The arrival of a baby into the world is generally an occasion of joy: every baby is a gift from God. However, this gift is not always as we wish or expect it to be. Parents may desire to have a baby, but they cannot choose how this baby will be or whom they will resemble. A baby is like a well-wrapped gift, which the parents must gradually discover.
On the other hand, the Blessed God knows us before we are conceived in our mother’s womb; He knew everything about us before we existed, and He wanted us to be as we are, loved us, and created us. If God had not loved us, we could not exist. Therefore, whenever we are tempted to doubt God's love for us, we should reflect on this.
Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, or as we know it, the Candlemas. In today's first reading, from the Book of the Prophet Malachi, God announces through the prophet that His ‘expected Messenger’ will soon arrive. At the same time, He also announces that this will be a challenge for those awaiting Him:
"Who will endure the day of His coming? Who will stand when He appears? For He is like the refiner’s fire, like the fuller’s soap!"
The People of God were waiting for the Messiah, but they wanted a Messiah according to their expectations. When He came, many of them did not accept Him because He was not as they wished. The process of refining gold and silver involves fire; this shows that the mission of Jesus, the Messiah, is to purify us, and this process of purification involves suffering—both for Him and for us. In fact, He purifies us with His precious blood, as we heard in the second reading:
"Jesus... through His death, destroys the power of the one who held death in his hands, that is, the devil."
All this is clearly seen in today's Gospel: Jesus submits Himself to the law of the People of God and is presented in the temple, the place where the People of God believe that God dwells. But the true Temple of God is Jesus Himself: not only does God dwell in Him, but He is God Himself made man for us. Therefore, the Temple where God meets man, and man meets God, is no longer a temple built of stone and made by human hands, but it is the Body of Jesus. He is the true and only bridge that unites God with man and man with God.
Two individuals receive Jesus in the temple: Simeon and Anna. With the power of the Holy Spirit within them, they recognise who Jesus is—the One awaited by the People of God, through whom God will save all humanity. Unlike what the people expected, Simeon realises that the Messiah will be different from how the people imagined Him:
"Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel; He will be a sign of contradiction – and you too, a sword will pierce your soul! – so that the hidden thoughts of many may be revealed."
In the mentality of the people, the Messiah was expected to be a king or a great army general who would restore the glory of their kingdom as it was in the time of David or his son Solomon. However, in God's plan, and as Simeon proclaimed, the true Messiah was to be the Suffering Servant of God, who through His suffering would free all humanity from its greatest enemy:
"My eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared for all peoples: a light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of Your people, Israel."
Anna, too, an elderly woman who "served night and day in fasting and prayer," also recognises Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit and proclaims the arrival of salvation to the People of God and to us.
We must ask ourselves: Do I want God to be as I wish Him to be, according to my comfort and desires, or am I willing to accept the challenge of allowing God to transform me and shape me according to His divine will?
Lord, on this precious Feast, be the Light that illuminates our lives, and help us to understand that far from You, there is only darkness, leading us to lose the true meaning of life. Amen.
During the Candlemas Holy Mass at Għasri Parish, led by Parish Priest Fr. Edward Vella