Jesus the Christ is presented in the temple by His parents—Mary and Joseph. The feast of the presentation of the Lord marks the 40 days after the birth of Christ. Early in the eight century, Pope Sergius inaugurated the candlelight procession associated with this feast which obviously signifies that Christ “the light of the world” now shines in the world.
The feast we celebrate today is packed with deep mysteries. In a sense, we see a type of “epiphany” here in that the Lord is revealed to the people by Simeon and Anna the prophetess in the temple as the Messiah. St John Paul II once reflected on the feast as a new “Annunciation” because the Blessed Mother of Jesus received the announcement of the (necessary) sorrow that will befall her as her only child accomplishes the work of redemption.
There is also an encounter between the Old and New Testaments. While John the Baptist bridged the two testaments as a messenger who prepared the Lord’s way (Cf. Mal 3:1), the sudden entrance of the Lord into the temple marks the beginning of the fulfillment of all prophecies of “the Lord whom we seek.” Humanity is destined to seek the Lord. We know of that popular quote from St Augustine, “Lord you made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Daily struggles and activities of the human person are expressions of this “seeking” of God. Today we are blessed with the great models of the faith in the persons of the Mary and Joseph who were obedient to the law as they present the Christ child, offered required sacrifice and sought the needed purification. While the ritual of presentation, purification and sacrifice of two young pigeons were Old Testament requirements, we see a “sudden” shift from the Old Law into the New Law—Christ Himself. The new life has just entered the temple—the soul of life.
It would not have been enough to have the presence of Christ in the temple without an “announcer” because no one would have known Him. Simeon has been prepared all his life to make that announcement. At the end of his mission, that of announcing the Messiah, he made one request—that he might now go in peace. What is the one thing you might want to ask from the Lord Jesus if you see Him in person today? Does your desire align with the purpose of God for your life for which He is preparing/using you for at this moment?
Anna the prophetess was also in the temple when Jesus was presented. Anna’s background is intriguing as well: Married only briefly from young age; spent the rest of her life as a widow worshipping constantly in the temple with prayer and fasting. I have a feeling the Scripture gave us those details about Anna in order to portray her complete dedication to God who rewarded her presence in the temple with meeting with the “temple” personified in Christ. The Word says, “And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God and spoke of him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). Are you looking forward to the “redemption” of your family, parish, community, country? The “looking forward” is one of the ways in which we “seek the Lord.” May we keep looking forward to the salvation of the world through prayer, fasting and works of charity as a way of life.
Further reading: https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-02-02
[Readings at Mass: Mal 3:1-4; Psalm 24:7,8,9,10; Heb 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40]
Superb reflection. I really enjoyed.
I also noted that the widow was from the tribe of Asher. That tribe was one of the 10 northern tribes, and it had not been heard from since the Assyrian dispersion. As such her presence at the temple, can also be seen to indicate the beginning of the restoration of all of Israel by Jesus.
Thank you for your beautiful observation.