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.
