My brothers and sisters, at
this sacred Mass we are celebrating the special feast of the Presentation of
the Lord.
Forty days after the birth of
Jesus, Joseph and Mary, with Jesus, presented themselves at the temple as was the
custom under the Jewish Law. This was done because Mary was considered
uncleaned for forty days after Jesus’ birth. This is a ritual impurity and does
not mean that she was with sin, or that something was wrong with her. In the
Jewish Law, because of the blood that is part of the birthing process, women
are considered ritually impure for forty days after the birth of a male son,
and 70 days after a female child. The law doesn’t say why it is longer for
females, but some have speculated because females were considered more holy in
that they were able to bare life. I’m not exactly sure. While we believe that the
conception and birth of Jesus was miraculous, as he was conceived by the power
of the Holy Spirit and the virginity of the Blessed Mother was not broken
during the birthing process, still, Mary and Joseph were obedient Jews who
followed the law. Therefore, they went to the temple so that Mary could bathe
in the pool and thus be ritually cleansed.
This would have been the
custom for all Jewish women who gave birth in the times when Jesus lived.
Also the law prescribed that
an animal sacrifice was made in the form of two turtle doves or two pigeons for
those with little money, as an act of consecrating the child to the Lord.
This explains why Joseph and
Mary were at the temple forty days after the birth of Jesus. This would be
normal and perhaps not written about in the bible if not for what happened
while they were there.
In the early Church this
feast day was called the “encounter.” It marked the official end of the
Christmas season all the way up until 1969 when the Church changed the
liturgical calendar. Now, the end of Christmas season is the Epiphany of the
Lord where Christ is revealed as the light of the world, and the Magi present
the gifts to Jesus. However, the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple is an
epiphany as well. Jesus is proclaimed by the righteous man Simeon to be the
light of the nations, the salvation of the world, Hence the blessing and
procession of candles on this day. In the Middle Ages this feast of the
Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or 'Candlemas,' was of great
importance.
Mary also received a prophecy that a sword would pierce her heart revealing to her and to all of us
that Mary shares in a unique way in the glory and the passion of her son. She
will live with him, follow him, share in his passion, and then in His glory in
Heaven in a way which no human ever has or ever will.
Both Simeon and Anna were holy
and righteous people, accustomed to fasting and prayer. They spent much time
praying in the temple of the Lord and were persons of great wisdom. Thus they
were properly disposed to be able to recognize the Messiah, the savior of the
world as he entered the temple as a baby.
When we fast and pray
frequently, we too are more disposed to recognize the miraculous things God
does around us all the time. We too are more ready to trust him and to believe
the good news, and we too are ready to follow the light in the midst of
darkness.
Jesus is God become flesh.
The temple he entered is His temple. He is the one the Jews worshiped since the
beginning although they did not recognize Him. He is the one who God has sent,
His only Son, to save the world from sin and to be a light in the darkness. His
body then becomes the new temple as he fulfills the old testament. Christ is
our light, let us follow him, take up our cross, share in his passion, and then
receive our reward in Heaven.
