You are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb… Redeem every firstborn among your sons. “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ (Ex 13:12-15)
Luke sees much more in this event than simply fulfilling the Law of Moses.
When the days were completed for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord... Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory for your people Israel.”
In the earlier (pre Vatican II liturgical calendar) the Christmas season began with the vigil of Christmas and extended through the octave of Christmas, the Epiphany with its octave, the Baptism of the Lord, the Sundays after Epiphany and then concluded with the Feast of the Purification of Mary (now the Presentation of the Lord). The themes of revelation and light united all of these celebrations.
The Mass for this day begins with a procession. All gather with candles which are blessed and lighted for the procession into the church, an action that calls to mind the opening of the Easter Vigil. We are a people who have been enlightened by Christ (the rite of Baptism:” Receive the light of Christ.)
The opening words for this feast summarize the various elements of the liturgy:
Forty days ago we celebrated the joyful feast of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today we recall the holy day on which he was presented in the temple, fulfilling the Law of Moses and at the same time going to meet his faithful people. Led by the Spirit, Simeon and Anna came to the temple, recognized Christ as their Lord and proclaimed him with joy. United by the Spirit, may we now go to the house of God to welcome Christ the Lord. There we shall recognize him in the breaking of bread until he comes again in glory.
In earlier times, all held lighted candles for the proclamation of the Gospel and for the Eucharistic Prayer for we are the Body of Christ, the new temple in which God’s Spirit dwells. We do not simply hold the light of Christ; we are vessels of that light.
This calls to mind the book of Revelation in which we read:
I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure. During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there. (21:22-26)
Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. (22:4-5)
This feast is a rich tapestry of the themes of our faith. Unfortunately, it is usually just another weekday Mass. In fact, the present Ordo (Liturgical calendar) simply indicates that “the blessing of candles is celebrated before the principal Mass.” What is meant to be a rich liturgical action of the whole Church is reduced to the ritual action of the priest, focused on a thing, blessed candles.
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