The Presentation of Christ
CANDLEMAS, THE PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE
Blessings to you all on this Candlemas day also called The Presentation of Christ in the Temple and commonly referred to as The Purification of Mary, the mother of our Lord. And you can bet that any feast that has three names associated with has a lot going on!
Today we are participating in an ancient Christian festival that has been observed since throughout the Christian church since at least the three hundred's, year after year, on February 2nd. This Feast commemorates the occasion when Mary along with her husband, in obedience to Jewish Law, went to the Temple in Jerusalem both to be purified 40 days after the birth of her Son, Jesus, and to present the child to God as her first-born Son (Luke 2:22–38).
This festival is placed at forty days' distance from Christmas, as that was the interval directed by the Old Testament Law between the day of birth and the day when an Israelite mother presented herself for readmission to the congregation, and her infant son for an offering to the Lord (Lev. 12:4; Ex. 22:29; Num. 8:17). By the way, from this custom derives the order for The Churching of Women found on page 395 in your prayer book, which is a beautiful ritual employed to give thanks for women and to welcome new mothers back into the life of the parish after childbirth.
On the day in which our Lord was presented in the Temple, the promised savior of Israel was placed into the hands of the aged Simeon to whom God had promised that he would not die until his eyes had looked upon the "salvation which God had prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of God's people Israel." In the Greek church, this feast day is called Hypapante (which means meeting), in reference to Jesus' meeting in the Temple with the aged Simeon.
This Feast is pregnant with longing. The lives of Hannah, Simeon, and Anna confront us with the depths of human longing and desire. For years, Hanna longed and prayed for the Lord to give her a child, and she cried out to God making a vow saying, "O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head" (1 Sam 1:11). Simeon waited his whole life to see with his eyes and hold in his hands the Salvation promised to the world. And to Anna, who prayed and served day and night in the Temple.
But in each of these, human longing was ultimately met with Divine fulfillment. Hannah was given a son, Samuel, the high priest of Israel. Simeon saw Salvation, and to Anna was given the reward of seeing her Redeemer, the object and desire of so many, many prayers. Fulfillment. This is what the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple brings to us today: a reminder that every human longing, the desire for this world to be put back to rights, was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ. Thus, the hope of Christmas, and the revealing of God at Epiphany, is fulfilled on this day, when the true Light, the promised One of Israel, has come into His Temple.
Hear the words of the prophet Malachi "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts." The Lord has come into his Temple. In today's Gospel, the Christ child is brought within the Temple in accordance with Torah Law by his mother Mary and Joseph his father. The infant Jesus is being presented as a first-born male unto the Lord God. At first glance, Luke's Gospel is rather straight forward, a narrative of ritual obedience accompanied by prophetic pronouncements.
First by Simeon, a pious and aged Jew, then by Anna, an elderly prophetess who prayed daily in the temple courts for some forty-four years: both the very picture of Jewish piety and righteousness. And yet, like every other Christological Feast celebrated throughout the Christian year, there is so much more to this account, more than a story about a little baby boy being brought into the Temple courts. For this particular first-born of Israel being presented in obedience to the Law, will one day be offered to the Father as a perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins: your sins and mine.
The Lord has come into his Temple. God has kept his promise, he has fulfilled the words of Malachi by Jesus appearing in his Father's house.
"The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts."
God has kept his promise, prophecy has intersected with fulfillment in the presentation of the Christ child. And there is another important intersection: a covenantal convergence.
Christ's first appearing and presentation in the Temple symbolized the perfect fulfillment of the old covenant by our Lord, who is the very embodiment of the New Covenant. We see the passing of the Old Covenant Temple and its rituals intersecting with the inauguration of a new temple- the body of Jesus Christ- where spiritual (not animal sacrifices) are to be offered unto the Lord. An intersection of the old and new. Intersection and convergence in the infant Christ.
The Lord has come into his Temple. Jesus was presented in the Temple in the flesh. God incarnate, the infant Jesus, placed into Simeon's pious, aged, and faithful hands: flesh upon flesh. What an incredible moment! Simeon, according to St. Luke, spent a lifetime looking for Israel's Messiah, "for it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ." You see, Simeon was being kept by God until he should see with his eyes what he already perceived by faith. And the Father kept his promise. Taking the infant Jesus into his hands, he proclaims,
"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel."
In a real sense, through this particular Feast, we re-celebrate "epiphany" once again insofar as the Christ Child is revealed as the Messiah through Simeon's canticle. Christ is the Light of the nations, a light to lighten the Gentiles! In Simeon's song is heard the first suggestion of God's all-inclusive, grand sweeping scope of redemption. Here the promised Salvation of Israel intersects with God's pronouncement to not only save Israel but all the nations as well. Beloved, Salvation has come because Messiah has come! In Christ, God has extended mercy beyond Israel: Salvation has come to the young and old, male and female, Jew, and Gentile.
The Lord has come into his Temple. Therefore we must remember that judgment is near, and final judgment awaits all men. In this child, God's plan of Salvation intersects with impending judgment. The Light of Salvation will also be "the fall and rising of many, a sign which shall be spoken against." Jesus will reveal the thoughts of men's hearts. The Light of Salvation will be a "swift witness against" sinful men. In the temple courts, in the hands of a prophet, Salvation and judgment intersect and converge in the person of Jesus Christ.
This is why we strive to remain in Christ, worshiping him, partaking of his sacraments, devoting ourselves to prayer and the ordered life, seeking absolution of sins, and asking for God's assisting grace, for Christ to purify and keep us clean until that final day when we will see him face to face. Who will stand in the day of his coming? What is the answer to Malachi's question? It is the righteous, the ones who love the dwelling place of the Lord, who always praise him! Not only with their lips but with their lives as well.
Hear the Psalmist who says, "Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they will always be praising thee." And, "For one day in thy courts, is better than a thousand." And, "My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God."
You can almost imagine Simeon saying these exact words, can you not? He loved the Lord's House, to be in his courts, Simeon, the epitome of covenant loyalty and righteousness, trusting in God's promise, looking for Messiah. And unto him was given the blessing of seeing, touching, to behold the Promised One, Salvation itself, Jesus Christ the Son of God.
And this is because Jesus is received by the pious. Simeon is our great example of this: "The Lord will give grace and worship, and no good thing shall He withhold from them that live a godly life." This is why we are called to cultivate on a daily basis personal piety, righteousness, and holiness. To be clean. To be preserved in purity. This is what today's Collect points us toward,
"ALMIGHTY and ever living God, we humbly beseech thy Majesty, that, as thy only-begotten Son was this day presented in the Temple in the substance of our flesh, so we may be presented unto thee with pure and clean hearts, by the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
Unto Simeon was given the gift of beholding Christ. Beloved, unto us, is given the indwelling of Christ, so that he might present us to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. Hear the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and be assured, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Amen+
