HOMILY OF 4TH SUNDAY, PRESENTATION OF THE LORD — YEAR C
HOMILY OF 4TH SUNDAY, PRESENTATION OF THE LORD — YEAR C
HOMILY THEME: PRESENTATION OF THE LORD JESUS IN THE TEMPLE
BY: Fr Stephen ‘Dayo Osinkoya
Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40
When a child is born, the parent are often convinced that their child is the most precious baby in the world and they would begin to imagine all forms of great things this child is destined to achieve in life.
Meanwhile many parents are quick to forget that their child would grow up someday and would have to make independent decisions about life choices and in addition, there would be limitations to what the child might achieve in life.
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Because of the aspirations of many parents, they tend to live out their dreams through what their child does. And there is always frustration for such parents when this child makes his/her own life choices, especially choices that are totally different from the ones they had hoped for.
In the celebration of today, the future of the Child Jesus is laid bare before his parents and what their shares (Mary especially) would be in the quite unusual life set before Jesus.
If there are any at all, not many of us do have the opportunity of knowing what the future holds for us. Because of these uncertainties, there’s even a greater need for us to present our lives to God
We need to present our lives to the Lord because our lives need purification and only God can through the actions of the Holy Spirit (especially in the sacrament of reconciliation) can purify us from our defilement and make us worthy to stand before him at all times. Ps. 24:3-4 tells us that only those with clean hands and pure hearts may stand in God’s holy place
The prophet Malachi makes us to understand that the day of the Lord’s coming would be “like a refiner’s fire and like a fuller’s soap…” (Mal. 3:3). The refiner’s fire and the fuller’s soap are the many sorrows, disappointment and sufferings we would have to bear as individuals and even because of others, just as “a sword will pierce through your (Mary’s) own soul also.” (Lk. 2:35) Many parents would have to endure hardships, trials, disappointments, upsets and even breakdown because of a child.
Because of all these, some older parents see the younger generation as a “write-off.” The presentation of our Lord significantly presents us in the gospel passage, with an encounter between Youth and age, the Old and the New. This meeting was a blessing for both the older generation (Simeon and Anna) and the younger generation, (Jesus)
For us today, we don’t have to reject the older generation (old school) to appreciate the values of the younger generation. Each generation has something to offer.
The experience and wisdom of “Old school” can serve as a source of strength and stability for the younger generation.
The older generation can look on the younger generation and have some feelings of fulfilment; just like Simeon in Luke 2:29-32.
No matter what generation we belong to, our calling as followers of the Lord is to bless and grace others by our presence. All of the people who met in the Temple in today’s gospel reading were the better for that meeting – Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Anna and even the child Jesus himself.
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