HOMILY OF THE 4TH SUNDAY (PRESENTATION OF THE LORD) — YEAR C
HOMILY THEME: “And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek…”
BY: Bishop Anthony Ewherido
Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40
We celebrate the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, narrated in today’s gospel, a fulfilment of Malachi’s earlier prophecy (first reading). In addition to fulfilling the God injunctions (Lev 12:2-8; Exod 13:12), it also occasioned an epiphany, the manifestation of Jesus, the expected Messiah, as the salvation of God’s children, evidenced in Simeon’s prophetic exclamation and Anna’s witness.
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Simeon highlighted the fact that the child he held in his hands, Jesus, is God’s gift. He is the light to the Gentiles, and the glory of Israel. This gift was generated from Israel for the salvation of all. As we join the universal Church in the customary candle light blessing and procession, we must renew our resolve, not only to be led by Christ, our light, but also, be Christ’s light in our darkened and broken world. Christ illuminates us and commissions us to brighten our world with our light: “you are the light of the world” (Matt 5:14-16). We must also expunge the dark areas of our own lives (the darkness of sin) in order to shine more brightly. The feast reminds us that Jesus became one of us to free us from the fear of death by defeating death and offering us the light of eternal salvation. Luke’s story of the presentation of Our Lord also inspires faith in us through the characters mentioned, especially, Mary, Simeon and Anna. In Mary, we learn to understand how our lives may get more complicated because of the mission entrusted to us, and with her, our hearts are pierced with swords that bring us to sacrifice more for others and contemplate God’s ways in our hearts. With Simeon and Anna, we must learn to celebrate God’s goodness in our lives always, especially for making us beneficiaries of the saving grace that is made manifest in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the fullness of God’s graciousness to humanity; we must, like them, open our hearts to him, so we may receive our portion of the joy that his presence brings. May that joy fill our hearts to overflowing as we celebrate his manifestation and presence. Finally, we must teach all our children to surrender to God and to their parents just as Jesus did, so that they may grow in wisdom, in stature and in favor God and humanity. Again, let us be light. There is too much evil and darkness in the land.
Lord, light our way to life eternal. Amen.
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