Saint Luke’s Gospel on the fourth joyful mystery, Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, seems to be more about ritual as proposed during the time of Moses and handed down as a covenant from God. Jesus was already named and circumcised eight days after His birth per the covenant of circumcision documented in Chapter 17 of Genesis. This is now the 40th day after Jesus’ birth and a time for Purification of Mary to be noted in the temple records. Payment of the two turtledoves represented holocaust and sin offerings for which the priest made atonement for her to be clean again as noted in Chapter 12 of Leviticus.
The Presentation has other facets such as Joseph and Mary paying 5 shekels to redeem or buy their firstborn male child back from the Lord’s service as God says in Exodus 13:2: “Consecrate to me every first born that open the womb among Israelites, both of man and beast, for it belongs to me.”
In addition, this also is known as the Feast of Encounter in which Jesus representing the New Testament meets the Hebrew Scriptures as represented by Simeon and Anna. It marks the formal ending of Christmas and starts with Him visiting people in which the law of sacrifice was fulfilled in obedience of the law and the last times of salvation as guided by the Holy Spirit.
Pope Francis embellishes the encounter aspect about the need to honor the elderly and respect their wisdom earned though experience, when he shared: “It’s good for the elderly to communicate their wisdom to the young; and it’s good for the young people to gather this wealth of experience and wisdom, and to carry it forward, not so as to safeguard it in a museum, but to carry it forward addressing the challenges that life brings, to carry it forward for the sake of the respective religious orders and of the whole Church.”
Though we are officially presented to God at our Baptism, we present ourselves at the altar before God our Father through our Savior Jesus Christ at every Mass. This is our call to live our daily lives as resolute people consecrated to God who are obliged to live holy lives. Understanding this detail of Jesus being handed over and Him belonging to God the Father can help us bring the fourth joyful mystery to life in a new way. The Presentation is not just another boring religious ritual. It is a deeply symbolic moment pointing to Jesus’ divine identity and to Mary and Joseph’s perfect cooperation with His divine mission.
Let us honor God’s love for us by pledging to follow in His ways in presenting ourselves with His truth, keeping pure in our thoughts, words and deeds and by honoring and respecting those who have gone before us to lead us in our quest for salvation throughout our lives.
First Reading: Malachi
3:1-4
Second Reading: Hebrews
2:14-18
Gospel: Luke
2:22-40
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