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 Christmas 1992: Christ's Presentation to the Temple Scott 915 The Presentation of Jesus is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem. It is celebrated on February 2nd, 40 days after Christmas. It provides an inflection point in the Liturgical calendar, as it is the last time we see the "Baby Jesus" as we move from the Christmas season and proceed towards the Lenten season, which begins in just over two weeks. The feast is also called "Candlemas". The episode is described in chapter 2 of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament. The celebration is an ancient feast of the Church, celebrated from at least the 4th century onward. The feast was formerly known as the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin. Vatican City's Christmas stamp set from 1992 has four stamps depicting illustrations of 13th century mosaics found at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, one of which features the presentation of Jesus to the Temple. Jewish law required parents of a first-born male child to present him to the Temple 40 days after his birth. Since the first-born male child belonged to God (“every male child that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), parents offered a sacrifice of doves or pigeons to (in a sense) re-purchase the child. The mother of the child would also be ritually purified according to Jewish custom.  "Presentation of Jesus in the Temple" by Gregorio Lazzarini (circa 1700) From Wikimedia Commons, in the Public Domain The reading for today's feast, as presented in the Gospels of Saint Luke, recount these customs: (Luke 2:22-24): "When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord', and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord."As the account in St. Luke’s Gospel continues (Luke 2:25-38), when Jesus was presented in the Temple: “[T]here was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel.”The “Canticle of Simeon” states “Lord, now let your servant depart 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.”The Gospel states that Mary and Joseph “marveled at what was said about Him.” Simeon also told Mary that many who heard Jesus would fall into sin for not following his teachings, though others would also rise because of His words, while her soul would be pierced, suggesting the sorrow she would witness during Jesus’ life. The Gospel ends with (Luke 2:39-40): "When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him."The blessing of candles is associated with Simeon’s words in seeing the Baby Jesus and calling him “a light of revelation to the Gentiles,” where the Gentiles refer to all the people of the world. Jesus later echoes the words of Simeon in proclaiming “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). During the traditional Candlemas celebration, candles are lit and a procession within a church occurs, a tradition more associated with Western Europe than in the United States. The candles blessed on this day are used by the Church during the upcoming year. In fact, on the next day, February 3, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Blaise. One ceremony observed on this day is the "Blessing of the Throats" when the priest uses two crossed, blessed candles against a person's throat while reciting a prayer for health and honoring Saint Blaise, the patron saint of throat ailments. REFERENCES: |
