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
And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
~Malachi 3:1-2
As Luke relates, the child Jesus is presented in the temple, in accordance with the Law of Moses. The church has always understood this event to be a fulfillment of the prophecy from Malachi about the Lord coming to his temple. And yet there is a tension. As is usual, Jesus surprises--the scriptures are not fulfilled exactly how we imagined they would be. In Malachi, the presence of the Lord is so powerful in its purifying flame that none can stand. And yet how does the Lord appear in Luke? It is Jesus himself who is unable to stand--he is a mere baby, carried in the arms of the mother who gave him birth just forty days ago.
This us how the Lord chooses to come to his temple. Not in power (as we imagine it), but carried. And have any of us brought ourselves to faith? In the baptismal liturgy, the candidate, no matter his or her age, is always presented by another, a sponsor or godparent. We do not come to faith alone; we do not present ourselves before the Lord except in the community of others. This is how the light comes into the world--it is born, it is carried, it is lovingly passed from one to another.
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.
* Today's feast is also known as Candlemas, as it is traditionally the day on which candles for the coming year are blessed in church (note the candles in the image above). 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, and is replete with images of light in the darkness. It begins on page 127 of the Book of Common Prayer, and concludes with Canticle 17, the Song of Simeon (from today's Gospel).
