{"id":1001,"date":"2020-01-26T18:08:06","date_gmt":"2020-01-26T18:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/?p=1001"},"modified":"2020-01-26T18:08:06","modified_gmt":"2020-01-26T18:08:06","slug":"2-february-2020-the-presentation-of-the-lord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/?p=1001","title":{"rendered":"2 February 2020 The Presentation of the Lord"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>A. THE BIBLE as Guide in Life and Liturgy (Sunday\nReadings)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>B. Reflection &amp; Dialogue: Jesus the light of the\nworld; a sign that will be rejected.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A. The Bible as Guide in Life and Liturgy (Feast Day Readings)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>First Reading<\/em> (Malachi 3:1-4). <em>The Lord you are\nseeking will suddenly enter his Temple<\/em>. The present reading may be\nunderstood all the better when placed within its original biblical context in\nthe book of Malachi. The name Malachi in Hebrew means \u201cmy messenger\u201d, and in\n3:1 God says: \u201cI shall send my messenger (malachi) to clear a way before me\u201d.\nIt may be that the title of the work comes from here, so that we do not know\nthe name of its real author. The date of the work is also quite uncertain, possibly\nsome time in the fifth century B.C. The work is composed of six passages\nsimilar in construction, in each of which God, or his prophet, makes a\nstatement which is disputed by priests or people. After this a discourse\nfollows in which threat and a promise of salvation are given side by side. The\nsixth and last of these passages is 2:17-3:21 in which the people are\nrepresented as wearying the Lord with the following complain: \u201cAny evil-doer is\ngood as far as the Lord is concerned; indeed he is\u201d, and their further\nstatement: \u201cWhere is the God of fair judgment now?\u201d Their complaint is not born\nof cynicism, but the anguished cry of those who want to live in a world where\ngood and not evil is paramount. God replies that he will act. He will send a\nmessenger to purify the priesthood and the Temple. He takes note of their\ncomplaint and writes the names of his faithful ones in a book of remembrance.\nThe triumph of the upright will come with the Day of the Lord, when the\ndifference between the good and the wicked will be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Today\u2019s\nbrief reading was part of that original setting. In keeping with the feast we\ncelebrate its chief interest is in the sudden visit of the Lord to his Temple,\nthe Temple that is his own. In the opening section mention is made of the\ncoming of the Lord, of his messenger, of the angel of the covenant. In keeping\nwith an Old Testament phrase the two latter, messenger and angel (the Hebrew\nhas the same word for both) may be another respectful way of saying \u201dthe Lord\u201d,\nas the words \u201cthe angel of the Lord\u201d do occasionally in the book of Exodus. The\nLord comes to purify his Temple and its priesthood (the sons of Levi), so that\ntheir offering to the Lord will be as it should be, welcomed by the Lord as in\nearlier days when the city and Temple were holy. As announced in this Old\nTestament passage, the Lord\u2019s refining visit will be severe, like a refiner\u2019s\nfire and fuller\u2019s alkali. The visit of the Infant Jesus, in the arms of his\nmother Mary, was quite different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Responsorial Psalm <\/em>(Psalm 23[24]). <em>Who is the king\nof glory? It is the Lord<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Second Reading <\/em>(Hebrews 2:14-18). <em>It was essential\nthat he should in this way become completely like his brothers<\/em>. The message\nof this reading is clear, and in keeping with the theme of the feast we are\ncelebrating. Jesus is one of our own, a member of the human race. Jesus did not\nassume the nature of angels, but rather descent from Abraham, a member of God\u2019s\nchosen people. It was central to God\u2019s plan that Jesus, his Son, should by his\nlife be a leader and an example to all his followers in the road to salvation.\nJesus is our brother, and it was fitting that he could be like us his brothers\nand sisters in all things, sin excepted, so that he could be a compassionate\nand trustworthy high priest in the presence of God. During his life on earth\nand at his passion he was tempted and suffered. He understood the desires,\nambitions and weaknesses of human nature. Now as high priest in heaven he still\nunderstands them. He understands those who are a success in life, and those who\nfail miserably. He can help both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Gospel <\/em>(Luke 2:22-40). <em>My eyes have seen your\nsalvation<\/em>. This text tells us of the life of pious Jews in Christ\u2019s day and\nlooks forward to a new age through Christ\u2019s coming. Although Paul, as apostle\nto the gentiles, broke with the Jewish law, he understood the role that this\nplayed in God\u2019s plan, and Jesus\u2019 respect for this. As he wrote to the\nGalatians: \u201cWhen the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a\nwoman, born under the Law\u201d (Galatians 4:4). Luke stresses the fidelity of\nJesus\u2019 family, Mary and Joseph, to the observance of the rites of this Law.