The Presentation of the Lord

Today we celebrate the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, which commemorates how, when Jesus was 40 days old, his parents brought him to the Temple in Jerusalem where he, as every Jewish first-born son, would be consecrated to the Lord.  This feast, along with the feast of Jesus’ circumcision eight days after His birth, are feasts of the old, Jewish covenant, “feasts of the law.”

 What is a “law?” A law is a rule or a guideline which prescribes or proscribes human behaviour.  There are many types of law: the “laws of nature,” civic or national laws, and spiritual laws. 

A reasonable law is not something which is imposed arbitrarily, but grows organically out of human experience and the desire for the good. All societies have laws, rules, or guidelines which are taught and encouraged and enforced to greater or lesser degrees with the goal of achieving a harmonious society and to support human flourishing.

From a Christian perspective we would add that in addition to the “laws of nature” and human experience there is divine revelation, from which we are able to discern spiritual or divine laws.  God’s law consists of God, the creator, giving rules or guidelines to us, His creatures, so that we both individually and as a society might come to know Him and have the best possible chance of flourishing. 

It is worth noting that that Jesus’ parents as well as He Himself were obedient to the Old Testament law.  God Himself is obedient to His own law.  Why?  Because Jesus, like any good teacher, teaches us by His example as well as by His words.

What spiritual laws are we called to obey?  The same laws Jesus obeyed: Prayer, Fasting, Worship, etc.  In today’s Gospel reading we heard about the prophetess Anna who, we are told “did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.”

Many people have the idea that “I was baptized, so I’m a faithful Christian” or “I pay my membership fee, so I’m a member of the Church.”  Any reasonable person understands that saying and doing are two separate things.  Christians are those who believe in God and live in accordance with His commandments.  Jesus says “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.” So, if I love Jesus, what laws or commandments should I strive to observe?

We can start with the example of the Prophetess Anna: prayer, fasting, and worship. Pray at home, attend the Church services, follow the fasting practices of the Church to the best of our ability.  We can move on to the sermon on the mount, where Jesus says “when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”  “When” you do your charitable deed, not “if” you do your charitable deed. We can continue with participation in the Holy Mysteries.  Jesus says “take, eat, this is my body. . . drink of it all of you, this is my blood.”  “Eat” and “drink,” again, are in the imperative mood, it’s a command, not a suggestion.

In the Gospel of Mark we read “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”  In St. John’s Gospel Jesus tells us “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” And back to the sermon on the mount, where we read “I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”

The American philosopher J. Budziszewski makes an interesting observation: “Among the laws of the intellect, one of the foremost is this: What we barely fulfill, we can hardly discern.”  What we barely fulfill, we can hardly discern.” People who hardly fulfill any of the commandments of Christ, are simply incapable of discerning or understanding what the Christian faith is all about. It’s only by striving to fulfill God’s commandments that we can begin to understand the wisdom and beauty of God’s laws and commandments.    

God’s laws are not arbitrary, but simply God, the Creator, explaining to us, His creation, how the universe works, and how we should conduct our lives if we wish to know Him and be “in tune” with His creation.  God’s law can be defined in two words - Sacrificial love.  True Christianity is life of sacrificial love.   

Today’s feast day teaches us that GOD HIMSELF followed God’s law.  The least we can do is to attempt to do the same.

Fr. Bohdan Hladio
2 February 2025