Homily: Presentation of Our Lord

February 2 , 2003

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Auxiliary Bishop of Denver

My sisters and brothers in Christ:

Today we celebrate the time when "Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord" according to the law of Moses.

It was forty days ago that we celebrated the birth of Jesus and today, as the greeting of today's Mass reminds us, "we recall the holy day on which he was presented in the temple, fulfilling the law of Moses and at the same time going to meet his faithful people"

Traditionally the feast of the Presentation concludes the time to contemplate the birth of Christ and from now on the liturgy of the Church points towards Easter through the contemplation of the life of Christ starting with his hidden life, 'the child grew and became strong filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him', to his Public life, Passion, Death and Resurrection.

As usual, the liturgy of the Mass including today's readings concentrate on the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I have to say that it is very timely because the recent events in our Country, yesterday’s tragedy of the shuttle Columbia, the imminent danger of war, the ongoing economic difficulties, etc.

There are two clear things that come to mind today as we contemplate Jesus being presented to the world. First that Jesus is the Light of the World and second that he is a sign of contradiction.

The first reading from the book of the Prophet Malachi refers to the coming of the Messiah. In a sense it is a prophecy of today's feast day, the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the Temple. It was a long wait but the prophets were always reminding them about it. "Suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire" And also about his mission: "He will purify the sons of Levi, refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the Lord.

The second reading reminds us of the fact that Jesus is like us in everything except sin. "He had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people"

For the Israelites it was a long wait and sometimes they were not able to really understand the meaning of the coming of the Messiah. They frequently grew tired of waiting and strayed from their relationship with God.

In the same way sometimes we are not aware of the presence of God in our lives and we do not make progress in our journey of faith. As someone said yesterday it is sad that we need tragedies to feel the need of our faith and to share it with others.

In today' gospel we contemplate Jesus as the Light of the World and a Sign of Contradiction but we also see the example of two mature and simple people, Simeon and Anna, who had been awaiting the coming of the Messiah. Let's learn from it and renew our commitment to never neglect our faith and to put more personal effort in the practice of the faith.

Both of them recognized the Messiah. Simeon was given the grace not to die before seen the Christ. Anna was also rewarded with the grace to speak 'about the Child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem'.

They became aware and revealed to us the fact that Jesus is the Light of the world and a sign of contradiction. Simeon’s prayer talks about Jesus as a "light for revelation to the Gentiles'.

"Christ is the light of the world. 'Light' as a word is frequently used to signify life and truth … Christ is the life of the world and every person, the Light that shows the way, the Truth that saves, the Love that fulfils" In Conv. 5.15.2

Jesus is the light of our own personal life. He is our model and the goal of our life. Our personality should reflect the life of Christ. If we have him as the light of our life, we have nothing to fear and we are assured of the success and happiness of our life.

As the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II says in his letter for the New Millennium "Christian holiness essentially consists in this: in being a reflection of the holiness of God which shines on the face of Christ".

Then we will be able to be a light for others, in the words of Cardinal Newman as he prayed, "(Jesus) Stay with me, and then I shall begin to shine as you shine; so to shine as to be a light to others. The light, O Jesus, will be all from you. None of it will be mine. No merit to me. It will be you who shines through me upon others … Make me preach you without preaching -- not by words, but by my example and by the catching force, the sympathetic influence, of what I do -- by my visible resemblance to your saints, and the evident fullness of the love which my heart bears to you" (Prayers, verses and Devotions, John Henry Newman, Ignatius press, San Francisco, p. 389).

But Jesus is also a sign of contradiction. As Simeon was blessing Mary and Joseph, he said to Mary, 'behold this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted…"

In a practical way, it seems to me, that it means two things. One is that we cannot be indifferent to Christ, we are with him, or we are not. We can pretend that we believe in him and do whatever we want but at the end there is just one Jesus Christ and if we are not faithful to his Person and his teachings we cannot say that we really believe in Him.

But then, it also means that our Christian life is difficult. If it was difficult for Jesus, it is for us too. Because we will also be a sign of contradiction to people with no faith. As Pope John Paul II said: "The times in which we are living provide particularly strong confirmation of the truth of what Simeon said: Jesus is both the light that shines for mankind and at the same time a sign of contradiction … Jesus Christ is once again revealing himself to men as the light of the world. Has he not also become at one and the same time that sign which, more that ever, men are resolved to oppose?" In Conv. 5.15.3

We can think of the basic moral or social teachings of Christ and they are a strong challenge to the "ways of the world". You can think of the understanding of life and death, sexuality, the dignity of the human person, the family, work, preferential option for the poor and the young.

The lesson for us is, first recognizing Christ and then, to be instruments in the hands of God to make Christ known to others.

Mary, our Blessed Mother, and St. Joseph were "amazed at what was said about him". We are also filled with peace and confidence because we know that Jesus is the Light of the World and he will guide us through the difficult times in our lives.

May the light of Christ … -- represented in the candles that we have today -- … dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds and bring peace to the Church, to our country and to the world.