Feb 2 2019 Feast of the Presentation

God, you can now release your servant; release me in peace as you promised. With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;

Today we celebrate the presentation of Christ. Counting on a calendar, today is the 40th day past Christmas, the day a new baby would be brought to the temple to be presented to God. To be clear, I have no illusions that it was February 2 precisely. Rather, I believe it happened at some point, and today is as good as any to remember it.

When Jesus is brought to the Temple, there are a few old temple regulars hanging around, including Anna and Simeon. Simeon recognizes the baby is the Christ. He thanks God for letting him see God’s salvation with his own eyes, and acknowledges that now he can depart in peace. He continues by predicting that Jesus will be misunderstood, contradicted, and eventually will cause Mary much pain, but will be a light for all nations.

Today, I’m feeling the shock of his parents. These strangers recognize and profess their tiny baby’s greatness and burden – his amazing role in the world’s salvation, but how it will hurt and be hard.

Isn’t that how we should all respond, when we recognize Christ in our midst? Christ in the stranger, the infant, the addict, the orphan? Shouldn’t we be speechless at the holiness in each other? Saddened by the burdens and pain in each other? Awe-struck at the promise and salvation in each other?

It was at a church service commemorating the Feast of the Presentation that I first was nudged or pursued by God towards becoming an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church. It involved a visual and auditory experience of God in the middle of the service, that I’d never had before, and haven’t had since. If it hadn’t happened to me, I’d be sure the story was crazy and made up. Apparently, God’s more subtle cues were going unnoticed. So on this Feast of the Presentation, God made sure I was presented with an undeniable experience of God.

Lord, let me go in peace, according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation.