The Presentation of the Lord (Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 2:22-40)

​The feast of the Presentation is not a familiar tradition that all Christians follow. The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, as practiced in Judaism during the time of Jesus, refers to the observance of two key rituals prescribed in the Torah.

The first is the purification ritual of a mother who has recently given birth (Leviticus 12). If the child is male, the purification process lasts 40 days. If the child is female, it lasts 80 days. This idea of purification is based on their conception of blood as life (Leviticus 17:11). The process of childbirth, while life-giving, involves blood loss, which may symbolize a crossing of boundaries between life and death.

The second ritual refers to the Exodus story, particularly Exodus 12:12-13; 13:2, 12-15, regarding the redemption of the firstborn male child and animal: “I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” The firstborn male child (as well as animal) is then considered holy and belongs to God and requires redemption through an offering.

Both rituals have two things in common. The symbol of blood is used to represent life: life given to the newborn child and lost in the purification ritual, and life to be redeemed from God’s judgment. The other commonality is that both the mother and the firstborn male child are “presented” in the temple, which is a physical symbol of God’s presence. In the temple, Mary and Jesus are presented as both pure and holy.

We may be tempted to interpret today’s Gospel lesson merely as a story that confirms Jesus’ messiahship. In doing so, we may find comfort and assurance that we are on the right side. This interpretation is acceptable as long as it helps one act and live skillfully, benefiting others without causing harm. But what if we turn this lesson into something personally relevant to our lives? What if this isn’t really about Jesus and Mary but about you in the place of Jesus and you in the place of Mary? What if this lesson calls upon us to examine whether we ourselves are presentable to God’s presence? What if we ask ourselves, “What is one way that I can be presentable and present to God’s presence in my daily life?”

Reflecting on the lesson from the prophetic words of Malachi in the Hebrew Bible, we look no further for the presence of God or the external form of the temple. We already have the temple within, in which the Lord whom we seek will suddenly come as we become aware of God’s breath entering us and endure God’s coming.

The act of breathing in and out is like the work of a refiner or a fuller. Breath is like fire or soap. That which is to be presentable to the holy must also be holy, and the way to refine it is to purify it with what is already holy. For us, that’s the Breath of God enfleshed in our very own breath to which we are present. The incarnation is bodily and real, happening right here and right now as Christ is breathed in you. Through the rhythm of our breath, we become present and presentable to God.