THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD
2 FEBRUARY 2025
Howard
Thurman wrote: When the star in the sky
is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with
their flocks, the work of Christmas begins.”
Epiphany is the dramatic reenactment of that Christmas work. Magi from the east find the infant Jesus in
an ordinary house in Bethlehem. A dove
descends at a river anointing service.
The wine runs out at a wedding.
Everyone has an important part to play in seeing and revealing God’s
presence. Today, we turn to another
example of ordinary people, two elderly adults, who happen to be at the right
time and place for Joseph and Mary to present the child Jesus in the temple. This moment invites us to find our place our
place in the work of Christmas.
Jewish law
requires that mothers of boys remain way from the temple and not touch anything
unclean for at least thirty-two days. So,
after forty days, Joseph and Mary follow this law and bring their infant son to
be presented in the temple, just like every other Jewish family would be
required to do.
In this
ordinary routine, something surprising happens.
An old man named Simeon runs into them.
He is not a Levite, a temple insider.
But he is a faithful believer who is convinced that he will not die
before encountering the Christ, the promised savior of the world. The Holy Spirit moves him twice, first to
enter the temple. Then, in the temple,
the Spirit moves him to take Jesus into his arms. Holding the child, he gives a blessing that
his parents need to hear, but maybe not what they expected. “This child is destined for the fall and rise
of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed, so that the thoughts
of many will be revealed, and you yourself a sword shall pierce, so that the
thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.”
Before Joseph and Mary have a
chance to reflect on these words, they meet another elderly person. We do not know what Anna said. But we know that she has lived seven years
with her husband after her marriage and then as a widow until she is
eighty-four years old. Anna is an
insider, because Jewish law dictates that widows who do not remarry should be
cared for in the temple. That law has a
special role for women like Anna. They
spend their entire time in prayer and fasting.
Like so many faithful women before her, Anna assumes the role of a
widowed prophetess. She gives thanks to
God for this child and speaks about the child to all who were awaiting the
redemption of Jerusalem.
Each one of
us has a role in the work of Christmas.
Like all the characters in the Christmas drama, we must have open hearts
to receive what the Lord reveals to us in our daily lives. The heart is the seat of memories and
emotions. Both Simeon and Anna have
opened their hearts for years. Both have
had their hearts broken. Simeon mentions
the work of broken hearts not only for Joseph and Mary and Jesus, but also for
all who open our hearts to them. Anna
knows the pain of a broken heart in her many years as a widow with the loss of
her husband.
With open
hearts, we can better see Jesus Chris present in the ordinary events of our
lives. But we all know that our open
hearts will be broken by life’s difficulties and tragedies. At Christmas, we
reflected on the fire of God’s love that warms and illumines our lives. Today’s feast focuses on the fire of God’s
love that purifies broken hearts and painful situations. If we can allow the fire of God’s when our
hearts are broken, we can allow God to make us a part of the drama of revealing
his presence with our compassion and love.
To borrow from Howard Thurman, let the work of epiphany begin: “To find
the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to
teach the nations, to bring Christ to all, to make music in the heart.”
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