Jesus the Light of the World

 

Deacon Dave · Jesus the Light of the World

Homily for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Feb. 2, 2025. Gospel of St. Luke 2:22-40. Theme: Jesus the Light of the World 

 Today we observe the Presentation of the Infant Jesus, a liturgical celebration that dates all the way back to the Third Century. In times past, the Presentation of the Lord marked the end of the then much-longer Christmas Season because it is the last time in the Bible that we are told about Jesus as a baby. Today’s feast was also known by a secondary title, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, because along with the baby-dedication ceremony there was also a mandatory Jewish ritual of cleansing a woman spiritually after childbirth. 

 On the surface level, the Presentation of the Lord recalls the time when the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph took their 40-day old Child to the Jerusalem Temple to dedicate Him to God. But it was also the fulfilment of God’s Promise to Israel that His Glory (which means His Presence) would one day return to the Temple to purify it and rededicate it to true worship. To understand this, we need to know a little bit about the backstory. You see, at the time of King Solomon, which was about a thousand years before the birth of Christ, God’s Glory first entered the Temple. The people saw this happen when fire descended from the sky and entered into the sanctuary. This manifestation of the Lord's Presence remained there for centuries but left the Temple after the Jews persisted in worshiping idols instead of the One True God. At that time, the prophet Ezekiel saw the Glory depart from the temple. This leaving and returning of the Divine Presence is what the prophet Malachi is referring to in today’s First Reading. S

o that’s the liturgical and historical background of today’s feast in Judaism. But it also has an additional spiritual meaning for us Christians. This can be found in the words which the elderly Simeon proclaimed as he took the Baby Jesus into his arms, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, called Him the light of revelation to the Gentiles. This meant that Jesus the Messiah had come for all people and not just for Israel. To better appreciate what this title of Christ as the “Light” meant to the people of his time, we have to recall that they did not live in an artificially and constantly illuminated world as we do. 

 There were no street lights nor home electrical systems in those days. We take light for granted in our times and only feel the vulnerability of darkness when we have to endure long-term power outages. But they lived much of their time in darkness dependent upon fires, torches and candles. And so they knew from experience that darkness meant the threat of harm because danger loomed potentially around any corner. So to such people light was a very positive symbol! It was a huge blessing and a welcomed advantage! It meant safety because you could see who was around you and where you were going without losing direction. Light meant safety because criminals would not act up when they could be so easily seen. 

 Jesus is the spiritual Light of the world. His words and actions show us the clear way to live and act. His teachings scatter the darkness of error, dispel the clouds of confusion and lift the fog of superstition. The Light of Christ reveals the real inner truth of things that might look good and desirable to us on the outside, such as some lifestyles that are presented as beautiful, affirming and life giving. But in reality they inject spiritual poison into those who embrace them and shroud them in spiritual darkness. If we turn away Christ and extinguish the light of Faith in our lives we are in danger of harming ourselves because we have chosen to stumble through life on our own, trying to find our way through the darkness. 

 Because the Presentation hails Christ as the Light of the world, the use of candles to celebrate it arose in Jerusalem in the Fourth century. We know this from the journal of a Spanish pilgrim named Egeria, who attended a Presentation Procession in Jerusalem in the year 380 AD. Then during the early Middle Ages the custom arose of blessing candles on today’s feast, carrying them in procession at Mass, and then taking them home to use in personal devotion. This gave rise to nicknaming today’s feast Candlemas, which means Mass of theCandles. 

 Candles are a powerful symbol for the Presence of Christ. They spread warm light in a darkened room. They glow with a gentle light that can bring calmness to the soul and when scented they fill the air with a pleasant aroma. In power outages a candle can become the place where we gather with one another in safety. All of these attributes of a candle can also be applied to Jesus. He enables us to focus on what is important and true; His Presence brings calmness to the soul and His goodness is like a fragrant scent that gets our attention and attracts us to follow Him. Even the physical composition of a candle can speak to us about Christ if we look upon the wax as correlating to His body, the wick to His soul, and the flame as a reminder of His divinity. 

 When we were baptized we received a blessed candle to symbolize the spiritual light of Christ. We were invited to keep this spiritual flame burning brightly and to walk by its light. We were told to allow it to guide our choices and steps through life until the day when the Lord would come to bring us home to Heaven. How have we been doing with this? Are our baptismal lights still shining brightly?