on this day.

Malachi 3,1-4; Hebrews 2, 14-18; Luke 2, 22-40

The feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple is a very old one, mentioned by the traveler Egeria in the 4th century. It celebrates the three events associated with the fortieth day after the birth of a male child (Leviticus 12.)

There are two other elements in the feast – the purification of Our Lady and the ‘redemption’ of the first-born child, Jesus, through an offering prescribed by the law. There are parallels with the feast of the Baptism of Jesus. As John the Baptist pointed out, Jesus had no need of Baptism; Mary had no need to be purified after the birth of her child as other women were, nor was there any need to ‘redeem’ the Redeemer of the World.

The Presentation is a hinge between the Old Testament and the New; and between Christmas, forty days before, and the Paschal Triduum which is hinted at in Simeon’s phrases ‘sign of contradiction’ and ‘a sword shall pierce your own soul too’.

In the northern hemisphere 2 February occurs in early spring when the days are growing noticeably longer and lighter; suddenly the sky seems to yawn and stretch; the snowdrops are peeping above the ground, even through frost and snow.

This is a feast which celebrates the value of old people and gives them great encouragement. Simeon and Anna are both extremely old and have been looking forward for a long time to the coming of the promised Messiah, but they haven’t grown stale or lost their alertness. And now their long, long faithfulness is rewarded by surprise. They must have seen so many babies presented in the Temple, even on that very day there must have been other couples there with their own babies. But the Holy Spirit guides Simeon and Anna to pass by at exactly the right moment and to recognize in this poor infant without any outward signs of specialness the long-awaited one, the fulfillment of their entire lives. Simeon realizes with relief, even with joy, that he is now ready to die, the purpose of his life achieved.

We sing his canticle, the Nunc Dimittis every night at Compline before we go to bed, and it is often sung at funerals to mark the completion of a person’s life.

Guerric of Igny in a sermon for the Presentation asks ‘Could anyone hold up a lighted candle in his hands on this day without at once remembering that old man who on this same day took up in his arms, Jesus, God’s Word, clothed in flesh, and affirmed him to be the Light which would be a beacon for the Gentiles?’

The seemingly ordinary routine event following the birth of a first child conceals its true significance  – Christ the Anointed One is coming into his own Temple.

Pope Benedict in his book on the Infancy Narratives tells us that there is no mention in Luke’s account of the customary payment of five shekels to ‘redeem’ the child. This suggests that Jesus is handed over by his parents once and for all; the scene is set for his complete self-giving on the Cross.

Pope John Paul II designated February 2 as a Day of Consecrated Life for all religious, all who by our vows have offered our entire lives to God, in union with the sacrifice of Christ. Let us pray that we may constantly renew that offering by generous living and loving.

Sr Philippa