By Leon Bent –
The Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple celebrated on 2nd February, is also known as the Feast of the Encounter: The Liturgy says at the beginning that Jesus goes to meet his people. Thus, this was the encounter between Jesus and his people, when Mary and Joseph brought their child to the Temple in Jerusalem; the first encounter between Jesus and his people, represented by Simeon and Anna.
The Gospel, Luke 2:22-40 quotes Exodus 13:2, which deals with the redemption of firstborn males. We read about that in Nehemiah 10:35-36, where the people took an oath, saying, “We obligate ourselves . . . to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the first-born of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the law.”
This feast celebrates the fact that, not only does God keep His promises to a Chosen People, through a purified lineage and a virgin mother but also to particular individuals. God revealed His plan to a “prophetess”, Anna, who as an eighty-four year old widow never left the temple “worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day”(Luke 2: 37), and a “just” man, Simeon. Scriptures apply the word “just” to a person who has faith and experience of God, and to God, the Son, the Holy and Just One (Acts 3: 14).
Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI comments: “Evidently Luke intends to say that instead of being ‘redeemed’ and restored to his parents, this child was personally handed over to God in the Temple, given over completely to God. . . . Luke has nothing to say regarding the act of ‘redemption’ prescribed by the law. In its place we find the exact opposite: the child is handed over to God, and from now on belongs to him completely” (Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives: 3).
This feast is important today as a message of hope and encouragement. In a society of instant products, faith in promises, confidence that God has a Plan and it is in progress, is not easy to accept. We need the messages of faith and hope shown in the feasts, to remind ourselves that God is still in charge of the world, no matter how much evil there is in it.
How good it is for us to hold the Lord “in our arms” (Lk. 2:28), like Simeon. Not only in our heads and hearts, but also “in our hands”, in all that we do: in prayer, at work, at the table, on the telephone, at school, with the poor, everywhere. Having the Lord “in our hands” is an antidote to insular mysticism and frenetic activism, since a genuine encounter with Jesus corrects both saccharine piety and frazzled hyperactivity. Savouring the encounter with Jesus is also the remedy for the paralysis of routine, for it opens us up to the daily “havoc” of grace. The secret to fanning the flame of our spiritual life is a willingness to allow ourselves to have a rendezvous with Jesus and to be encountered by him; otherwise we fall into a stifling life, where disgruntlement, bitterness and inevitable disappointments get the better of us. If we walk with Jesus and our brothers and sisters in the everyday events of our life, our hearts will no longer be set on the past or the future, but will experience the “today of God” in peace with everyone.
At the end of the Gospels, there is another encounter with Jesus that can inspire the consecrated life. It is that of the women before the tomb. They had gone to encounter the dead; their journey seemed pointless. And like those women, be the first to meet the Lord, risen and alive. Cling to him (cf. Mt 28:9) and go off immediately to tell your brothers and sisters, eyes brimming with joy (cf. v. 8). I ask you to renew this very day your encounter with Jesus, to walk together towards him. And this will give light to your eyes and strength to your steps ((Eucharistic Concelebration Homily of His Holiness, Pope Francis, 2nd February 2018).
In 1997, St. John Paul II established the special Day of Consecrated Life to coincide with the Feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem (February 2). The Pope gave three reasons for his selection of February 2nd as a special day for religious women and men, like Anna (Lk.2:37): first, to praise and thank the Lord for the gift of consecrated life; second, to promote the knowledge and appreciation of consecrated women and men by all the People of God; and third, to invite all those who have dedicated their life to the cause of the Gospel to celebrate the wonderful ways that Lord has worked through them.
The Holy Spirit was at work in Simeon and also in the life of the prophetess Anna who, having remained a widow since her youth, “never left the Temple, but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer” (2:37). She was a woman consecrated to God and, in the light of God’s Spirit, especially capable of grasping God’s plan and interpreting God’s commands. “And coming forward at that very time, Anna gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem” (Lk. 2:38). Like Simeon she too, without a doubt was moved by the Holy Spirit in her close meeting with Jesus.
The second unique perspective of Luke’s “Presentation” Gospel scene is that, of bearing Christ to the world. If our religious congregations, our local communities, our educational institutions, our parish structures, our varied apostolic works do not bear Jesus to the world, and do not speak about him openly, then we are not fulfilling the mission entrusted to us by God and the Church.
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd is also known as Candlemas Day; the day on which candles are blessed, symbolizing Christ, who is the light of the world. So too, those in consecrated life are called to reflect the light of Jesus Christ to all peoples. The celebration of World Day for Consecrated Life is transferred to the following Sunday, to highlight the gift of consecrated persons for the whole Church.
Now, this gold nugget! The announcement for World Day for Consecrated Life contained the following reflection from the Holy Father: “A vocation is a gift we have received from the Lord, who fixed his gaze on us and called us to follow him in the consecrated life.”
A little bird tweeted! “Take the child Jesus in your hands and enfold him in your arms”, as Simeon did!
The last word! With the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord, the curtain comes down on the Christmas Season.
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and have 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi. On April, 28, 2018, Leon received the Cardinal Ivan Dias Award for a research paper in Mariology.