Today’s feast is celebrated every year,
but it only falls on Sunday every once in a while.
The formal name is the “Presentation of the Lord”;
Another name is “Candlemas,” because of the candles of course.
But why candles?
On one level it’s kind of obvious:
Jesus comes to the temple, and he is the Light of the World.
But let’s you and I drill down on that, shall we?
When Jesus was born, he looked like any other baby.
When the Apostles met him, they encountered a man like them.
Jesus ate and drank, he worked and got tired and had to rest.
Then, on one occasion,
Jesus took Peter, James and John up a mountain,
and he was, quote, “transfigured” before their eyes.
The Gospels say that he was brilliantly bright.
The apostles fell to the ground;
maybe the sight scorched their eyes?
In other words, in that moment,
they saw, as much as human eyes could see,
what it really means to say Jesus is “the Light of the World.”
You and I don’t dare stare at the sun – it sears our eyes.
And yet Jesus, our Lord, is vastly more luminous,
more full of power and fire!
All the suns and stars and galaxies are but a little candle next to him!
When we say, “a Light for revelation” came into the temple…
Realize how intense and awesome that Light truly was!
If the sun in our sky could somehow enter this church,
maybe that gives a sense of it.
But consider what happened in the temple that day.
God chose not to give that kind of sign.
Instead, it was the eyes of faith – Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna –
That saw the Infinite Light of Jesus.
And that’s how it works for you and me.
This is as good a time as any to remind you that it’s time
to make our own commitments to the Catholic Ministries Appeal.
By now you should have gotten a mailing about it.
You know the projects it pays for:
Caring for our retired priests;
Caring for the poor and needy;
Supporting a Catholic presence in prisons, hospitals and colleges;
Supporting our seminary and our vocations programs, and more.
There are cards and envelopes in the pews, if you need one.
Your pledge, like one candle, may not seem like much,
But united to Christ and all our candles, it is a bright light!
There’s something else here, and it has to do with Jesus’ priesthood.
The first reading describes the Lord coming to purify the temple,
and to offer a pure, all-powerful sacrifice worthy of God.
This is a foreshadowing of what would happen on Good Friday;
And what is made present in every single Mass.
It is not too strong to say that right here, right now, we are there.
Every single Mass, you and I are there,
with Jesus, offering himself as the Lamb of God.
So: are you and I like most people in that temple that day,
Ho-hum, nothing special?
Or, are do we see as Simeon and Anna, recognizing the Lord is here?
I know, you might be frustrated because you try,
yet with kids and diaper bags and the cares of daily life,
it seems impossible to do more than to “get through” Mass.
If that’s you; if you’re harried and hassled, my word for you is this:
Just be here and trust Him.
His light is here, and he will shine on you, in you, and it’ll happen.
Not in a day; not on our timetable; but in his time.
Present yourself to the Lord and let him accept that offering.
But you’ll be a glorious saint one day. He’ll do it, not you.
Or, maybe you’re here, and you think, boring!
I don’t like this music; this homily is no good!
I don’t like the people sitting around me…
My answer is: you’re right: everything is awful!
Twelve years ago, I made a trip to the Holy Land.
And I was able to offer Holy Mass at Calvary! At the Empty Tomb!
As far as Mass goes, on this side of heaven, that’s as good as it gets.
Still, you know what?
People were coming and going, it was crowded and often rushed.
Before you know it, we had to move on to the next stop.
I will never forget that trip to the Holy Land, and yet:
Right here, right now, it’s every bit as real and holy,
because the Light of the World, Jesus our High Priest,
Comes here at every single Mass and fills this temple with his glory.
And whether that light fills the temple of your life is up to you.
