May Jesus Christ be
praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.
Today we celebrate the
feast of the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem. Forty days after his birth in Bethlehem, Mary
and Joseph brought the Child Jesus to be presented in the Temple, in accord
with the Law of Moses. With the child,
they brought the offering of two turtledoves, or two young pigeons. This was not the original offering prescribed
in the law, but was an exception: it was the offering of the poor. In poverty and humility Mary and Joseph
brought not only the offering, but they brought the Lord to his Temple. What had been prophesied by Malachi was
fulfilled on this day. Where God had
been worshiped, now God with us, Emmanuel, entered the Temple carried in his
mother’s arms. And there in the Temple,
Mary and Joseph and the Child Jesus encountered Simeon and Anna. Simeon had been told, by an inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, that he would live to see the Christ of God. Simeon would not see death until he had seen
the face of the conqueror of death.
Anna, the prophetess, worshiped the Lord day and night in the Temple. She too, had the grace to recognize the
redeemer of Israel. On this day, Simeon
and Anna rejoiced because they were privileged to receive Jesus Christ.
The lives of Simeon and
Anna had been a time of preparation for their encounter with the Lord. They were people who were attentive to the
worship of God. They knew that they
would encounter the Living God as they joined in the prayer of his people. They were attentive to the inspiration of the
Spirit of God. They were believers in
the promises of God. Through their
worship in the Temple of God, their attention to the Spirit of God, and their
faith in the promises of God, Simeon and Anna were prepared to receive Jesus
Christ.
On that day when Mary
and Joseph presented the Child Jesus in the Temple, Simeon and Anna received
him with faith and joy. Simeon took the
Child Jesus from his mother’s arms into his own, and he praised God. Simeon rejoiced because he held in his arms
the light of the nations that had been promised and the glory of the people of
Israel. Anna recognized the Child as the
Redeemer of Israel. He came to the
Temple not as a conquering hero, but as a child in the arms of his mother and
St. Joseph. Simeon and Anna rejoiced,
because they had received Jesus Christ.
And having received
Jesus Christ, Simeon and Anna responded in praise and thanksgiving. Simeon blessed God for his faithfulness and
for the mighty works that would be accomplished through this child. Anna gave thanks to God and spoke to everyone
about the Child Jesus. The one they had
received in humility and expectation, they now shared in joy and adoration. Simeon and Anna responded with joy because
they had received Jesus Christ.
And dear brothers and
sisters, the joy that was theirs, is ours.
Every day in the
celebration of the Holy Eucharist, we have an opportunity to receive Jesus
Christ. Our lives are a time of
preparation for our encounter with the Lord.
We prepare to receive him through our acts of worship. Attentively listening to the words of the
prophets and the proclamation of the Good News, we experience the inspiration
of the Spirit of God. We come together
as believers in the promises made to us in baptism. We come together as believers who accepted
the promises of our baptism as our own with our “Amen” at First Communion. We prepare to receive him, and we approach
him with faith, humility and joy. He
does not appear to us as a conquering hero, but in the arms of our mother the
Church and through the ministry of your father in God. We receive Jesus Christ in Holy Communion,
and he invites us to respond in praise and thanksgiving. Christ invites us to respond to the gift of
his presence with the gift of our presence.
He gives you the gift of eternity and invites your
response, in time, of thanks and adoration. Amen.
Preached
at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
