The Presentation of our Lord

This evening we celebrate a feast known as Candlemas which falls each year on February 2nd, forty days after Christmas. On this day Christ was presented in the temple, and the Virgin Mary went there to observe the rites of purification. When this time was fulfilled, the mother was to make a sacrifice for her own impurity, and for the sake of the child. This was prescribed by the ceremonial Law which God gave to the children of Abraham at Mt. Sinai (see Leviticus 12:2-8). While this particular festival does not loom as large in significance to many Christians, the theological importance of Christ’s presentation at the Temple, Mary’s fulfillment of the Law of Purification, the meeting with Simeon and Anna, and the words of Simeon to Mary and the Nunc Dimittis are essential to appreciating the Humiliation of the Son of God when He became man to fulfill the Law and suffer for us. Today we gather to consider these events and what they mean for our lives.