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
There are a just a few fixed-date feasts which, when they fall on a Sunday, take precedence of the regular Sunday lessons (see the BCP, p. 16). The Presentation is one of them. It is a feast resplendent in 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 belonged to the LORD, and so was to be redeemed. Following Leviticus 12, a woman presented an offering, according to her ability (Mary's offering of turtledoves rather than a sheep indicates her poverty) to the priest for her ritual purification forty days after the birth of a male child. Thus, the date of this feast, February 2, forty days after Christmas Day, 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 unfold the significance of this occasion. 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 still more there. The themes on this day include, for example: 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.
Closing Prayer
O God, you have made this day holy by the presentation of your Son in the Temple, and by the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Mercifully grant that we, who delight in her humble readiness to be the birth-giver of the Only-begotten, may rejoice forever in our adoption as his sisters and brothers; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
~from The Book of Occasional Services
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
There are a just a few fixed-date feasts which, when they fall on a Sunday, take precedence of the regular Sunday lessons (see the BCP, p. 16). The Presentation is one of them. It is a feast resplendent in 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 belonged to the LORD, and so was to be redeemed. Following Leviticus 12, a woman presented an offering, according to her ability (Mary's offering of turtledoves rather than a sheep indicates her poverty) to the priest for her ritual purification forty days after the birth of a male child. Thus, the date of this feast, February 2, forty days after Christmas Day, 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 unfold the significance of this occasion. 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 still more there. The themes on this day include, for example: 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.
Closing Prayer
O God, you have made this day holy by the presentation of your Son in the Temple, and by the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Mercifully grant that we, who delight in her humble readiness to be the birth-giver of the Only-begotten, may rejoice forever in our adoption as his sisters and brothers; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
~from The Book of Occasional Services
* If you are not already in the habit of praying Compline, consider doing so tonight in observation of Candlemas, perhaps by candlelight. 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.
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