IV Sunday OT/Presentation:[A]:Mal 3:1-4; Heb 2:14-18; Lk 2:22-40

IV Sunday OT/Presentation:[A]:Mal 3:1-4; Heb 2:14-18; Lk 2:22-40

Introduction:   Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.  This feast returns us to the Christmas season focusing in on the person of the Lord.  Jesus is seen as a child, presented to the priests according to the law of Moses. You may remember that the final plague upon the Egyptians to force them to let the children of Israel go was the killing of the first born.  The Angel of Death came into Egypt, but passed over the children of Israel.  Since the first born of the children of Israel were spared the plague, they were seen as belonging to the Lord.  The Book of Exodus refined this in chapter 13 vs 2 to the first born male.  By Jesus’ day, parents whose first child was a boy would go to the Temple with the appropriate offering to present their child to the Lord.  That is what Mary and Joseph were doing in Temple.  This would be an occasion for celebration.  Every child is loved and celebrated, but the first child transforms the couple, husband and wife, into a family.

Scriptural Lessons:   There are many different layers to this wonderful feast besides it being a sort of second Epiphany; there is, for instance, the whole symbolism of the Temple.  The first “act” of the Child Jesus is to come to the Temple. The Temple is the place of God and at the heart of the Temple is the Holy of Holies which symbolizes the living presence of God among his people. What we celebrate today is an extraordinary meeting of God with God. The Temple, his dwelling place on Earth is visited by the Holy One himself. Jesus’ first action is to come to the privileged place of encounter between God and Man. And of course where does God meet man most wonderfully of all but in the very person of Jesus Christ—true God and true man.

Jesus does not actually enter the Holy of Holies; but then he does not need to, for his coming to the Temple precincts is in itself a wonderfully symbolic act. He shows himself there and he is recognized by Simeon and Anna. On seeing the Christ observe the prescriptions of the Judaic law Simeon makes that great prophecy which is at the same time a most wonderful prayer: my eyes have seen your salvation.

Another interesting sidelight is that here you have a meeting between the young and the old. The old have been faithful and persevered in their faith and are, late in life, rewarded and their hope is fulfilled. In their old age they meet the eternally youthful Son of God.   At a time when we hear so much justification of euthanasia, and when it is presumed that a person of advanced years is worthless unless they are fulfilling some useful function, it is heartening to see the old so much valued in the pages of the scriptures. Human life is sacred and it is not what we do but what we are that gives us value.  In their old age, Simeon and Anna may not be able to do much but they can pray and despite their weakening eyesight they see what no one else can see. The priests certainly don’t come running to welcome Christ into his own Temple; but these weak and frail elderly people who have over many years devoted themselves to the service of God who recognize Christ even though he is but a tiny baby.

Anecdote:  Julia Duin in the Washington Times Sunday, February 1, 2009 told this story. Just after midnight on Feb. 3, 1943, an act of extraordinary unselfishness by a group of men became a legend of martyrdom and sacrifice. When the Army ship Dorchester was torpedoed by the Germans just south of Greenland that night, its passengers and crew had 25 minutes to get off the boat. As 902 people went for the life jackets, it quickly was discovered there weren’t near enough. Of the 13 lifeboats, only two functioned. In the ship’s final minutes, Methodist senior chaplain George Lansing Fox, Rabbi Alexander Goode, Dutch Reformed minister Clark V. Poling and John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic priest, were helping passengers leave the vessel. Then four men appeared all of them without life jackets. The chaplains quickly gave up their own vests and went down with the ship, perishing in the freezing water. Survivors saw them, locked arm in arm, praying and singing the Navy hymn, “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” just before the ship dove beneath the waves. It was a night as dramatic as the sinking of the Titanic but without a blockbuster movie to record the drama. “The Four Immortal Chaplains,” as they are now known, have been honored many times, including on a stamp issued in their honor by the U.S. Postal Service. The first Sunday in February is known as “Four Chaplains Sunday.” They presented and offered themselves completely for the well being of others.

Joke: 1) There's this old priest who got sick of all the people in his parish who kept confessing to adultery. One Sunday, in the pulpit, he said, "If I hear one more person confess to adultery, I'll quit!" Well, everyone liked him, so they came up with a code word. Someone who had committed adultery would say they had "fallen." This seemed to satisfy the old priest and things went well, until the priest died at a ripe old age. About a week after the new priest arrived, he visited the mayor of the town and seemed very concerned. The priest said, "You have to do something about the sidewalks in town. When people come into the confessional, they keep talking about having fallen." The mayor started to laugh, realizing that no one had told the new priest about the code word. Before the mayor could explain, the priest shook an accusing finger at the mayor and said, "I don't know what you're laughing about, your wife fell three times this week."

Practical Applications:  1) Anything new in your life is an occasion to visit the Lord in the church, to thank and praise.  It can be a birthday, a new baby, new choice of friend, new job opportunities, new house, new certificates etc.

2) Meeting with very young and old age is a humanitarian way, showing their humanness. Such people are more good hearted people. As you all know such people are always needed helping hands.

      

Introduction: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time / Presentation of the Lord

Message: Jesus, the King of glory, yet like us in all things, comes to his temple to be a light for all the nations.

Saints and Events in this week: 3-Third-Monday-Saint Blaise, bishop, martyr; and Saint Ansgar, Bishop; 5-Fifth-Wednesday-Saint Agatha, virgin, martyr; 6-Sixth-Thiursday-Saint Paul Miki and companions, martyrs; 8-Eighth-Saint Jerome Emiliani and Saint Josephine Bakhita, virgin;