Jesus Offered for Us!

Friday, February 2, 2024

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Mal 3:1-4; Heb 2:14-18; Lk 2:22-40

Today’s feast gives us an opportunity to reflect on the reassurance of Jesus’ love for us. 

The feast celebrates Mary’s ritual purification (though the Holy Mother was pure and free from sin from the moment of her conception) and Jesus’ ritual redemption (though the Son of God need not be redeemed). Though they do not need to, the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fulfill the ritual obligations. The Holy Family’s fear of God and its faithfulness to God’s ordinances are clear from this act. 

However, that is not all. The feast has something more to it. 

We should ask ourselves why the Lord, who consented to God’s will to become a human, should again subject himself to ritual redemption. Why should Mary undergo the ritual purification? 

The answer is this: ‘Whenever it concerns humanity’s redemption, Jesus and Mary walk to any extent to cooperate with God’s will.’ 

As such, through the symbolic ritual act, we receive reassurance of our redemption on the cross.

Here, we are called to reflect on Simeon’s prophecy of Jesus and Mary. 

Jesus : A Sign of Contradiction: Though Jesus consented to God’s plan of incarnation, his sacrifice is not over yet. He will be a sign of contradiction and a sign that will be opposed by many. In other words, the ‘yes’ of Jesus in love has to endure every suffering in love. When Jesus is offered at the temple, we find Jesus becoming ‘the offering’ to God on our behalf, though it would be realized on the cross later. God offers His reassurance of our redemption in and through Jesus’ ritual offering at the temple today. 

Mary: A Sword in Her Soul: Mother Mary’s ‘yes’ to God’s plan was not an easy experience. She had to bear a life full of suffering on account of her affirmative response to God’s will. However, nothing deterred her from walking with her son faithfully, even to the cross. Mary who has walked thus far with her son, will walk to the cross so that she will have a sword pierced her faithful heart. 

Therefore, the feast of the presentation of the Lord invites us to reflect on the readiness of the Lord and his holy mother to suffer for the sake of our redemption. 

Looking at Jesus, we know that the Lord’s offering in the temple would not make any sense apart from his readiness to suffer on the cross. 

This is why Pope Francis said, ‘Christ’s love and friendship are no illusion. On the cross, Jesus showed how real they are.’ 

To show the depth of his love, Jesus chose the cross. 

Today’s feast reminds us that not only did Jesus declare ‘I love you’ from the cross, but while walking towards it too!

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar