Daily Reflections ...

This feast celebrates the ceremony that was typical for Jews in the first century: presenting their firstborn son at the Temple. But Jesus was not only the firstborn son of Mary, but also the only begotten son of God. So, his first coming to the Temple of Jerusalem was momentous.  

The Temple in Jerusalem was the place where God dwelt. Now, in a sense, there were two places where God could be encountered: the Temple, and the person of Jesus. The feast of the Presentation celebrates the moment when God incarnate comes to be presented to God the Father, in the place that God had, up to that time, chosen to make himself available and accessible to his people.  

The transition from worship in the Temple (Judaism) to the worship of God in the person of Jesus (Christianity) was beginning. Jesus himself said, “… a time will come when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem”, (John 4:21) because “if you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” (John 14:9) 

Today let’s celebrate the love between God the Father and God the Son that we are invited to participate in through the life-giving presence of the Holy Spirit.  

by David Kruse