Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Mary and Joseph desire to unite their newborn child with the divine presence dwelling in the temple – the privileged place of encounter with God. By that Presentation, Jesus is shown to be the firstborn Son who belongs to the Lord. This revelation transforms the way that we belong. Christ’s visits to the temple later in life re-presented his Presentation by intensifying this infant encounter with his Father. Ultimately, Christ identifies himself with the temple: he is God’s dwelling place among people. As today Mary carries her baby to the temple, she is leading Jesus and us to our own true self.  ~ Magnificat

It is in God’s presence that our true self is revealed. His light bathes us with his radiance. So we bring all of our self to the Lord. We bring our joys and sorrows, our triumphs and failures, our hopes and dreams, our fears and doubts. We bring our wounds and that which He has healed; our pride and selfishness, our humility and our love. It is in presenting all of our self to the Lord that we become our true self. God takes all of that and uses it for his glory. He refines us, burning away all that is not of Him and adorns that which is good and holy. We all are good and holy because we are made in the image and likeness of God. Sometimes we aren’t able to see the good in ourselves and that is when we most need to present ourselves to Him. We allow him to reveal to us our goodness and worth; he knows it is there, it is us who doubts our goodness and doubt that we are loved unconditionally.

“Lift up, O gates, your lintels; reach up, you ancient portals, that the king of glory may come in!” (Psalm 24: 9)

We are beckoned to allow the King of Glory to enter into our lives. As we take on God’s love and light we become our true self. We grow in holiness and “become strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God is upon [us].” (Luke 2:40) Just as it was with Jesus the Christ child.