The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Feast Days
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Overview and Connections
This feast is always on February 2, forty days after Christmas. In the Easter Orthodox church, it’s known as the Feast of the Encounter, and in other countries, it’s known as Candlemas.
We know this feast was celebrated very early in church history because it’s recorded by Egeria, who gave us much of what we know about ancient Christian liturgy. Between 381 and 384 AD she made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and visited most of the popular spots of the day. In a letter back home she described many liturgies as they were practiced by the Christians in Jerusalem.
You can read more about Egeria and read her account here
Another good article can be found here.
The Torah specifies after the birth of a boy, the mother’s purification took place after 40 days (Leviticus 12, 73 days for a daughter!). In the West, up until 1969, the title of the day was “The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” The post-Vatican 2 renaming of the feast brought its focus back to Jesus. Candles are often blessed on this day, symbolizing Christ as the light of nations.
Malachi 3:1-4
This passage comes from the third of six oracles in 2:17 – 3:5. The general format of each oracle is as follows:
- Initial provocative statement by Yahweh or the prophet
- Remark attributed to the people
- Rebuttal in which the prophet provides the heart of his message
2:17 contains the provocative statement of this oracle: “You have wearied the LORD with your words,” which is followed directly by a remark attributed to the people: “yet you say, “How have we wearied him?” The rest of that verse through the end of the passage contains the prophet’s message.
V1 of chp3 is the heart of the prophet’s message: the God you are seeking will be found! In advance of that, however, the prophet sees the need for purification and refinement.
V2 uses the Image of burning the dross away, a common image in the prophets. He speaks of fire as well as fullers’ lye, which is a type of harsh soap. Both soap and fire indicate cleansing. So often we want to imagine this little, harmless baby, brought joyfully into the temple. But always the prophets remind us that Jesus comes with purpose: refining and cleansing, making us ready to appear before God. Simeon himself will remind Mary that Jesus will be a sign of contradiction.
The people were saying that God didn’t matter. The prophet claims the opposite – God matters, God hears, God sees, and God will come when the time is right.
Ponder the prophet’s accusation: “You have wearied the LORD with your words.” One of the ways this has happened is given in 2:17: by saying, “Where is the just God?” Recall times when you have given into the suggestion that God is nowhere to be found. God seems absent and you assume that absence is real. How did God respond? Often, we think God will berate us for thinking we are left all alone. But even though Malachi says that God is “wearied” with such words, the message he gives is one of hope. The message is from a God who desires that we know we are, in fact, never alone. Personally, when I am “wearied” by someone who is driving me crazy, I respond in less than loving ways. I think this is a good reminder that God, although understanding intimately the human condition, does not necessarily respond according to human nature. Rather than berating and scolding, imagine a God loving all the more lavishly where we least expect it.
Hebrews 2:14-18
On a feast day, the New Testament reading is always chosen to complement the theme of the day. Jesus is being presented as the one who will become our great high priest because he was like us in every way, and he suffers alongside us. Once more, we are reminded that the Incarnation is about far more than a little baby. Jesus comes in power, with the purpose of destroying death and the power of the devil. He did this by becoming like us, experiencing everything we endure, except sin.
What does this passage tell us about the presentation of Jesus, the unveiling or revealing of him? I think one important thing it tells us is that Jesus comes right into the midst of the human condition. And this is where he works with us. He doesn’t try to first get us to some nirvana, or place of perfection where all is well. He comes to us in all the messiness of life and reveals his presence in the midst of it all.
Where have you most recently encountered Jesus? What messiness of life surrounded that encounter? How can you imagine that Jesus might understand that context in some way?
Luke 2:22-40
Luke’s story begins with the pious family taking their newborn up to Jerusalem in order to observe the law, to present God to God! Meanwhile, Simeon, whose name means God has heard is hanging out in the temple. We’re told he was filled with the Holy Spirit who promised to him that he will see the Messiah.
One day, Simeon was particularly under the influence of the Spirit and he went to the temple where he encountered the holy family. Not only that, but he knew immediately who the child was, knew that the Spirit’s promise had been made real to him. The first thing Simeon does is bless God in gratitude, not only for the promise fulfilled, but for what the Messiah will mean to Israel, and to the world.
V33 is interesting because Mary and Joseph seem to be a little perplexed by Simeon’s prayer. If you read Luke’s gospel up to this point, it seems that they both should have enough information to understand who their baby was. But throughout the gospel, they both seem to be always scratching their heads over Jesus’ actions, never quite understanding him. In v34 Simeon elaborates on his prayer directly to Mary, telling her pretty plainly what will happen.
Luke frequently balances stories of men with stories of women, and he does so here as well, bringing in Anna the prophetess. Unfortunately, Anna’s words aren’t recorded like Simeon’s, but at least she is given some screen time.
At the end of the passage, the family returns home to Nazareth where Jesus lives an ordinary human existence, preparing for the start of his own ministry. Imagine what all he learned, growing up in a small town, cherished by his family. Surely he had friends to play with. Perhaps he had a crush on some pretty girl. I like to imagine that he had a childhood blanket, and I’ve often wondered if it isn’t even now up in heaven, assumed right along with Mary who surely treasured it.
This passage is ripe for imaginative prayer. Can you imagine what it might be like to hold God in your arms? Sometimes people will say that contemplation is too “advanced” for them, and that they could never do that. And yet, these same folks could easily hold a child or grandchild and lose hours gazing into that child’s face. That is contemplation, and it’s easy enough to imagine. Spend some time in the temple, taking Jesus in your arms, contemplating the face that looks back at you. What do you feel?
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© 2025 Kelly Sollinger