The Presentation, 2025
Malachi 3:1-4
Psalm 24:7-10
Hebrews 2:14-18
Luke 2:22-40
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
So in this reading we just heard, Mary and Joseph take their little boy, Jesus to the Temple, in order to fulfill the Law of Moses. And then they offer the appointed sacrifice of two turtledoves or young pigeons as the law requires. Great. But, why? Why do Mary and Joseph have to go and do this thing that is required by the Jewish Law of their day, when Jesus is already the Son of God? Why does Jesus, who is God, need to be presented to God in this way? And, for another thing, why are we celebrating the Presentation of Our Lord on February 2nd?
Well, let’s start with the easy one: we’re only noticing The Presentation of Our Lord because it happens to fall on a Sunday this year. But the Presentation is always 40 days out from Christmas. It’s always on February 2nd, but we don’t usually hear about it. Which makes me a little sad inside. But this day is also called Candlemas, and is traditionally the day that churches bless their candles for the coming season. And, in some traditions, THIS is the day when you take down your Christmas decorations. (Which has been my ongoing excuse for why there is a still a giant pine tree standing in the corner of our living room.)
But enough of that. Let’s go back to the beginning. Like back to the time of Moses. As you’ll recall from “The Prince of Egypt” movie, the Israelites—God’s chosen people—are being held in slavery by Pharaoh in Egypt. God gets Moses to lead them out of bondage and through the Red Sea, and then they wander in the desert for 40 years. (There’s that number 40 again.) And while they’re out there, God gives Moses the Ten Commandments. And then later on, God gives them a whole bunch of other laws they need to follow. Like a lot of laws!
What is the purpose of those laws? The things we call the Law of Moses? You know, all that stuff about shellfish and the Sabbath and pots and pans and sacrifices of turtledoves. What’s the point of those? This is a very important question, which I will answer for you. The Law of Moses was intended to make the chosen people distinct and separate from their pagan neighbors. To differentiate them. Everyone around them was doing particular things like eating pork, and mixing fabrics, and working on the Sabbath. And also doing horrific things like sacrificing their first-born sons to their pagan gods. God’s wants us to see a different way of living. And so rather than sacrificing their first-born sons, God’s people sacrifice pigeons on behalf of their first born.
God wants the chosen people to be different from their neighbors, you see? And that is important for this reason: Following these laws does not change God. Following these laws changes God’s people. In obeying the commandments of God, the Israelites become different from their neighbors. Not for God’s sake, but for their own sake. God’s people are to be holy, which literally means to be set apart. That is the purpose of the Law of Moses. To set them apart.
But also, the purpose of the laws is not so that God can sort them out from their neighbors. The purpose is so that they can sort themselves out from their neighbors. So that they will know they are God’s people. God does not need to recognize who they are, but they need to recognize who they are. You remember when Moses is up with God on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments? And the people come to his brother Aaron with all their jewelry and ask him to make a bull out of it, and they bow down and worship it. And then God gets angry and sends Moses back down to yell at them.
Why is God angry with them? Because they broke the rules? No. Because they have forgotten who they are. They have become like their neighbors, worshipping a golden calf. That’s not what God’s people do. That’s not how God’s people act. That’s how their neighbors behave. But God’s people are different. God’s people are not like their child-sacrificing pagan neighbors. And when they act like their neighbors, it means they have forgotten their identity. They have forgotten who they are, and whose they are. And Moses smashes the Ten Commandments into pieces, and has to go back up the mountain and start over.
To be clear: God does not need the Law of Moses to recognize the chosen people. God already knows God’s chosen people. The point is to get them to know themselves as the chosen people. And clearly, it’s harder than it looks, right? Moses goes up the mountain, and before he can say “Ten Commandments,” they’re down there worshipping a golden calf they just made up. As we say in my favorite Eucharistic Prayer, “Again and again you called us into covenant with you.” God is always calling us back. Always looking for ways to help us recognize who we really are: God’s holy, chosen people.
So, again, why do Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the Temple forty days after his birth? To fulfill what is written in the Law. Not because God needs it. Not because Jesus needs it. But because Mary and Joseph need it. They need to be reminded of who they are. It doesn’t change God that they sacrifice two turtledoves. But it changes Mary and Joseph. Because it reminds them that they are among God’s chosen people. They are set apart from those who do not bring their first-born sons to the Temple. They are reminded of who they are, and whose they are.
And then there’s Simeon, whom also heard about. He is led by the Spirit to come to the Temple. The same Spirit who told him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. This is a man who lives by hope! With hope. In hope. He does not know when he will die, but he knows that the Messiah will come in his lifetime. And he will see the Messiah. It’s hard to even imagine the thrill he must feel at seeing Jesus. People have been waiting for generations to see the Messiah, and Simeon lives his days knowing that the Messiah will come during his lifetime. And he does!
And what does he do when he meets Jesus? He steps aside. It’s like the ultimate mic drop, you know? Like, my work here is done. Lord, 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 people. A light to the Gentiles (that’s us), and the glory of your people Israel. The Messiah has come, for everyone, and Simeon can now go in peace.
Simeon was set apart by God to be one who would see Jesus. That is his identity, his chosen purpose. And Mary and Joseph are astonished by this. And then Simeon blesses them, which is just beautiful. But then there’s also Anna. She is referred to as a prophet, and is 84 years old. Which would be ancient in those days. She also recognizes Jesus as the Messiah, and begins “to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” Another first-century evangelism chair, heads out to do God’s work in the world.
All these people in today’s Gospel, Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Anna, they all know their identity. They know who they are, and whose they are. And when they encounter Jesus, knowing who they are, everything changes. Just like for you and me. Knowing who Jesus is tells us who we are, and whose we are, and that changes everything.
You and I go through life with a lot of uncertainty . . . to say the least. Situations change, we lose those we love, relationships fall apart, disease and illness are never far from us, it seems. As the Collect says, we are constantly tossed about by the chances and changes of this life. But when we remember who we are, when we remember whose we are, when we remember our identity as God’s people, then everything is different. Not easier . . . but different. Because we have hope. Because we remember that we are not alone. Because our eyes have seen God’s salvation. And we too can go in peace, according to God’s word.
May God give us the grace to remember our identity: redeemed children of the one God, who makes all things new, who lifts up the lowly, who dismisses the servants in peace, according to God’s word. The one who sends us out, like Anna, to praise God, and to speak about the child, to all who are looking for redemption . . . which is, quite honestly, everyone we meet.
Amen.
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