Sunday, February 2, 2014

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Cycle A - January 12, 2014


  Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

 Cycle A

February 2, 2014          4:00pm and 9:00am    
Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air


The Presentation and Baptism

Probably all of us have attended the baptism of a baby.

We know how happy an occasion this is.  It is a wonderful celebration of the birth and of placing this little person in a close relationship with Jesus.

Grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other family members and friends are usually present.  There’s lots of oohing and ahhing over the baby.

Well, this is very similar to the scene in today’s gospel.  Mary and Joseph present the baby Jesus in the temple.

There are two rather elderly people there, Simeon and Anna.  Seeing Jesus presented to God in the temple was a very special moment for all of them.

And it is also a moment that is rich in meaning.  There are at least three messages packed into this warm story.

Message 1: Reverence Human Life

First: Joseph and Mary presenting Jesus in the temple or our bringing a baby to be baptized is a statement about human life.

In this action we are affirming that all life comes from God.  Our bringing new life, the life a baby here to church recognizes that this life is sacred.

And beyond that, we are affirming in this that human joy and fulfillment come from living life in relation to God and serving God in some way.  We do this principally by caring for human life.

It can be an unborn child, young children, those who are sick or struggling in some way, the elderly, or the dying.  So, the presentation of Jesus in the temple or the baptism of a baby here in church affirms that all life comes from God and is sacred.

Message 2: Present Children to God

The second message: parents need to present their children to God regularly.

What I sometimes see today is the thinking that it is only the sacraments that count.  We get the children here for Baptism, and then for First Reconciliation and First Communion, and then for Confirmation.

I sometimes hear the expression: “She’s got her sacraments,” or “He’s got to make his sacraments.”  It sounds something like getting merit badges in a scouting program.

The problem is that sometimes there is nothing in between the sacraments.  There may be little or no faith formation in those in-between years.

Well, we need to be about the steady, incremental, step-by-step, age appropriate formation of children in the way of Jesus Christ.  This kind of gradual and integrated formation can only happen by presenting our children regularly for weekly religious education.

Message 3: Present Ourselves to God
  
And the third message: we need to present ourselves to God regularly.

In today’s gospel passage, Saint Luke uses the word “law” five times.  He keeps saying that Mary and Joseph present Jesus to the Lord “just as it is written in the law of the Lord” or “to perform the custom of the law.”

They were fulfilling a commandment in the religious law of the day.  In a similar way, our religious law calls us to present ourselves to the Lord every week for the celebration of Mass.

Being here and really putting ourselves into the Mass has a way of opening us to the inner peace and love of God.  It connects us, consciously or maybe only subconsciously to the mystery of dying and rising and this touches very deep levels in our being and our psyche.

The religious law, the commandment helps to get us here when we put up obstacles or have challenges in doing this.  And the law provides this norm because weekly Mass is important for living and growing in the Lord.

Conclusion

So, this warm, innocent little event of Jesus being presented in the temple has a lot packed into it.  1) It affirms that all life comes from God.


2) It calls us to present our children to God by regularly seeing to their faith formation.  3) And it calls us to present ourselves regularly to the Lord for the core celebration of our faith, the celebration and reception of the Eucharist.