A sermon/reflection for The Presentation of Christ (Candlemas)
The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany – Year B
The readings for this Sunday are those of Epiphany 3:
- Malachi 3. 1-5
- Psalm 24. 1-10
- Hebrews 2. 14-18
- Luke 2. 22-40
You might like to use the link below to find the above readings, and click on any of the reading above that you wish to use: http://www.katapi.org.uk/CommonWorship/CWLectionarySelV.php
Collect of the day
Let us first spend a few moments in silence to centre ourselves,
to gather ourselves in our souls,
to come before the Lord just as we are with our joys and sorrows,
our hopes and our fears, our loves and our pains.
Let us just focus our minds and hearts on Jesus
who is the answer for every problem.
Let us pray that the Spirit will work through our lives
to bring Christ to the world.
Silence is kept
Almighty and ever-living God,
clothed in majesty,
whose beloved Son was this day presented in the Temple,
in substance of our flesh:
grant that we may be presented to you
with pure and clean hearts
and may you make your home among us,
may we present ourselves pure and holy
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Amen.
Prayer before the Sermon
Loving Heavenly Father,
we thank you for the words you have given us today.
We know they are words of life and salvation.
Open our hearts Father,
touch our souls,
help us to respond to your word
and know that you are indeed our Lord and Saviour.
May we experience in our hearts
your love and your presence always.
Amen.
A homily based on the readings of today is given below:
Jesus, the Light of your Life and the Light of the Nations!
Introduction
Epiphany Period – time of the manifestation of Jesus to the world. Today’s reading emphasises another event in the life of Jesus that manifests and affirms Jesus as the Saviour of the world.
The Presentation, the Meeting and the Purification are then all names given to today’s Feast, but there is yet a fourth name – ‘Candlemas’ when candles are blessed today. In this country, Candlemas is connected with many popular sayings like: ‘If Candlemas be fair and bright, winter shall have another flight’. This means that if today’s weather is good, we shall have more cold and wintry weather before the Spring.
But what does this Feast mean for us today?
According to the Old Testament, the Jews were commanded to present their male children at the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after their Birth. This was to give thanks to God and pray for the mother and health of the child. The Christ-Child is only forty days old as Joseph and Mary presents him in the temple.
Since it is exactly forty days since Christmas, it is time for us to think about the last forty days and ask ourselves some questions:
With the story of Jesus’ presentation in the temple Luke brings his nativity narrative to an end. Today we see this man, Simeon, who is described as righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and a woman Anna, concerning whom Luke says: She did not depart from the temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day.
Simeon and Anna are two sincere seekers of Jesus. Their lives were spent in living in expectation for the coming of the Messiah, the Saviour of the world.
Simeon immediately recognizes in the child the fulfilment of the salvation God has promised, and with this recognition he knows that it is time for him to depart in peace.
The presentation of Jesus in the temple also foreshadows his later entrance into Jerusalem, where he will present himself to his Father upon the cross, as the true sacrifice for our salvation.
Simeon describes Jesus as a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory of thy people Israel.
Jesus is the one who fulfils all Israel’s hopes, and in doing so he will extend God’s offer of salvation to all peoples.
Jesus is the light from above, who enters into the darkness of human history to bring light into our world and our lives. Jerusalem and the temple are important for the Jews for the temple was the place where humanity encountered divinity, where God entered into our world. So Luke is telling us that now, in the child Jesus, we have the new temple, the place where God dwells with his people. It is to him that we must now present ourselves and our lives. He is the Living Temple with whom we can enter into communion.
What today can we present to Christ today?
In what condition do we present our souls to Christ? What has changed in our way of life since the Birth of Christ forty days ago? What progress has been made?
The problem is:
- Are we sincere seekers of Jesus like Simeon and Anna who found Jesus?
- Do we know and love Jesus Christ?
- Have we been converted to Jesus Christ?
- Have you accepted Christ as your Lord and Saviour?
Whatever our answers to these questions, on this, the Feast of the Presentation or the Meeting of Christ, one thing is certain: If we do not open our hearts to meet Christ, then we shall never meet Him.
That is why, Luke directs our gaze to the light of Christ.
We the Springline Parish is “Nine Churches, One Parish, Following Jesus.” The Presentation of Christ by Mary and Joseph in the Temple reminds us today to present our lives to God by following Jesus in a new way!
[Revd Dr ST Mattapally, Rector, Springline Parish, Diocese of Lincoln]
Pause to pray …
A Prayer you can say now:
Lord Jesus,
I believe you are the Son of God.
Thank you for becoming one of us.
Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins.
Thank you for rising from the dead
to give me hope and the gift of eternal life.
I repent of my sins
and invite you into heart and life
as my Lord and Saviour.
Please grant me your Holy Spirit
so that I may know you, love you
and follow you every day of my life.
Amen.