Is It Still Night or Has the Day Begun?”

Today – we commemorate the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the Temple, forty days after he was born. According to the Jewish Law, the first-born male child of every family should be consecrated to the Lord. So, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple, to offer Him to the Father and to “redeem” or ransom Him back, so to speak, by paying what was required by the law… Mary and Joseph paid at the price paid by the poor.

At the same time, the Law required the child’s mother to offer sacrifice in order to overcome the ritual impurity brought about by childbirth.

Jesus, the Son of God, in essence, is already consecrated to the Lord – not subject to the law of Moses, yet to teach obedience, submits to it.
Mary, who is all-pure, immaculately conceived, yet in humility, still presented herself to be purified. Such is the humility of our God. Such is the humility of the Blessed Mother Mary. They submitted to the law even though they were not bound by it.

The Presentation of the Lord concludes the Christmas season celebration of the Nativity – the Incarnation of God – God becoming one of us in the flesh - and with the presentation of the Lord – with the offerings of the Virgin Mother and the prophecy of Simeon, the events now point towards Easter.

Simeon called Jesus the Light of the Nations including the Gentiles and so the image of Christ as the Light has led to the celebration of light countering darkness, and that is why we have the blessing of candles on this day. This day is also called Candlemas.

In the Eastern Church, this feast is called the Feast of the Encounter – meaning, this is the first encounter of the Old Testament, represented by Simeon and Anna and the Temple, - with the New Testament, represented by the Lord. Jesus is presented in the Temple following the ancient Jewish laws. In the New Law of the Kingdom of God, Jesus' own body would become the New Temple.

The word Christ means “Anointed One”. When we were baptized in Christ, we were also presented and consecrated to God when we were anointed with sacred chrism and became members of God’s Holy People. Like Jesus, we belong to God the Father.

At baptism, we received the light of Christ – and therefore we are also called to be the Light of the World like Christ, light that will guide others on their journey through life.

In the Gospel of Matthew 5:16 – “Let your light so shine before all, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

At baptism, we also presented our children to God. The children that we have are not really ours. They are given to us, in trust, for a time, and we are asked to be mothers and fathers, mentors, guardians, protectors, teachers and friends to our children but they are never really our children. They belong to God.

If we understand this, we will be less inclined to act as owners of our children, to manipulate our children for our own needs.

In the image of Joseph and Mary presenting Jesus in the Temple, we have a wonderful model of husband and wife united in practicing their faith and in raising their child in the faith. Beautiful 

Meaning - as parents, we have the duty and privilege of raising our children in such a way that they grow up to become good and responsible citizens as well as committed children of God.

 The example of Joseph and Mary show us that the best way to achieve this is not just by talking and not shouting at our children but by leading the way and showing them by the example of our own lives.

 Our life is not just for ourselves. We are called to be a gift for others, a gift that leads them to God. This is the greatest thing about our life: We are called to give life… as Mary gave birth to Jesus. We are called to give birth to Christ. We are called to participate in the fruitfulness of God. We give life by enlightening others.

 When is a candle most beautiful? It is when it is lit… when it gives light – the very purpose why it was made.

It is the same with our Christian life… as St. Irenaeus said: “The glory of God is a person fully alive.” – it is when we live our lives for the purpose we were created.

Mark Twain said: The two most important days in our lives are: First – the day we were born. The second is: The day we realize why – why we were born.

As the candle gives light, it becomes smaller – it dies to self – so to speak. It is the same with our Christian life – we die to ourselves as we share the light of Christ with others.

St. John the Baptist said pointing to Christ: “He must increase as I must decrease.” - meaning – we give light to others so that they, too can encounter Jesus Himself – who is the Source of our light – so that others, too may have the light of Christ in their lives.

We help other people come to the light by starting with ourselves by trying sincerely to be united with the One Who is the Light and by not fearing to show people the truth - Jesus is the Truth. The light shed by our lives produces a real effect in souls.

The question to us is this: Can we become more aware that we too are called to be the light of the world - that we too are part of this story of salvation?

Of course, we cannot give what we do not have. We cannot shed light if we ourselves are in darkness … if we do not have Christ in our lives… So do you have a personal relationship with Christ?

One parish minister said: “I am burned out”. Another minister replied: “I did not even know you were even lit.”

Every time we gather for our Eucharistic celebration here in the church, like Simeon and Ana in the temple, the House of God, we encounter Christ, and we recognize Him in the breaking of the bread, our Bread of Life.
… and this is very important to realize – that we also encounter one another. We are a blessing to one another. So, do we see each other as a blessing to one another?The meeting between Joseph, Mary and Simeon and Anna – is a blessing to both generations. Just like our gathering now here in our Eucharistic celebration….
– look around – various generations – the young and the old – and different countries and from different cultures …

- The Youth are graced by the wisdom of the living faith of the older generations and the elders are graced by the trust and promise of the youth.

 Each one of us…. All of us….who gather here in the church for our Eucharistic celebration are a blessing to one another… because we are all beloved sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters in Christ, co-heirs with Christ of the kingdom of God.

There is a story told of a rabbi in ancient times who gathered his students together very early one morning, while it was still dark. He put this question to them: "How can you tell when night has ended and the day has begun?"

 One student made a suggestion: "Could it be when you can see an animal from a distance and you can tell whether it is a sheep or a goat?"

"No, that's not it," answered the rabbi.

Another student said: "Could it be when you look at a tree in the distance and you can tell whether it is a fig tree or a peach tree?"

Again, the rabbi said: "No."

After a few more guesses, the students asked: "Well, how then can you tell when night has ended and the day has begun?"

The rabbi answered: "It is when you look on the face of any man or any woman and you see them as your brother or sister. If you cannot do this, then, no matter what time it is under the sun, it is still night."

Now, turn to the people around you and look on each other’s faces – especially on those faces other than of your family members. Look on each other’s faces.

Now - What do you see? Is it still night? … or has the day begun?

God bless…