Candlemas - Turtledoves and THE Lamb

Forty days after the birth of Jesus, today is often regarded as rounding off the Christmas/ Epiphany season. That's why some churches (and homes) leave their Christmas decorations up until today. It's also why we like to have 'O come, all ye faithful . . .' sung quietly and reverently as a Communion Hymn in today's Mass.

The readings and prayers for this day take us back to the birth of Jesus, and they beckon us forward to the beginning of Lent, and then his suffering and death. 

The Gospel reading (Luke 2:22-39) tells of Mary and Joseph going to the temple with the baby Jesus, that they might be purified 'according to the Law,' and Jesus consecrated to the Lord. The old man Simeon, full of the Holy Spirit, discerns Jesus to be God’s Messiah, 'the light to enlighten the nations'. It is for this reason that the blessing and lighting of candles has long been associated with this day. Anna, the old prophetess, who had prayed and fasted every day in expectation of the 'redemption of Jerusalem', saw Jesus and began to tell everyone about him.

In Anglo-Saxon times it was '. . . appointed in the ecclesiastical observances that we on this day bear our lights to church and let them be there blessed; and that we should go afterward with the light among Godʼs houses and sing the hymn that is thereto appointed. Though some men cannot sing they can, nevertheless, bear the light in their hands; for on this day was Christ, the true light, borne to the temple, Who redeemed us from darkness and bringeth us to the eternal light.' - The Ritual Reason Why, by C. Walker (1886) page 197.

In the midst of today’s joyful festival, we hear old Simeon’s enigmatic remark to our Lady - 'a sword shall pierce your own soul, too' -, reminding us of her participation in all that Jesus suffered for our redemption.

Orthodox Christians call today’s feast 'Hypapante' (Greek for 'the encounter'), seeing in the juxtaposition of the Child and the old man the encounter of the fading age of the Old Covenant and the new era of Jesus and his Church. 

There is more than a touch of irony in the fact that the poor, if they couldn’t afford a lamb to offer in sacrifice and thanksgiving, could bring turtle doves or even pigeons. Mary and Joseph were poor, and although - according to today’s Gospel reading - they brought turtle doves or pigeons, we know that they actually brought the only Lamb that has ever really mattered: Jesus, 'Mary’s little Lamb', the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Today is our feast of candles, with the warmth of their light pointing to Jesus, the light of the world.

Each of us is given a candle today as a reminder that having received the light of Jesus, which at the very beginning of creation pierced the darkness and which no darkness can overpower, we are to shine in the darkness of our own time that others may find him and be set free to walk in his light.

* * * * * * * * * * 

Joseph Beaumont (1616-1699), was a priest of the Church of England, a Royal Chaplain, and then Master, successively, of Jesus College and Peterhouse in Cambridge. In this poem he beautifully intertwines the themes of the Candlemas Gospel reading: 

May we have leave to ask, illustrious Mother,

Why thou dost turtles bring

For thy Son’s offering,

And rather giv’st not one lamb for another? 

It seems that golden shower which th’other day

The forward faithful East

Poured at thy feet, made haste

Through some devout expence to find its way. 

O precious poverty, which canst appear

Richer to holy eyes

Than any golden prize,

And sweeter art than frankincense and myrrh! 

Come then, that silver, which thy turtles wear

Upon their wings, shall make

Precious thy gift, and speak

That Son of thine, like them, all pure and fair. 

But know that heaven will not be long in debt;

No, the Eternal Dove

Down from his nest above

Shall come, and on thy son’s dear head shall sit.

Heaven will not have Him ransomed, heaven’s law

Makes no exception

For lambs, and such a one

Is He: a fairer Lamb heaven never saw. 

He must be offered, or the world is lost:

The whole world’s ransom lies

In this great sacrifice;

And He will pay its debt, whate’er it cost. 

Nor shall these turtles unrepayed be,

These turtles which today

Thy love for Him did pay:

Thou ransom’dst Him, and He will ransom thee. 

A dear and full redemption will He give

Thee and the world: this Son,

And none but this alone

By His own death can make His Mother live.

(Joseph Beaumont's poem can be found in

Thérèse, M. I Sing of a Maiden: The Mary Book of Verse. 

New York: The Macmillan Company, 1947.)

