|
Philoptochos Spiritual Enrichment Series |
||||
|
The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple |
||||
| Prayer Lord, now let your servant depart in peace according to your word; for my eyes have seen the salvation which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel. |
Vitamin
Verse And it had been revealed to him (Simeon) by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. (Luke 2:26) |
|||
| Inspiration Forty days after Jesus was born He was presented to God at the Temple in Jerusalem. On February 2, forty days after Christmas, the Church commemorates this event by celebrating the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. Jewish law specified that the first-born of any Jewish woman belonged to God. He had to be bought back by his parents. At one time the offering for this redemption was five shekels of silver. St. Luke writes in the Gospel, "And when the days of her purification were fulfilled according to the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord-as it was written in the law of Lord, 'Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord'-and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, 'a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons'." This is how the beautiful rite of the "Churching of Mother and Child on the Fortieth Day After Birth" originated. How wonderful for an Orthodox Christian mother to come to church on the fortieth day after birth with her husband to kneel in God's presence and give thanks, as the priest takes the child to the altar to dedicate it to the Lord. When this happened in Jesus' time, there was in the Temple a man named Simeon. Simeon is described as "righteous and just." He looked for the "consolation of Israel." That is, he waited eagerly for the Messiah, the Lord's Christ. Just as Simeon waited eagerly for the Messiah so people today are looking for a leader who can deliver them from the frightening prospects that threaten to destroy the human race. They point to the many insurmountable problems facing us today: pollution, overpopulation, mass epidemics, widespread starvation and nuclear annihilation. People are looking for a universally accepted world dictator to appear who will promise to deliver them from these evils. They may not call this ruler a "messiah," but they look upon him as filling the role of a world problem solver. The world stage, therefore, is being set for some kind of messiah. Two newspaper columnists recently declared that unless the problems of our world are brought under control, the world will be ready for "the rider on a white horse." This is a reference to the conquering false messiah portrayed in Revelation 6:2. In other words, because the world does not know the true Messiah, Christ, it is looking eagerly for a false messiah who will turn out to be the Anti-Christ. This is the great danger of our day. Simeon, too, waited eagerly for the Messiah, not a false one but the One promised him by God. For us as for Simeon, this is the whole point of life. This is why we are in the world: to see Jesus, to meet Him, to know Him personally as our Savior. God had this in mind when He made us. He will not let us be satisfied with anything less than the salvation given us in Christ Jesus. Simeon met Jesus! So can we! Simeon held Jesus in his arms! So can we! We meet Him in prayer everyday. We meet Him in every liturgy. We meet Him in the face of every needy person. We hold Him in our mind when we read His precious words in the Gospels. We hold Him in our hearts when we receive His precious Body and Blood in Holy Communion. When this happens we too can say like Simeon, "Lord, now I've seen everything! Now I can live and die contented! For I have seen the Savior!" |
||||
| Reflection | ||||
|
||||
|
||||
| Return to index | ||||
This page is printer friendly.