top of page
  • Facebook Social Icon
  • Twitter Social Icon
  • Instagram Social Icon

The Presentation of the Lord: How to Recognize Jesus

Writer's picture: Fr. AustinFr. Austin

Edwin Long (1829-91)
Edwin Long (1829-91)

Today we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord (or “Candlemas,” as it is sometimes called) – the commemoration of the day when Mary and Joseph brought the Christ Child to the Temple in Jerusalem to present Him according to the Jewish Law. Let’s imagine the scene together.


The Temple in Jerusalem was an impressive structure, comprising several “city blocks” and positioned high on Mount Zion.  The Temple would have dominated the city of Jerusalem.  It was the heart of the city, and indeed it was the heart of the Jewish People. Devout Jews from all over would come to the Temple to make offerings, pray, and be seen by those who considered themselves importation. It was a hub of intense activity.


In a society where children are born fairly frequently, the Temple was much busier than a parish church would be.  There were no scheduled “private baptisms” as we have them today.  Crowds of people would come to the Temple with their various needs, including presentation of their firstborn, and it would be easy to be swallowed up in that crowd of activity. There would have been nothing remarkable about Joseph and Mary as they approached with their Infant and their two pigeons. No one should have noticed; no one would have cared.


However, that is not what happened! We celebrate this day precisely because someone noticed. Simeon, we are told, came in the Spirit into the temple. This holy man, attentive to God’s guidance, went to the Temple because he expected something. And when he was there, he saw the Holy Family and knew that he was seeing God’s promise fulfilled. He noticed Jesus, even when He seemed to just sneak into the place.


Anna, also, was attuned to the presence of God’s Promise and Christ’s arrival at the Temple.  She is overjoyed to be there for that moment of grace, and in response, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.


What allowed this man and this woman to recognize the coming of Jesus in apparent anonymity that day?  How did they see through the crowds and acknowledge that God was not only working but present? What made these two so different from the other priests and holy people in the Temple?


In a word, it is hope. Hope teaches us to look beyond ourselves and even beyond appearances.  Hope is a gift of God that is fostered by prayer and connection to His grace through the Church. It is no coincidence that Simeon and Anna were in the Temple that day.  They were heirs to the worshiping tradition of their People.  Through constant prayer and connection to God, they learned lessons of hope and because of that hope they were attuned to Jesus’ presence when He came.


This hope is also ours.  As one of the “theological virtues,” hope is a gift from God Himself.  We receive it at baptism, and it is activated through prayer and regular encounters with Jesus in the Sacraments.  Hope is the attitude of one who is looking to encounter Christ at any and every moment of their life. It is the lesson of Simeon and Anna.


This feast day also teaches us that Jesus, by virtue of His complete identification with our human condition, does not simply come in obvious ways, as far as the world is concerned. We heard today in the Letter to the Hebrews, “Since the children share in blood and flesh, Jesus likewise shared in them,” and, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people.” Here is the foundation of our hope. But because He became like us, we need to be able to see Him everywhere – especially with those with whom He preferred to identify: the poor, the outcast, the migrant, the sinner and the saint. We will not find Jesus by associating with the rich and powerful or the influential.


This year, we are experiencing in the Church the “Jubilee of Hope” as called for by Pope Francis.  In his announcement of this Year of Hope, the Holy Father said, “During the Holy Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind” (Spes non confundit, 10). These include, Francis says,  the prisoner, the sick, immigrants, the young, the elderly, and the poor. It is wholly within our call as Catholics and disciples of Jesus Christ at this moment, to identify with and support our brothers and sisters – many who share these pews with us – who are immigrants and  refugees. If not, we are not living the Gospel of Hope.


Jesus is present in His Temple, here today. He is present in His Word that we hear and in the Eucharist that we share. He is present in our assembly and particularly today in our fellow parishioners, regardless of where they come from our how they got here. Jesus often comes in “distressing disguises,” as St. Mother Teresa once said.  We need to be like Simeon and Anna, alive with holy Hope, in order to recognize Him and to respond to Him.


When people come to our temples, do they encounter Jesus? Do we encounter them as Christ’s presence here? This is the challenge that our feast presents us today.  May we be alive with hope as well, and may we welcome Christ among us now and always.

21 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comentários


SIGN UP AND STAY UPDATED!
  • Grey Facebook Icon
  • Grey Twitter Icon
  • Grey Instagram Icon

© 2022 by Fr. Austin Murphy.  Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page