{"id":3127,"date":"2020-02-02T11:46:46","date_gmt":"2020-02-02T16:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=3127"},"modified":"2020-02-02T11:46:46","modified_gmt":"2020-02-02T16:46:46","slug":"presentation-of-the-lord-homily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/presentation-of-the-lord-homily\/","title":{"rendered":"Presentation of the Lord – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Presentation of the Lord<\/a>
Malachi 3:1-4
Psalm 24:7, 8, 9, 10 (8)
Hebrews 2:14-18
Luke 2:22-40
February 2, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our psalm\ntoday speaks of the \u201cking of glory.<\/em>\u201d \nOf course, the \u201cking of glory<\/em>\u201d is the Lord.  The historical setting for this psalm is the bringing\nof the Ark of the Covenant to the Temple in Jerusalem.  Hence the words, \u201cthat the king of glory may\ncome in<\/strong><\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whenever the\nArk of the Covenant was moved, there was much ceremony for the Ark was the\npresence of God among the people.  All\nthe more was there fanfare when the Ark was brought to the Temple.  One might say it involved a \u201cpresentation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we\ncelebrate another presentation, The Presentation of the Lord.  This is when baby Jesus was brought by Mary\nand Joseph \u201caccording to the Law of Moses.<\/em>\u201d They came for Mary\u2019s\npurification and to present Jesus to the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why\ntoday?  The Law of Moses called for these\nrituals forty days after the birth of a child. \nToday is forty days from Christmas when Jesus was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, this\nfeast is always on February 2nd<\/sup>. \nMost of the time it falls during the week and is celebrated without much\nfanfare.  Since it falls on Sunday this\nyear, we began Mass with the blessing of candles followed by the procession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\npresentation of Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Malachi, \u201cAnd suddenly there\nwill come to the temple the LORD whom you seek.<\/em>\u201d  Many were seeking the Lord.  Many were waiting for the Messiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, how is anyone\nto know that baby Jesus is \u201c<\/em>the<\/strong> one\u201d?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus would\nnot have been the only child to be presented in the Lord.  Every Jewish family would have come for the\nsame rites.  How is a person to know that\nJesus is \u201cthe<\/strong> one\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the\nwords of Simeon and Anna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simeon was \u201crighteous\nand devout<\/em>.\u201d  He awaited \u201cthe\nconsolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon him<\/em>.\u201d  When Jesus is brought to be presented, Simeon\nis led by the Spirit to greet them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He, through\nthe Holy Spirit, immediately recognizes Jesus as the one who is \u201ca light for\nrevelation to the Gentiles and glory for your people Israel<\/em>.\u201d  He told those present that Jesus is the\none.  He was \u201crighteous and devout<\/em>\u201d\nso the people listened to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise,\nAnna was known to be a holy person, never leaving the temple, \u201cbut\nworshipped night and day with fasting and prayer<\/em>.\u201d  She had the respect of the people who came to\nthe temple.  Seeing Jesus, \u201cshe gave\nthanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption\nof Jerusalem<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, through\nthe words of Simeon and Anna people knew Jesus was the one.  He is the light that leads us to salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme of\n\u201clight\u201d is part of how we celebrate this feast of the Presentation of the\nLord.  We began with the blessing of\ncandles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For us today\ncandles may be seen only as decoration but they are more.  In ancient times, candles were how people lit\ntheir homes and churches.  Candles were\nthe source of light.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we use\nelectricity and light bulbs to light our churches today, we continue to use\ncandles in church.  The Sanctuary Lamp\nnear the Tabernacle burns to tell us that Jesus who is the light of the world\nis present in the Tabernacle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We use\ncandles on the altar to remind us that Jesus comes and presents himself on the\naltar at the consecration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus is the\nlight that guides us.  Jesus is the light\nthat we receive in Baptism.  When a child\nis baptized, their baptismal candle is lit from the Paschal Candle and the\npresider says words that include, \u201cReceive the light of Christ\u2026May he (she)\nkeep the flame<\/em><\/strong> of faith alive in his (her) heart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That flame is\nthe Lord within us.  The flame is\n\u201cfire.\u201d  Fire can be destructive.  It was also be cleansing.  For example, a controlled burn in a forest\nremoves the \u201cscruff\u201d so that the good trees can thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s fire is\na good fire.  It refines us and purifies\nus.  For example, the heat of a fire is\nnecessary in transforming mineral ores into the metals in the forms we use.  Do we let God\u2019s fire symbolized in the\ncandles refine us?  Do we allow\nourselves, do we allow our lives to be transformed by Jesus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we\ncelebrate The Presentation of the Lord. \nOur opening prayer contains the words \u201cwe may be presented to you with\nminds made pure.\u201d  Each time we come for\nMass, each time we come forth for Communion, we present ourselves to the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May the \u201cking\nof glory<\/em>\u201d come into our hearts!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Presentation of the LordMalachi 3:1-4Psalm 24:7, 8, 9, 10 (8)Hebrews 2:14-18Luke 2:22-40February 2, 2020 Our psalm today speaks of the \u201cking of glory.\u201d  Of course, the \u201cking of glory\u201d is the Lord.  The historical setting for this psalm is the bringing of the Ark of the Covenant to the Temple in Jerusalem.  Hence the words, …<\/p>\n

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