Presentation of the Lord

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is one of the major feasts in the church year. It is also known as Candlemas or the Feast of the Purification, and is celebrated forty days after Christmas and commemorates the presentation of Jesus and the purification of Mary in the Jerusalem temple. What does this feast signify? It teaches us a few things:

Firstly, this feast reminds us of the Consecration of the Lord. Joseph and Mary took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. It was an act of consecration, to acknowledge and to thank the Lord for the gift of life, and to dedicate the child’s whole life to God. According to ancient Jewish tradition, every firstborn male, whether a son or an animal, belongs to God. In the case of the firstborn son, he must be ransomed or bought back. This custom is to remind the Isrealites that God delivered them from slavery by slaying every firstborn Egyptian male. Jesus is the firstborn male child of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and so He was consecrated to God and "ransomed" as required by the custom. Also, this feast reminds us of the purification of the mother in Jewish law. This was purification from ritual uncleanness after childbirth. Though Our Lady did not need this purification because she was a virgin before, during and after the birth of Jesus, she underwent it anyway to fulfil the law. In a way, when we were baptised, we too were consecrated and dedicated to God.

Secondly, this feast reminds us that Jesus is the light of all nations. We celebrate this feast of the Candlemas (a Mass with Candles) to remind us that Jesus is the light that has come into this world to give us light. Simeon in today's Gospel said that Jesus is "the light for revelation to the Gentiles." Jesus is the light that the world needs, as the world is enveloped with darkness. Just as Jesus is the light of all nations, we too are called by Jesus to be lights to others, by our personal example, as well as through our good words and deeds.

Thirdly, this feast reminds us that Jesus is a sign of contradiction. Simeon also prophesied that Jesus is a "sign that will be contradicted" or a sign that will be opposed. Throughout His ministry, Jesus met much opposition from the leaders of Israel. Such opposition lead to persecution and ultimately, his death. Likewise, we too should be prepared to be a sign of contradiction to the ways of the world, and be prepared to face opposition, persecution and even death.

The world today is faced with all sorts of fear and hopelessness. May we radiate the light of hope that comes from Jesus. May our lives serve as a candle that shares the light of hope that comes from Jesus Christ to others. May we also present ourselves to God, and diligently, persistently, and consistently be a sign of contradiction to the ways of the world, and do our part in preaching the ways of Christ. In all our efforts, may we give God the glory.

Presentation of the Lord

Malaysia is a melting-pot of different ethnic groups. Even within some ethnic groups, there is a further breakdown according to language dialect and place of origin. For example, among the Chinese, we have different language dialects which are spoken such as Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew and Cantonese, though the written word among these dialects is about the same. Even among people who for example call themselves Hokkien or Hakka, there are differences in traditions, customs and practices which have been passed down from one generation to the next and many Chinese children would have been taught from a young age on how to observe and keep alive such traditions, customs and practices.

The Gospel today also tells us about keeping traditions, and in this case, Jewish traditions. Mary and Joseph kept the traditions of the Law of the Lord. They took Jesus up to Jerusalem to consecrate Jesus to the Lord since He was their firstborn, and also for the purpose of purification. By doing so, we are then introduced to Simeon and Anna, who had waited long until they finally set eyes on the Christ of the Lord, the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

We too have an obligation to keep the tradition of the Law of the Lord. In our case, that tradition is the Sunday Mass. Keeping our tradition by coming for Mass every Sunday may not be always exciting and inspiring, but it is necessary and beneficial for us, as we are being nourished both physically and spiritually by the Eucharist. Are we willing to be faithful and consistent in keeping our tradition of the Law of the Lord, so that we could grow closer to Him and He could nourish and care for us?

Presentation of the Lord

Many of us spend a lot of time waiting. We wait for the baby to be born, we wait for our children to grow up and be independent, we wait for our retirement, we also have to wait for people who are late, we wait for the bus or train and whatever. But many a times, whatever we are waiting for shows up sooner or later.

In today’s Gospel, we see Simeon and Anna waiting, they had waited for a long time, and finally their hope was fulfilled. When Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, God's ancient promise of sending a Saviour was fulfilled with the presentation of Jesus in the Temple. God has come to save His people and the blessing and lighting of candles and the procession is to symbolise that the light of salvation is already shining on the Church and on the world. The light of salvation is shining and yet we still wait. We wait for the day we can finally be with the Lord eternally.

Until we are finally together again with the Lord, let us, like Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna, wait for the Lord in prayer and be ready to do His will when He calls.