CANDLEMAS - Mary's little Lamb the Light of the world

The beautiful chapel of the Presentation of the Lord 

at our Lady's Shrine in Lourdes, France.

Forty days after the birth of Jesus, today's Mass is often regarded as rounding off the Christmas/ Epiphany season. The readings and prayers take us back to the birth of the Lord, and they beckon us forward to his suffering and death. 

The Gospel reading (Luke 2:22-39) tells of Mary and Joseph going to the temple with the baby Jesus, that they might be purified “according to the Law,” and Jesus consecrated to the Lord. The old man Simeon, full of the Holy Spirit, discerns Jesus to be God’s Messiah, “the light to enlighten the nations”. It is for this reason that the blessing and lighting of candles has long been associated with this day. Anna, the old prophetess, who had prayed and fasted every day in expectation of the "redemption of Jerusalem", saw Jesus and began to tell everyone about him.

In Anglo-Saxon times it was “. . . appointed in the ecclesiastical observances that we on this day bear our lights to church and let them be there blessed; and that we should go afterward with the light among Godʼs houses and sing the hymn that is thereto appointed. Though some men cannot sing they can, nevertheless, bear the light in their hands; for on this day was Christ, the true light, borne to the temple, Who redeemed us from darkness and bringeth us to the eternal light.” - The Ritual Reason Why, by C. Walker (1886) page 197.

In the midst of today’s joyful festival, we hear old Simeon’s enigmatic remark to our Lady - “a sword shall pierce your own soul, too” -, reminding us of her participation in all that Jesus suffered for our redemption.

Greek Orthodox Christians call today’s feast “Hypapante” (the encounter), seeing in the juxtaposition of the Child and the old man the encounter of the fading age of the Old Covenant and the new era of Jesus and his Church. 

There is more than a touch of irony in the fact that the poor, if they couldn’t afford a lamb to offer in sacrifice and thanksgiving, could bring turtle doves or even pigeons. Mary and Joseph were poor, and although - according to today’s Gospel reading - they brought turtle doves or pigeons, we know that they actually brought the only Lamb that has ever really mattered: Jesus, Mary’s little Lamb, the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. 

Today is our feast of candles, with the warmth of their light pointing to Jesus, the light of the world.

Each of us is given a candle today as a reminder that having received the light of Jesus, which at the very beginning of creation pierced the darkness and which no darkness can overpower, we are to shine in the darkness of our own time that others may find him and be set free to walk in his light.

* * * * * * * * * *

May we have leave to ask, illustrious Mother,

Why thou dost turtles bring

For thy Son’s offering,

And rather giv’st not one lamb for another? 

It seems that golden shower which th’other day

The forward faithful East

Poured at thy feet, made haste

Through some devout expence to find its way. 

O precious poverty, which canst appear

Richer to holy eyes

Than any golden prize,

And sweeter art than frankincense and myrrh! 

Come then, that silver, which thy turtles wear

Upon their wings, shall make

Precious thy gift, and speak

That Son of thine, like them, all pure and fair. 

But know that heaven will not be long in debt;

No, the Eternal Dove

Down from his nest above

Shall come, and on thy son’s dear head shall sit.

Heaven will not have Him ransomed, heaven’s law

Makes no exception

For lambs, and such a one

Is He: a fairer Lamb heaven never saw. 

He must be offered, or the world is lost:

The whole world’s ransom lies

In this great sacrifice;

And He will pay its debt, whate’er it cost. 

Nor shall these turtles unrepayed be,

These turtles which today

Thy love for Him did pay:

Thou ransom’dst Him, and He will ransom thee. 

A dear and full redemption will He give

Thee and the world: this Son,

And none but this alone

By His own death can make His Mother live.

– Joseph Beaumont (1616-1699)

Thérèse, M. I Sing of a Maiden: The Mary Book of Verse. 

New York: The Macmillan Company, 1947.

Today's readings and reflection

FIRST READING (Jeremiah 11:18-20)

The Lord made it known to me and I knew; then thou didst show me their evil deeds.

But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I did not know it was against me they devised schemes, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.”

But, O Lord of hosts, who judgest righteously, who triest the heart and the mind, let me see thy vengeance upon them, for to thee have I committed my cause.

GOSPEL (John 7:40-53)

When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This is really the prophet.”

Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the scripture said that the Christ is descended from David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”

So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

The officers then went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this man!”

The Pharisees answered them, “Are you led astray, you also? Have any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, who do not know the law, are accursed.”

Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”

They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and you will see that no prophet is to rise from Galilee.”

They went each to his own house

REFLECTIONS

Who is Jesus for you? - Servants of the Word

Harmful prejudice - Fr Vic Baltazar

Scripture Fulfilled: Gradual awareness of who Jesus is - Fr John Breck

FURTHERMORE . . .

In concert with all the great philosophers, St Peter Chrysologus reminds us that human observation cannot recognize how great God is, but only that He exists. Why is this? Why can we not innately see the greatness of God? Let me suggest two reasons.

First, we are creatures. So our human minds can neither comprehend nor fathom the mystery that God is. Otherwise, we would be like God. So the nature of being human prevents us from ever truly knowing the full extent of God’s greatness. Or to say it more simply: we can’t know God’s greatness because we are not God, but made by God.

The second reason we can’t know God’s greatness is because we don’t know what true greatness is. Our minds are so clouded over by arrogance, by lust, by disordered passions, and by our selfish near-sightedness that we do not know see that true greatness consists not of might but of mercy; and not being able to have and do and control whatever we want, but being willing to sacrifice all for the sake of love.

This second reason is because of sin. Instead of striving to be in God, we strive to be like God. And in our misguided striving, we miss the mark because we are aiming at the wrong thing. And the wrong thing is the desire to raise ourselves, the need to promote ourselves, the straining and struggling and stressing to make sure we make it. The focus is all wrong. In straining to be like God, we strain to be noticed; and so we strain toward a selfish goal.

But notice, now, the true greatness of God. The Son of God, who is all and has all, emptied Himself of all that He is and has, and took the form of a servant, and became one of the creatures He made, being made in the likeness of men, taking on the mortal weakness of men. And so, not for His sake, but for the sake of man and all creation, He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.

[Here, then, is true greatness.] It is the High Priest using His own blood to sanctify not only the temple, not only the pious and righteous, but even more so the most defiled, the most despicable, the least deserving, the filthiest, and the most unclean. This is the way of Christ, who by the Holy Ghost offered himself unspotted unto God, [to] cleanse our conscience from dead works, [so that we might be permitted] serve the living God. In this way, the unholiest is sanctified not by an incantation, not by the right ceremony, but by the Holy One becoming sin; by the Deathless One dying; and by the Lover of men being the most despised.

Let us then not only consider, but take to heart, the greatness of Our Lord God. Let us not only understand, but also believe His meekness. Let us both comprehend, and then seek our life in the unfathomable love that He is and so readily gives. For He does not abandon us to our self-destroying ways. Neither does He make us first seek Him out and somehow ascend to Him. Rather, in His deep and abiding mercy, Our Lord Jesus comes to us. And in coming to us, He gives us all that we need to return to Him, to live in true repentance, to forsake our selfish appetites, and to live for Him in the same self-sacrificing way that He lives for us.

From a sermon “The Greatness of God” by Fr John W Fenton.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ,

you are for me medicine when I am sick;

you are my strength when I need help;

you are life itself when I fear death;

you are the way when I long for heaven;

you are light when all is dark;

you are my food when I need nourishment.

Amen.

St Ambrose of Milan (340-397)

Candlemass - a kaleidoscope of symbols

The beautiful chapel of the Presentation of the Lord 

at our Lady's Shrine in Lourdes, France.

Forty days after the birth of Jesus, today's Mass is often regarded as rounding off the Christmas/ Epiphany season. The readings and prayers take us back to the birth of the Lord, and they beckon us forward to his suffering and death. 

The Gospel reading (Luke 2:22-39) tells of Mary and Joseph going to the temple with the baby Jesus, that they might be purified “according to the Law,” and Jesus consecrated to the Lord. The old man Simeon, full of the Holy Spirit, discerns Jesus to be God’s Messiah, “the light to enlighten the nations”. It is for this reason that the blessing and lighting of candles has long been associated with this day. Anna, the old prophetess, who had prayed and fasted every day in expectation of the "redemption of Jerusalem", saw Jesus and began to tell everyone about him.

