FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD

1st Reading          Malachi 3: 1-4

Psalm                     24:7. 8. 9. 10 (R. cf. 10bc)

R:// "The Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory!"

2nd Reading      Hebrews 2: 14-18

Gospel                 Luke 2: 22-40

TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION IN FAITH AND VALUES

Beloved, today is not only a Sunday, but it is also the first Sunday of February 2025. We just need to thank God for leading us through the previous month and ushering us into a new month. We ask him to continue to guide and protect us similarly. Additionally, February, in the Catholic Church, is dedicated to devotion to the Holy Family. Just last year, December 29, 2024, we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Family. In February, we dedicate a whole month to drawing lessons from the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This is very important so that we begin to relook at our families and the spiritual build-up of our families. Moreover, this month of the Holy Family will aid us in focusing on our families, including the formation and upbringing of children, taking not only their physical, psychological, and health needs into account but also prioritizing their spirituality. That is where we set off for today's grand celebration of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. 

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is clearly accounted for by the Gospel passage of today from Luke 2: 22-40. We hear of the parents of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, presenting Jesus to God in the Temple. This is according to the Law of Moses. Jesus' presentation strikes a chord as to his introduction to the Temple and its business. We are not surprised that he loved the Temple, and his whole life revolved around it. He will be missing for three days and be found in the Temple listening to the teachers and asking questions. He will be seen driving out thieves from the Temple and restoring justice there. Further, we will find him going to the Temple to offer sacrifice and to worship. Simply, he never departed from what his parents introduced him to. His life makes the maxim true that "train up a child in a way you would want him to go so that when he grows, he would not depart from it". The kind of training we give to the younger ones today will reflect their way of behaviour tomorrow. If young ones today have taken to immoral life, it certainly did not start today. It started in a little way, and no one seemed to mind. If young ones stay at home on a Sunday without attending Holy Mass or prefer to go to other churches, it is because, in the past, the training was somewhat defective.

Now, let us turn to the first reading from Malachi 3:1-4. Malachi is actually the last book of the Old Testament. Therefore, this book gently leads the reader from the Old Testament into the New Testament, and one can easily see connections to attest to that fact. The book of Malachi is basically about the attitude of the Israelites after the building of the Temple in 515 BC upon their return from exile in Babylon. Instead of turning to true worship so that they do not fall back into exile, they soon did not care about the Worship of God, the priests became unfaithful, and the men divorced their Israelite women and took to marrying pagan women. In fact, they disregarded God and his worship. That is where we have the first reading for today, from Chapter 3, the last chapter. 

The author says, "I am sending my messenger" (Mal. 3:1). This designation resonates with the author's name. Malachi is from the Hebrew word "mal’aki", and it means my messenger/my angel. Who is this person? It is certainly not the author. The messenger "will prepare the way of before me" (Mal. 3:1). This will precede the day of the Lord's coming (Mal. 3:2). Notice that in Malachi 3: 23, the Lord said, "Now I am sending to you Elijah the Prophet, before the day of the Lord comes". We could then associate the messenger of Malachi with Elijah. Nowhere else do we hear the coming of Elijah than in the New Testament, in Matthew the next book after Malachi. In Matthew 3: 3, there was a man who was "a voice crying out in the desert, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths'" (also cf. Matthew 11: 10-14). This is John the Baptist. If John the Baptist is the identified messenger, then it makes it clear for us to see that the Lord who will come after him will be Jesus the Messiah. 

Beloved, this Messiah, Jesus, "the Lord whom you seek" is coming to his TEMPLE. In the light of the Messiah, this resonates with the Feast we celebrate today; The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. The Lord's presence in the Temple would not only be a customary demand, but his presence would mean the sanctification of the Temple whose business is totally disregarded. According to Jewish Law (Lev. 12: 2-4), a woman was considered ritually unclean for 40 days after giving birth to a male child. What was going on in the Temple was first a cleansing for Mary. However, according to Exodus 13: 2, 12-15, every firstborn ought to be dedicated to the Lord. Jesus is the one who opens the womb and therefore should be presented to the Lord.

Another detail we should focus on from Malachi is the mention of "... the Lord of hosts" (Mal. 3:1). The word "hosts" is rendered in Hebrew as tsaba'. It is the word from which we get Sabaoth. This description of the Lord makes him a warrior. This is a martial language. We should not understand this in terms of a literal war or military conquest. Rather, we should understand this within the domain of purification and refinement. This process is necessary because sin has taken over the land, and the people cannot approach the Temple unless they are cleaned from evil. This purification will be a battle between good and evil. If the priests are themselves unclean as a result of disregarding their primal duty and focusing on what is unclean, who then will engage in the process of the ritual cleansing? The Lord himself has to do that. He has to turn the people back to the good. That is the context in which we should situate the second reading from Hebrews 2: 14-18, "...that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life... therefore, he had to become like his brothers in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people". 

In fact, according to Malachi, he will refine or purify with his presence, which is like the refiner's fire, like fuller's soap. The Hebrew word for soap is borith. That sounds much like the Hebrew word for covenant, berith. The Lord will lead us back to the Covenant, the arrangement that tells of our good relationship with God. He shall remind us of what and how the true worship of God is like. The Lord, Jesus', presence in the Temple will not only purify the Temple but also those who enter it. We need then to decipher between true worship and false worship. 

This has much to do for us today, especially our families. We need to begin to acknowledge that the action of Mary and Joseph was in the right direction. Their action teaches how to worship truly and faithfulness to the covenant. We could begin to introduce and reintroduce our families to true worship through a fruitful and consistent prayer life and by paying attention to the spiritual and moral upbringing of the younger members of the family. 

Peace and Goodness