PRESENTATION SUNDAY

The gospel according to St. Luke gives us a detailed description of Jesus’ infancy. Luke insists that Jesus belongs to the people. Todays Gospel reading presents to us the presentation of Jesus in the temple.

Jesus is taken to the temple to be presented. They are also there for the purification. There the parents encounter two people. Two people who have been waiting for a very long time for their great hope to arrive. Simeon and Anna. waiting for God to act.

First of all Simeon, who’s described as waiting for the consolation of Israel. He is described as righteous and devout v25. That is, his life was an example. He was a regular worshipper of God. He was open to God speaking to him, and responded when he heard God’s voice. We’re told the Holy Spirit rested on him.

Simeon says this salvation is for all peoples. That is for the whole world! The light that Jesus gives will bring revelation to the Gentiles as well as glory to Israel. For two thousand years God’s promise had stood there waiting and now it was being fulfilled in the person of Jesus.

Speaking to Mary, Simeon also gives a warning. The blessing that Jesus brings to some will also be a stumbling block for others. The salvation that’s Jesus offers to all peoples, won’t be taken up by all. Some will stumble over it. Some will even oppose it. It is like those on a sinking boat refusing to be rescued.

The Light is a troublemaker. It will "reveal the inner thoughts of many a heart," exposing their deepest secrets; it blazes into the darkest corners, uncovering what is hidden and unearthing what is buried. 

Some are offended because this light that Jesus brings shows up the evil of their hearts, revealing their inner thoughts, forcing them to admit their need for God’s forgiveness. So Simeon, warns Mary that her heart would be pierced v35 as well.

This light, according to the first reading, is like a refiner's fire or a fuller's soap, purifying gold or silver and cleansing freshly woven wool until Israel can present an offering to the Lord in righteousness as in the days of yore. 

Secondly there’s Anna. Now there’s little we know about Anna. She was a prophet. She was very devout, never departing from the Temple but worshipped there with prayer and fasting night and day v37. her devotion to God was single minded and complete. a great example of a godly woman. Anna is a great example of a woman whom God uses to teach his people about who Jesus is.

We are told she was from the tribe of Asher. Now Asher was one of the lost tribes of Israel. Here we have a lost tribe being present when Jesus appears to begin the process of bringing all his people back to God.

Luke includes both male and female in his account of what happened this day. One of the things we learn from a passage like this, is that the events by themselves are not enough. Jesus’ being brought to the temple was simply Mary and Joseph fulfilling the requirements of the law. The purification and the presentation of the first born in the temple.

But to understand the significance of what’s happened with his birth we also need God’s word to enlighten us. Then to understand God’s plan for the world.  

With modern day events we need to work a bit harder to understand how God sees them because there’s no direct revelation from God about them.

So we need to have a clear understanding of God’s word and get used to applying it to the world around us. We have to look at the events of our world through eyes that are shaped by God’s word. That means we need to be a bit like Anna and Simeon: people who are committed to God, meditating on his word day and night, searching the scriptures to find out how God thinks and what he wants his world to understand about itself.

We also need to be like Anna and Simeon looking forward, preparing ourselves for the Messiah’s coming, for the second time. So we need to be people who are worshiping him regularly, studying his word, and training ourselves to be like Simeon was, righteous and devout, looking forward to the return of Jesus, our king.

So we are reminded through the scriptures if the light has to shine we have to give room for cleansing, to be purified. The warmth of Christ’s light brings with it purification. Purification brings us back into focus with God. Then the light can do and fulfill its work in our lives. The coming Lent will give us the opportunity in order for the Light to do its work in us and our communities.