Dean’s Letter: Candlemas

Hello St. Paul’s,

Next Monday, February 2,  the church celebrates the commemoration of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple. This is an ancient feast, also known as the Purification of the Virgin Mary, or Candlemas. It’s a favorite of mine, because I was ordained priest on February 2, 1998.

St. Luke tells the beautiful story of Mary and Joseph bringing the six-week-old Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, to make the appropriate sacrifice that was required for all firstborn offspring (Luke 2:22-40). In a way this ritual might parallel our Christian rite of Baptism, which traditionally is done when a baby is about six weeks old. However, the purpose of the presentation was not to wash away original sin or to symbolize rebirth in Christ, but rather a way of ransoming the child’s life from God according to the Law of Moses which declared that all life belongs to God.

As the holy family wandered in the huge and impressive Temple, they came across two elders of the faith, first Simeon and then Anna, both people who were spiritually attuned to God to the extent that they were able to recognize the uniqueness of the child. Simeon sang a hymn of praise, which we know as the Nunc Dimittis, sung here at Evensong every week, and then he warned Mary that this child’s destiny would break her heart. Anna also sang praises and spoke out to other passers-by about what she saw in Jesus.

The second name of the day, the Purification, refers to another requirement of the Jewish law, that a mother be ritually released from the impurity of having shed blood, as is unavoidable in childbirth. This tradition made its way into Christian practice: in some of the older churches in Europe you can find a line built into the floor near the back of the nave. This line demarcates how close to the altar “unchurched” women were permitted to go until they had been “churched” following childbirth. I’m glad to say that in the Episcopal Church the old service “for the churching of women” has been replaced by “Thanksgiving for the birth or adoption of a child”, rejecting  the offensive notion that childbirth was somehow unclean and instead offering heartfelt gratitude to God for the safe arrival of a new family member.

Finally, Candlemas is so named because in the English church this was the day when new stocks of candles were blessed for both church and domestic use, symbolizing the light that shines in the darkness, the season of Epiphany (or Revelation) being a season of light during dark winter days.

So, as the secular world celebrates the groundhog, you can instead reflect on the preciousness of new life, the wisdom of our elders, and the importance of being a light in the world.

See you on Sunday!

Your sister in Christ,
Penny