By Father Casey

It may have slipped past you yesterday, trapped as most of us were inside our homes due to the ice, but February 2 marks one of the most ancient and significant of all Christian holy days. And no, I’m not talking about Groundhog Day. I’m talking about the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus, also called Candlemas. It commemorates the events of Luke 2, when Joseph and Mary brought their infant son to the Temple in Jerusalem. There Mary performed a cleansing ritual prescribed by Torah for mothers 40 days after the birth of a son.

When they entered the Temple, they encountered Simeon, an elderly prophet awaiting the Messiah. He took the child from them and proclaimed

“Lord, you now have set your servant free
to go in peace as you have promised;
for these eyes of mine have seen the Savior,
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
a Light to enlighten the nations,
and the glory of your people Israel.”

In The Book of Common Prayer, those words are known as the Song of Simeon, and I say them to my daughters most nights at bedtime, being the conclusion to Compline. I commend them to you for your own evening prayers, if you are seeking a way to bring more peace and hope to the close of your day.

We will honor the Feast of the Presentation this Sunday with an Evensong at 5:00. In addition to gorgeous music, we will lean heavily into the theme of light and perform the tradition of blessing candles. There will be candles everywhere, lighting the altar, reredos, aisle, and Gathering Space. They are symbols of the light given to the world in Christ, whom no darkness can overcome.

And his marvelous light fills us, too. That very same baby presented in the Temple and acclaimed by Simeon and Anna grew up, and in his most famous sermon (which we’re hearing on Sundays right now) Jesus declared, “You are the light of the world…No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others.”

He is the light of the world, and through him, so are you. Fragile as we may be, flawed as we all are, we are the vessels through which God’s light shines into a darkened world. So pray, friends, pray that the flame of Christ’s love will glow brightly in you, and then bring it out from under that bushel basket, so it can give light to all you meet.

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