\nAccording to the Law of Moses a mother was to have herself purified forty days\nafter childbirth. This is the basis for the present celebration. Another\nprovision of the Mosaic Law was that the firstborn male was to be consecrated\nto the Lord. Mary and Joseph did this on the same occasion, offering the gifts\nof the poor \u2013 a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. At the end of this\nreading Luke notes again the fidelity of Jesus\u2019 family to the Law: When they\nhad done everything that the Law of the Lord required they returned to Galilee\nand Nazareth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; From the\nhuman point of view few would have paid any attention to this simple event in\nthe Temple. It needed prophetic intervention to bring out the symbolism of the\noccasion. Malachi\u2019s prophecy, of the first reading, spoke of the visit the Lord\nwas to pay to his Temple. The Temple was a symbol at all ages of Israel\u2019s\nhistory of God\u2019s relation with his chosen people, an age that from one point of\nview was soon to be past history in view of the new beginning that the Child\nJesus ushered in. Few would have paid attention to that visit of Mary and\nJoseph, with the child Jesus to the Temple. There were two there, however, who\nunderstood its significance through special inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the\nprophet Simeon and the prophetess Anna. Both were waiting for the fulfilment of\nthe prophecies on the hope of Israel, especially as seen through the Servant Songs\nof the book of Isaiah. Simeon and Anna had different terms for this hope: for\nSimeon the Messiah, or the Christ, of the Lord, the Light of Israel, salvation;\nfor Anna the deliverance of Jerusalem. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit\nSimeon announces that Jesus is a light to enlighten the pagans and the Glory of\nGod\u2019s people Israel. He tells Mary, mother of the child, that her son is\ndestined for the fall and the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign\nthat is to be rejected. Thus in this simple ceremony in the Temple, in which\nGod visited his people, we have in advance a sign for the life of Jesus and the\nhistory of the Church for most ages: Jesus, a sign of God\u2019s love for humanity,\nbut is a sign that will be rejected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>B. Reflection &amp; Dialogue: <em>Jesus the light of the\nworld; a sign that will be rejected<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today\u2019s Scripture readings give ample material for personal\nand communal reflection on matters relating to dialogue with certain sections\nof the society of our own day. One thinks particularly of the word of the\nprophet Simeon to Mary, mother of Jesus, concerning her Son as a sign to be\nspoken against or even rejected. Jesus is the light of the world. He is the\ngood shepherd who came to give life to the individual and the world, and to\ngive it abundantly. He sent forth his apostles, and all his followers, to the\nsalt of the earth and the light of the world. Jesus\u2019 teaching and general\nmessage is held in high regard today, even by many who believe neither in the\nChurch nor even in God. But even during his own lifetime, and throughout Church\nhistory and in our own day there is often expressed a venomous hatred of the\nChurch, her teaching, with efforts being made to remove her influence in public\nlife. While it can be granted that the scandals within the Church are part of\nthis opposition and hatred, quite often these are only taken as an excuse to\noppose revealed teaching and the Church\u2019s loyalty to Christ. While all sin,\npast and present, within the Church must be admitted and regretted, at the same\ntime it is good to recall that Jesus himself was a sign to be spoken against or\neven rejected, and his followers should be prepared for similar treatment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A. THE BIBLE as Guide in Life and Liturgy (Sunday Readings) B. Reflection &amp; Dialogue: Jesus the light of the world; a sign that will be rejected. A. The Bible &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sunday-readings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1001"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1002,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1001\/revisions\/1002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}