
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
by Fr. Chris Axline | 02/02/2025 | Weekly ReflectionHello St. Mary Magdalene,
Today we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord. This celebration is steeped in salvation history as the firstborn son was offered to God in the temple; harkening back to the firstborn son being offered in Egypt as the price of deliverance from slavery. Thus, the firstborn is “redeemed” ritually by this offering and that’s what brings Mary, Joseph, and Christ to the temple today. They are fulfilling the obligations of the religious ritual law (even though Mary and Christ have no sins, they still faithfully observe ritual law) as they bring the forty day old Jesus.
Here they have an encounter with Simeon and Anna that further emphasizes the role of Christ within salvation history. As mentioned above, the firstborn son was “redeemed” in the temple by this ritual offering remembering the Passover lamb sacrificed as the cost of freedom. Now we see Simeon predicting Christ’s passion the moment when He will fulfill His role as the true Lamb of God on Calvary. Christ is both the firstborn son and the lamb, the one offered in sacrifice. This is why Simeon speaks to Mary about the sword that will pierce her heart in direct foreshadowing of the sword of sorrows she’ll endure as Christ enters into His Passion and frees us from a greater slavery than that of Egypt.
In the midst of this dramatic remembrance of the past and foretelling of the future we see Simeon and Anna rejoicing in what is to come. They’re not depressed, sorrowful, or melancholic for either Christ or Mary and what the future will bring. To the contrary, they’re filled with joy as we see em-bodied in Simeon’s canticle, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32, NABRE). Sometime after this, Simeon goes to meet his eternal reward and so this encounter with Christ for him was both a beginning (of God’s salvation) and an end (of his earthly life) and yet he is still filled with both hope and joy. Joy at having seen God and hope that God’s promises are fulfilled! Simeon therefore provides a fascinating perspective for us to reflect on God’s action in our own lives. Simeon’s seeing God’s actions in the past and his present give hope for the future, difficult though it may be. Simeon knows that God is at work and trusts in this work and his role in it. Let us pray then too that like Sim-eon we may go in peace having seen the salvation and power of God at work in our daily life.
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