Return and Renewal
God tabernacles among us
Dear Friends,
This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
As we see in the Gospel account, Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the temple 40 days after his birth. They do this to complete Mary's ritual purification, and to offer sacrifice for the firstborn son, in obedience to the Torah.
For now, let's skip some of those details. What I want to focus on is the fact that Jesus is in the temple.
The temple was where God tabernacled among his people: the place where heaven and earth met, where God and man came together.
But now, as Jesus enters the temple, we see that the temple was an advance sign of what God would one day accomplish: Jesus, the true temple, is the place where God and man come together; he is the place where the life of heaven comes to earth.
Jesus now, and not the temple, is the place of right worship. To Jesus we now bring our hearts, offering him the sacrifice of our lives. Through Jesus we now receive God's blessing that we might be a blessing to others, and so renew his world.
Through him, and with him, and in him,
O God, almighty Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor is yours,
for ever and ever. Amen.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Christ's Peace,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
PS In your kindness please keep Helen Bolcar, who died yesterday, in your prayers. Requiescat in pace, dear friend!
Preparing for Mass?
Check out this weekend's readings:
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
