The Presentation of the Lord
February 1-2, 2025
Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40
Today, February 2, traditionally is Candlemass Day when all the candles to be used in the parish were blessed for the upcoming year. It was a day, then, when light entered the church, candles, stunning and brilliant, chasing away any darkness in the building. We remembered back then how that Light, (with a capital L) who is Jesus, entered the temple at the Presentation, today’s Feast. Light also was a symbol of our faith in Jesus, who came into the darkness of the world. Candles remain a symbol of our faith in Jesus Christ who breaks into the darkness. So, today I would like to speak of light and darkness and faith.
In the gospel, Jesus came into the temple as an infant with Joseph and Mary. His parents came to be purified, as was the dictate of the law, and Jesus was declared to be “a light for revelation”, a light, recognized that day by just a few: Simeon, Anna, Mary, and Joseph, but today he is recognized by millions as the Light of the World, who enters every aspect of the world and of our lives, dispelling the darkness around us, and our doubts and our sins within us.
In the gospel, Simeon told Mary that a sword would pierce her heart and that her son would be a sign that would be contradicted. Like Mary, a sword will someday pierce our hearts too, and yes, Jesus continues to be contradicted even today, but here is the good news: where there is light, darkness disappears, where there is faith, doubt and fear vanish. Light purifies darkness, and faith dispels doubt and fear. In other words, where there is faith in God, there is light. No darkness. No fear.
All this happened in our baptisms. We were purified after we entered the parish church with our parents, renounced sin and Satan, and all his empty promises, and then confessed our faith in God, and entered the waters of baptism. A brilliant light entered our souls that day with the anointing with Holy Chrism and the gift of the Holy Spirit. If only we could have seen with these eyes the brilliance of that light; it would have stunned us!
You see, if we have faith in God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — like we professed in our baptisms, and renounce Satan and evil and all the darkness he brings into our lives, the light of the Holy Spirit is given to us by God the Father. In baptism, we became temples of the Holy Spirit. Faith was the foundation on which this light entered the temple of our lives. Yes, God entered the temple our lives, our souls, just as Jesus entered the temple of His time. God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is our Light. We have nothing to fear of any darkness that we may be experiencing now if we remain strong in our faith.
We often concede that, yes, Jesus is very powerful. We often admit that the Holy Trinity is very powerful. It is kind of easy to admit that. God is powerful. What we find hard to admit is how necessary and powerful is our faith. It is so necessary for us to remain full of faith.
St Paul in the second reading basically says this light of faith has the power to destroy all darkness and sin. It has the power to free us even from eternal death. He tells us that the light of faith is so powerful that it clears the slate so to speak. It purifies us from our sin and from all darkness. This indeed happened to us in our baptisms, and will continue to happen to us if we are willing to live consistent with our baptismal promises.
Has darkness entered your life? If it has, have you let the light of faith enter to dispel it?
The light of faith is so powerful and darkness is so fragile! Remember that when you seem surrounded by darkness and problems in life. Just a match shatters the darkness, no matter how dark or how big the darkness may seem. It is a fact that a small light on an open sea at night can be seen for ten miles. Think of that! Think of how much more powerful is the light of your faith, how far it can penetrate the spiritual darkness of your life. Light is so powerful! Our faith is so powerful! Jesus is so powerful! God is so powerful! Darkness, and sin, and life’s problems, and all those things are so weak and fragile in comparison. So fragile are they!
The light of Christ has completely shattered all darkness. Just as the smallest of lights shatters the physical darkness, the light of faith, no matter how small, shatters the every spiritual darkness. That light becomes brighter the more we are purified of any sin that is within us.
Never despair if you seem engulfed with darkness, with problems, or with sins. No matter what may be happening that seems discouraging, never despair because your faith within you will shatter the darkness around you. My friends, never extinguish the light of your faith for any reason! I repeat, never abandon your faith! Never! Stay close to Jesus, stay close to the sacraments so that light of your faith remains in you!
