The Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple is a holy day in Epiphany. It is also known as Candlemas because traditionally Christians brought their candles to church to be blessed on this day. This reminded them throughout the coming year that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. It is one of the Church's oldest holy days or feasts and based on Luke's account of Mary and Joseph presenting Jesus in the temple on the 40th day after his nativity (Luke 2:22-40). Additional scripture readings for this holy day include Malachi 3:1, "Then the Lord who you seek, will suddenly come to his temple."
By the time Jesus was born, this prophecy from Malachi was a treasured promise to the people of Israel. They had not known the presence of the Lord in his temple since the days of Solomon. Having known only war, oppression and defeat, they anticipated the Lord to be a kingly savior who filled the temple with overwhelming power. However, this final holy day in Epiphany reveals our Lord and Savior much differently: a tiny baby from an obscure background presented in an ordinary ritual of the Law. He did come "suddenly", but most did not recognize him.
Forty days after Jesus' birth Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem. To fulfill the requirements of the Law, they had to redeem their firstborn son with an animal sacrifice and complete Mary's ritual of purification. They presented two turtledoves to God for this sacrifice because they were not rich enough to bring a lamb. Little did they know that Mary's son would soon present himself as the perfect Lamb of God in order to fulfill all requirements of the Law and redeem mankind.
People brought babies into the temple all the time, so this ritual of redemption and purification happened without fanfare or fuss. The Lord just came–-the child Jesus in the arms of his parents. However, two people did recognize the Lord when he arrived: Simeon and Anna. These two had long awaited the redemption of Israel with humility and prayer. These old saints were filled with joy when God allowed them to see his promised one. The Lord whom they had faithfully sought "suddenly" came to his temple. They had eyes to see because they had been seeking him all along. Let us likewise constantly, humbly seek him. And when he comes into our heart, quietly and without fanfare, let us receive him with expectant joy.
