The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord celebrates that, from his infancy, Christ was already the one sent by God to save humanity through obedience to God, his Father. To clarify the meaning of this celebration, the second reading from the letter to the Hebrews is particularly important. It explains that the Son of God became our flesh and blood in order to have compassion on us, who were dominated by the devil through fear of death.
He assumed the human condition, subject to death, in order to conquer death and thus grant us salvation. Indeed, death is the great question that we humans face. Many try to distract themselves and entertain themselves so as not to think about it. But we must have the courage to ask ourselves about the meaning of life: whether death is really total annihilation and the end of existence. I am struck by the way in which the author of this letter describes our situation: we are those who, for fear of death, lived as slaves all our lives. Christ, with his death, destroyed the devil, who through death dominated men.
The question of death can be presented in many ways. It can even be posed as a question about life. Let’s do the exercise: let’s put aside the fact that we are believers and have hope in eternal life. Let us imagine that we do not have God and do not know him. Our life begins at birth and ends at death; nothing before, nothing after. Undoubtedly, questions will arise such as: Why was I born for? What am I doing in this world? What should I do, how should I live so that my life has meaning? Of course, we can also ask ourselves: Why live if I have to die and, with death, everything ends? Why make the effort to study, work, raise a family, educate children, be a good citizen, if everything ends in annihilation? Just to leave a good memory in the surviving family or in the community? Just to have the satisfaction of dying with the awareness of having lived constructively? That is certainly valuable, but is it enough? What is the value of all the good deeds we do if they are all devalued by the final annihilation?
Christ became one of us in order to have compassion on us.
Christ suffered our death in order to conquer it in himself by his resurrection and to share that victory with those of us who place our faith in him and unite ourselves to him in the Church through the sacraments. And Christ came not only to conquer our death and open for us horizons of eternity. He also came to take upon himself the sin of the world, our own sin, and thus enable us to receive freely God’s forgiveness, which heals and strengthens our freedom to learn to choose always the good that builds us as persons and as society. This is also what today’s second reading declares: Jesus had to become like his brothers in all things, in order to become a high priest, merciful to them and faithful in the relations that mediate between God and man, and thus atone for the sins of the people. Jesus Christ accomplished this work of salvation in an attitude of obedience and dedication of himself to God.
Joseph and Mary’s presentation of their Son forty days after birth was a rite proper to the firstborn male. The first male child belongs to God, according to Jewish thought, and must be consecrated to him. The Son of God made man was consecrated to God by his parents and that gesture had a much greater scope than they themselves could glimpse. That presentation and consecration to God was expressed in the attitude of obedience to God that oriented and guided the entire earthly existence of the Son of God. As the prophet Malachi says:
“Suddenly the Lord, whom you seek, the messenger of the covenant whom you desire, will enter the sanctuary. Behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem please the Lord, as in the days of old.”
The elders Simeon and Anna, who awaited Israel’s salvation and practically lived in the vicinity of the temple in Jerusalem, sought and waited for the Lord, and by God’s grace they recognized him. Those two elders represent not only the people of Israel, but all humanity that waits and searches for a savior until they find him. The worst thing that can happen to us, of course, is that we say: “I neither seek nor need a savior”. Then Jesus’ words would apply to us: “I have not come to seek the righteous, but sinners”. It is not that there are people who do not need a savior. We all need to be saved from death, sin and the meaninglessness of life. But there are people who believe that they do not need to be saved, who think that they do not need God and can live without him. Christ did not impose himself on these people. He let them pass by and lamented that they were so pitifully excluded from salvation. But the best thing we can do for our own happiness and fulfillment is to recognize our destitution, our poverty, our prostration, and to grasp the outstretched hand of Jesus, who lifts us up and guides us.
The words of Simeon to Mary, the mother of Jesus, express in a forceful way the mission of Jesus:
“This child has been placed for the ruin and revival of many in Israel, as a sign of contradiction, that the thoughts of all hearts may be laid bare.”
Before Jesus Christ we must make a decision: in favor, for our own revival and salvation; or against, for our own ruin and perdition. Before Jesus we can pretend indifference, but we cannot be indifferent. Jesus Christ is not just one option among many; he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He who believes in him will have eternal life; he who excludes himself will remain in darkness. Let us renew our faith in him and place all our hope in him.
Msgr. Mario Alberto Molina, OAR