with this feast of the presentation of our lord in the temple the christmas cycle comes to an end
the infancy of our lord in the scriptures
the childhood really of our lord in the scriptures ends with our lord's finding in the temple when he was 12 years old
but this is really the end of our lord's infancy narrative in the gospel
and it is in a particular way indicative of
the end of christmas you might say in the beginning of what we now call ordinary time
or what we might think of in terms of our lord's later life and public ministry
because at the presentation of the child jesus in the temple
in a certain way the old covenant definitively comes
to an end the arrival of the saviour is definitive
because he has fulfilled the meaning of the temple in the old testament
the tabernacle set up by moses and later to be made the temple in jerusalem
was the home of god among the people of israel
god's cloud of glory filled the temple and dwelt over the the ark of the covenant
the propitiatory on the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies
and this manifestation of god's presence remained with the people as long as they had the ark
when the ark moved with the people before they arrived at the temple in jerusalem
when the ark arrived in the holy land
our lord manifested himself in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night
and when the temple or the tabernacle would be set up
god's cloud of glory would manifest itself inside the temple
this was true until the ark of the covenant was lost
at the time of the babylonian exile
and in the time in which our lord came to the temple
all the rituals of the temple continued
without the presence of the ark of the covenant
they continued to offer sacrifice
continued to worship as though
as though the ark was still in the holy of holies
but it wasn't it was empty
there was a rock put in the place of the ark of the covenant
and the cloud of god's glory was no longer in the temple
and so there was a sort of waning you might say of the old covenant
the temple worship continued to carry on
but without the full force of the prescriptions of the lord
and it was also even a manifest waning in the sense that
god's cloud of glory no longer resided in the temple
so that was the context of the situation in jerusalem when
our lady brought the child and saint joseph brought the child jesus into the temple
jesus is the true covenant not written on stone
you know the principal artifact or relic of the ark of the covenant
was the stone tablets of moses
but this covenant is not written on stone
it's not carried in a golden box
but it is written on the heart of man
written on the heart of god who has become man
and who is carried into the temple
in the arms of his immaculate mother
and so in a real sense
this light that saint simeon speaks of
the revelation to the gentiles and the glory
of the people of israel
is christ himself
manifesting himself in his humility
through the mediation of his immaculate mother
our lady is the light bearer
you know on the feast of the presentation
we at the principal mass at least
carry candles to signify christ as the light of the world
and in a sense to imitate the blessed mother
who brought jesus into the temple
our lady is the true light bearer
she takes the name of the fallen angel lucifer
saint anthony of padua
refers a number of times to our blessed mother
as the true lucifer
not a very easy appellative to swallow
because of its connotations
but lucifer was the name that god gave
to the highest angel
to the angel who eventually became the devil
but it belongs in a particular way
to our blessed mother
because she is the one who brought him into the temple
she is the one who always brings jesus
into our presence
and allows us to commune with him
and so as christmas winds down
we give thanks for the great gift of our salvation
in the person of christ jesus our savior
and we give thanks that
we are not in a position
to have to wait for his coming
we have the fullness of his presence in the church
in his teaching
in his sacraments
and most especially
in his blessed sacrament
for us every day is christmas
every day is an opportunity to receive jesus
into our own temple
into our church
onto our altar
into our very bodies
where we can commune with him
in this greatest of all sacraments
our lord keeps his promises
he is our salvation
he is the light of the world
he is the glory of the people
and our eyes have seen his salvation
because he keeps his promise
and is with us until the end of time
we pray in the name of Jesus
and your son
hallowed be thy name