Saint Matthias the Apostle

The Collect
Almighty God, who in the place of Judas chose your faithful servant Matthias to be numbered among the Twelve: Grant that your Church, being delivered from false apostles, may always be guided and governed by faithful and true pastors; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Psalm
15

The Readings
Acts 1:1-15     +     Philippians 3:13-21     +     John 15:1,6-16

". . . I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last . . ."
~John 15:15-16

In our home we have a prayer corner. It is a designated space for family or individual prayer, Bible reading, or just being. The corner includes a number of icons--holy images of Christ and the saints such as have been venerated by generations of Christians as aides and companions in prayer. Among these is the first icon I ever received--a small image known as Christ Pantokrator ("Almighty" or "Ruler of All"). In this particular version (there are many such icons, with varying details), Christ is seated with an open book, and on the page can be read a portion from today's Gospel: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen ye."

It is, perhaps, a puzzling statement. The setting is the Last Supper, and Jesus is speaking here to the disciples, his closest friends and companions. Did they not indeed choose Jesus, in deciding to follow him? Well, yes, they did. But their decision to follow Jesus was a response to his call. Christ's work and action preceded their own--he chose them before they even knew.

This is how it is for each of us. No matter the circumstance, God has always been present and at work in our lives, even before we knew. Our part is always that of response to the grace-filled work of Christ that is already there. As the First Letter of John puts it, in a passage that bears overtones of today's Gospel, we love, because he first loved us (I John 4:19).

The small icon of Christ that hangs in our prayer corner was given to me by a family friend when I was a young boy. I actually don't remember receiving it, so in my mind it has always been with me. It is an image that bears the truth of Christ's call and claim on me before I even knew what or how to answer. On one level, of course, that was the work of my family and friends. But that is also how Christ works, in and through us, to draw us and others ever closer to himself.

Consider your own life in Christ. Can you look back and see places where God was at work in you before you even knew? Consider also your response to God's loving work--what fruit are you bearing in your life?


Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for calling us friends, and for revealing the very life and love of your Father to us; give us wisdom to know your presence with us now, as always, that our lives may bear the fruit of salvation. Amen.

The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple

The Collect
Almighty and everliving God, we humbly pray that, as your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple, so we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts by Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Psalm
84

The Readings
Malachi 3:1-4     +     Hebrews 2:14-18     +     Luke 2:22-40

"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel."
~Luke 2:29-32

Today's feast is full to overflowing in its imagery. The presentation of Jesus in the temple, as Luke relates it, was in accordance with the Mosaic Law. According to Exodus 13, the firstborn was to be dedicated to the Lord, and following Leviticus 12, a woman presented an offering to the priest for her ritual purification forty days after the birth of a male child. Hence, the date of this feast, February 2, forty days after Christmas, as well as its alternate title: the Purification of St. Mary the Virgin. The day has yet a third name: Candlemas. Traditionally, this is the day on which candles for the coming year are blessed--an appropriate occasion, given Simeon's recognition, by the Spirit, of Jesus as the Christ, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.*

Taken together, the readings continue to unfold the significance of this commemoration. This helpless and unassuming infant, recognized by the prophets Simeon and Anna, is in fact the Lord, suddenly come to his temple. The child submitting to the law is in fact the incarnation of the God who gave the law. The baby presented to the priest is himself the great high priest of God, who through his death will destroy the one who has the power of death for all humankind, and present them pure before the Lord.

This feast is an example of the multitude of meanings that can be present in a single commemoration. This is so often the case when we begin to look closer at the Bible and the tradition of the church--there is always more there to be seen. The themes on this particular day include, but are not limited to: the beauty of the house of the Lord, and of God's presence there; faithfulness to the commandments of the Lord; waiting on God, and the surprises and challenges that can accompany the fulfilment of God's promises; the meeting of the Old and the New in Jesus; the juxtaposition of the coming of the Lord in power (and who can stand when he appears?) with God's coming in poverty as a baby; God's own initiative and action to save; Jesus as the Christ and the Light of the world.

Choose one of these themes (or another). Read again through the readings with that theme in mind, and see what the Spirit may speak to you.

Closing Prayer
O Lord God, through your prophets Simeon and Anna you revealed your Son Jesus as the light of the nations and the glory of Israel. Grant that, by your Holy Spirit, we may live by the light of faith until we come to the light of glory; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

* If you are not already in the habit of praying Compline, consider doing so tonight in observation of Candlemas. It is a brief and beautiful way to end the day in prayer. It begins on page 127 of the Book of Common Prayer, and concludes with Canticle 17, the Song of Simeon.