In Anglo-Saxon times it was “. . . appointed in the ecclesiastical observances that we on this day bear our lights to church and let them be there blessed; and that we should go afterward with the light among Godʼs houses and sing the hymn that is thereto appointed. Though some men cannot sing they can, nevertheless, bear the light in their hands; for on this day was Christ, the true light, borne to the temple, Who redeemed us from darkness and bringeth us to the eternal light.” - The Ritual Reason Why, by C. Walker (1886) page 197.

In the midst of today’s joyful festival, we hear old Simeon’s enigmatic remark to our Lady - “a sword shall pierce your own soul, too” -, reminding us of her participation in all that Jesus suffered for our redemption.

Greek Orthodox Christians call today’s feast “Hypapante” (the encounter), seeing in the juxtaposition of the Child and the old man the encounter of the fading age of the Old Covenant and the new era of Jesus and his Church. 

There is more than a touch of irony in the fact that the poor, if they couldn’t afford a lamb to offer in sacrifice and thanksgiving, could bring turtle doves or even pigeons. Mary and Joseph were poor, and although - according to today’s Gospel reading - they brought turtle doves or pigeons, we know that they actually brought the only Lamb that has ever really mattered: Jesus, Mary’s little Lamb, the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. 

Today is our feast of candles, with the warmth of their light pointing to Jesus, the light of the world.

Each of us is given a candle today as a reminder that having received the light of Jesus, which at the very beginning of creation pierced the darkness and which no darkness can overpower, we are to shine in the darkness of our own time that others may find him and be set free to walk in his light.

* * * * * * * * * *

May we have leave to ask, illustrious Mother,

Why thou dost turtles bring

For thy Son’s offering,

And rather giv’st not one lamb for another? 

It seems that golden shower which th’other day

The forward faithful East

Poured at thy feet, made haste

Through some devout expence to find its way. 

O precious poverty, which canst appear

Richer to holy eyes

Than any golden prize,

And sweeter art than frankincense and myrrh! 

Come then, that silver, which thy turtles wear

Upon their wings, shall make

Precious thy gift, and speak

That Son of thine, like them, all pure and fair. 

But know that heaven will not be long in debt;

No, the Eternal Dove

Down from his nest above

Shall come, and on thy son’s dear head shall sit.

Heaven will not have Him ransomed, heaven’s law

Makes no exception

For lambs, and such a one

Is He: a fairer Lamb heaven never saw. 

He must be offered, or the world is lost:

The whole world’s ransom lies

In this great sacrifice;

And He will pay its debt, whate’er it cost. 

Nor shall these turtles unrepayed be,

These turtles which today

Thy love for Him did pay:

Thou ransom’dst Him, and He will ransom thee. 

A dear and full redemption will He give

Thee and the world: this Son,

And none but this alone

By His own death can make His Mother live.

– Joseph Beaumont (1616-1699)

Thérèse, M. I Sing of a Maiden: The Mary Book of Verse. 

New York: The Macmillan Company, 1947.

Glory to the Lamb!

A friend recently drew my attention to this article in the February 2005 Minneapolis Roman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Newsletter. It was originally a homily preached by  Fr Al Backmann, of Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. Great preaching!!! 

In today’s gospel, John the Baptist says, “Look, there is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” And everybody looked.

Now that phrase is familiar to us, but can you imagine what those people must have thought when John said, “Look, there is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” We hear that phrase all of the time, but for those people it must have been somewhat shocking. Here John was referring to Jesus as a lamb, as an animal. John didn’t say, “Look, here comes the son of Mary and Joseph,” or “Look, here comes Jesus, the Son of God.” Instead he says, “Look, here comes the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”

I would like to share with you some background about the term “Lamb of God.” In the Second Book of Samuel, Nathan tells a story to David. He says there are two men who are citizens of the same town. One was rich and powerful; the other was very poor. The rich man had a large flock of sheep, more than he could even count; the poor man had only one – one tiny lamb.

But the poor man’s children loved that one little lamb; they played with it all day long, and they even brought it to the table to share their food with the lamb. Nathan says they even taught the lamb to drink from a cup. The lamb was like a member of the family. One day an important visitor came along to the rich man’s house. The rich man didn’t want to kill his own lamb to feed the guest, so he sent his servants to the poor man’s house and took his lamb and slaughtered it to feed the guest. That’s all in the book of Samuel. It’s a marvellous story.

