A Homily – The Presentation of the Lord (The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time) Year C

First Reading – Malachi 3:1-4

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 23(24):7-10

Second Reading - Hebrews 2:14-18

Gospel Acclamation – Luke 2:32

The Gospel According to Luke – 2:22-40

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 God, the creator of the universe, God is not a lord; God is not a king, God does not come at the head of an army.

 The temple of God is within the human heart, and there is no other.

 Have hope, both for yourself and for all people, knowing that God works within each of us, intending to bring us all through the fire for the refinement of our spirit.

 There is not a single one of God’s children who is exempt from God’s plan…that means all of us.

 Know this.

 All things and persons have their being in God. God is the foundation of all that is. Without God there is nothing, and in nothing there is not even the possibility of something…it is void, nihil, blank.

 If you wish to climb the mountain in order to find God, that is fine, the journey is yours to makes. Or, you might just turn to your neighbor and see God reflected in their face.

 See their face, see it, see them, behold the face of God there, in that holy presence give thanks to the creator for the wonderment of being. 

 Do not worry about your own holiness, how you perceive it, or how you perceive your lack of it. God loved you before the first moment of creation, when only the possibility of you existed.

 Be mindful.

 All things and everyone are loved by God, and insofar as they are loved by God they are holy.

 There is no vanity in emulating the love God bears for all God’s children, you may not be able to love perfectly, but that does not mean you should not try.

 Look for God’s blessing in the service you provide to your neighbor, to your mother and father, to your sister and brother, strive for justification only through the quality of your kindness, and the extent of the mercy you show to others.

 If you go looking for the God of Jacob, instead of seeing God in Jacob you will only be looking at idols. God is not confined to the pages of a book, or the ink on a scroll, neither is God bounded by the history and mythology of a people. Look to these things for glimpses of God, and remembrances of past encounters, but seek the living God in living beings.

 Remember this:

 In our first encounter with God, when the first parent walked with the creator, the world was a garden and that was paradise, there was no talk of kings or the glories of conflict, wars and battle…let us return to that.

 Shun the false narrative and the irrational argument, knowing that the spirit of God is the spirit of truth, and nothing false has a place in God’s house.

 Consider the reading from Paul’s letter today; it is replete with error.

 This is not to say that Paul was dishonest when he wrote his missive, but that his view of the world and his understanding of the nature of reality was fundamentally wrong.

 Know this:

 There is no devil!

 There is no power I the universe other than God, there is no cosmic war against the forces of darkness, everything is as God wills it.

 Jesus came to set us free from the fear of death, to give us the good news of the resurrection, that we continue beyond the grave, but this was not accomplished by magic or alchemy, such as Paul describes here.

 Jesus was not a priest, and we were not saved by his blood; blood offerings have never accomplished anything for anyone.

 Jesus did not atone for our sins through his death; we are accountable for ourselves, but the good news remains…God loves us. God has always loved us, for all the regrettable, even harmful things we have done in our lives, to ourselves and others, we are forgiven…we were forgiven even before we set out on those paths.

 Jesus did not effectuate the atonement, either with his life or his death, he came to proclaim that when God made, and the whole of creation, God made us one; Jesus meant to instill the faith in us that no power can tear us apart.

 Consider the Gospel reading for today, examine the narrative carefully. It is mythology and propaganda, as such it is a deviation from the way, which is always found in the service of truth.

 The Gospel writers gave us narratives concerning the early life of Jesus that are works of fiction, and while their intention was to help spread the good news and they were not acting with malice. Nevertheless, they subverted the real teaching of Jesus and left the burgeoning movement exposed to corruption.

 The writers of Luke’s Gospel ask us to believe this narrative concerning Jesus, they want us to acquiesce to the notion that he obeyed the “law,” following the forms of ritual and blood sacrifice that were proscribed in the books of his ancestors, ostensibly lending credibility to their claims of Jesus’ holiness, to the notion that he fulfilled all the ancient requirements, they set aside the realities of the prophetic tradition that Jesus stood in, a tradition that prefers acts of mercy over animal sacrifices.

 Jesus taught that the way was to be found in service; service to God through the service we provide to one another, and not in the fulfillment of corrupt rituals, blood-magic and service to the temple.

 Jesus was not a magician, he was not a supernatural being. He was an ordinary man, who led an extraordinary life, and was killed because of greed, jealousy and fear.

 Jesus only merited the status of Christ insofar as led a life of service, which he did. He served his people to the bitter end, all the way to his death on the cross, but it was not the cross or the blood he shed on it that were of salvific value, it was the heart of service which led him there.

 We are all Christ, baptized or not, insofar as we follow the way which he exemplified.

 The mythologization of Jesus was a subversion of the way insofar as it suggested that the ordinary service Jesus called us to, the service he exemplified, came from a place of supernatural power, and the authors of this script did not stop there. The narrative also mythologizes people such as: Anna, and Simeon; ascribing to them extraordinary powers of insight beyond the scope of normal people, allowing for a continued separation of the ordinary believer from those who live their lives in the church or temple, the separation between clergy and layperson, which is another betrayal of the way.

First Reading – Malachi 3:1-4

The Lord You are Seeking Will Suddenly Enter His Temple

The Lord God says this: Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and then they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be made. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will then be welcomed by the Lord as in former days, as in the years of old.

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 23(24):7-10

The Lord Comes to His Temple

The man with clean hands and pure heart will climb the mountain of the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,

  the world and all who live in it.

He himself founded it upon the seas

  and set it firm over the waters.

Who will climb the mountain of the Lord?

  Who will stand in his holy place?

The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,

  who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.

He will receive the blessing of the Lord

  and be justified by God his saviour.

This is the way of those who seek him,

  seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,

  and let the king of glory enter.

Who is the king of glory?

The Lord of might and power.

  The Lord, strong in battle.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,

  and let the king of glory enter.

Who is the king of glory?

The Lord of hosts

 – he is the king of glory.

Amen

The man with clean hands and pure heart will climb the mountain of the Lord.

Alleluia!

 

Second Reading - Hebrews 2:14-18

He Took to Himself Descent from Abraham

Since all the children share the same blood and flesh, Christ too shared equally in it, so that by his death he could take away all the power of the devil, who had power over death, and set free all those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it was not the angels that he took to himself; he took to himself descent from Abraham. It was essential that he should in this way become completely like his brothers so that he could be a compassionate and trustworthy high priest of God’s religion, able to atone for human sins. That is, because he has himself been through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Luke 2:32

Alleluia, alleluia!

The light to enlighten the Gentiles and give glory to Israel, your people.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to Luke – 2:22-40

My Eyes Have Seen your Salvation

When the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, – observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

  Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:

‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel.’

As the child’s father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’

  There was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

  When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.

 

A Homily – The Presentation of the Lord (The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time) Year C