On Tuesday this week we celebrated the feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple. As we reflect on this great Feast, we see a deep spiritual truth being revealed to us in this simple act of dedicating Jesus in the temple. We see that the Triune God is continually giving to us and simply asks for us to present the gifts we receive back to Him in thanksgiving. In return to our offering, God always returns such an offering back to us with a great blessings, seen or unseen.
This Feast shows us the following pattern; 1) receiving a gift from God, 2) returning that gift to Him with thanksgiving and, 3) God blessing even more by returning the gift to us transformed.
We see that God blesses the Theotokos with the gift of bearing His Son, God becomes incarnate, and she is called blessed from that day forward. In turn, on this feast, she comes to the Temple to present the Child to the Father, dedicating Him with thanksgiving to the living God. The Christ-child, dedicated in this way, in turn blesses all of humanity with His death and resurrection, opening the path to eternal life for all people.
As we meditate on this incredible feast, we see a pattern for our whole life. We are called to have eyes to see the incredible gifts that God has blessed with us rather than simply take them for granted. Realizing that 'every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from You, the Father of lights', we are then called to offer these gifts back to God with thanksgiving. Such offerings back to God can take place through serving on a ministry, serving others around us with whatever talents we’ve been blessed with, attending liturgical services to offer our time and love to God, offering of treasurers to help build up the Church of Christ, or sharing our wealth with those less fortunate. Our Good Lord seeing our giving back to Him will bless us richly as He sees fit - either in this life or the life to come.
May we all strive to see the gifts we’ve been given, offer them back to the living God with thanksgiving, and live in the reality of the great blessedness that our all-loving and compassionate Father bestows on us.
In Christ,
Fr. Steve
This Feast shows us the following pattern; 1) receiving a gift from God, 2) returning that gift to Him with thanksgiving and, 3) God blessing even more by returning the gift to us transformed.
We see that God blesses the Theotokos with the gift of bearing His Son, God becomes incarnate, and she is called blessed from that day forward. In turn, on this feast, she comes to the Temple to present the Child to the Father, dedicating Him with thanksgiving to the living God. The Christ-child, dedicated in this way, in turn blesses all of humanity with His death and resurrection, opening the path to eternal life for all people.
As we meditate on this incredible feast, we see a pattern for our whole life. We are called to have eyes to see the incredible gifts that God has blessed with us rather than simply take them for granted. Realizing that 'every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from You, the Father of lights', we are then called to offer these gifts back to God with thanksgiving. Such offerings back to God can take place through serving on a ministry, serving others around us with whatever talents we’ve been blessed with, attending liturgical services to offer our time and love to God, offering of treasurers to help build up the Church of Christ, or sharing our wealth with those less fortunate. Our Good Lord seeing our giving back to Him will bless us richly as He sees fit - either in this life or the life to come.
May we all strive to see the gifts we’ve been given, offer them back to the living God with thanksgiving, and live in the reality of the great blessedness that our all-loving and compassionate Father bestows on us.
In Christ,
Fr. Steve
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