The moving story of the rich man’s cruelty is one of the images John the Baptist had in mind when he said, “Look, there is the Lamb of God.” Nathan’s story of the poor man’s pet lamb fits Jesus. Jesus too was deeply loved; Jesus too was cruelly slain.

There was another image in John’s mind when he pointed to Jesus and said, “Look, there is the Lamb of God.” That is the image of the lambs that were sacrificed in the Temple, the lambs that were daily sacrificial offerings. They were the same sacrifices that God told Moses in the Book of Exodus were, every day for all time, to be sacrificed on the altar: two one-year-old, unblemished lambs, one in the morning and one in the evening. And these daily sacrifices were kept all through the years. When John the Baptist points to Jesus and says, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,” he had in mind the sacrificial lambs that were offered in the morning and in the evening. In effect what John was saying to his disciples is, “We offer lambs daily in the temple for our sins, but ‘this lamb’ is the only one who can save us from sin.”

Now long before John the Baptist, the prophets spoke of a mysterious servant of God who would some day suffer and die like a lamb. That was 600 years before Christ. Chapter 53 of Isaiah says, “..He was treated harshly, but endured it humbly.  Like a lamb about to be slaughtered, he never said a word.” He was arrested and sentenced so that all sins would die. He was put to death for the sins of all people.

In the book of Jeremiah it says, “I was like a trusting lamb taken out to be killed. I did not know it was against me that they were planning evil things.” And so the Lamb of God has these two vivid images: The first one, about Nathan’s story of the rich man and the poor man – and the second one, about the temple and the suffering servant of God.

Now I want to relate the image that has the most importance for us, and yet most of us are not aware of it. It is in the Book of Revelation. Do you know the words “Lamb of God” are used 28 times in the Book of Revelation? Sometimes it is about love and affection – sometimes it is about suffering and sacrifice. Those were the two early images. But there is a third image that I want to talk about that is most important for us, and that image is of “Glory and Triumph.” Chapter 5 in the Book of Revelation is a good example of where the author describes his vision of a lamb on a throne, and the lamb is surrounded by people who were singing and praising the lamb with this song, “You were killed and by your blood you ransomed all people for God from every tribe, and language, and people and nation.” People are around the throne. He is called the Lamb of God. And they are singing to the Lamb of God. And they are singing what we sing.

You know, the reason we call the Mass a sacrifice is because of the “Lamb of God.” The Lamb of God was sacrificed. So when people ask if the Mass is a sacrifice or a banquet meal, the answer is “it is both.” It is a sacrifice because of the Lamb of God. He died for us. But we forget that the better theology and the fuller theology is that he rose! And the fuller theology of the Eucharist is to celebrate. But we were taught only the other one. We weren’t taught much about this tremendous celebration of the Lamb of God who rose. And it says right in the Scriptures, “To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might for ever and ever! And all the people said, Amen.”

That is in the book of Revelation, but we seem to emphasize more the penitential nature of sacrifice. So people have a tendency, even today, when receiving the Eucharist to omit the other side of sacrifice, the celebration. This is the time to ‘let loose’ from the revelation. Do you know that those words we sing, “Through him, with him, and in him,” are about the same as in Revelation? And then we all respond, “Amen!” That is called the “great Amen.” Amen means “we believe.” And that should always be our response to the doxology—through him, with him and in him. And they all said, “Amen.”

The title “Lamb of God” then, has three images. Suffering and sacrifice – affection and love – glory and praise. Now there are many titles for Jesus: light of the world – the good shepherd – the bread of life, but only one time in the Mass is He the Lamb of God. That’s what we share in the Eucharist. Yes, it is a sacrifice, but don’t leave it there. He rose! We have the book of Revelation, and so we celebrate. It says, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and praise.” And every creature on earth, and under the earth, and in the sea said, “Amen.”

So don’t lose track of the dual meaning. When we say, “This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,” that is the sacrifice part; “Happy are those who are called to his supper” is the banquet part of the Eucharist.

Consider the words, “who takes away the sins of the world.” Christ died for our sins. It was the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross that removed our sins. On the cross, God piled all of human sinfulness on his only begotten son, in the image of the Lamb, weak and vulnerable. It took only a handful of soldiers and a few sharp nails to kill him. And yet, at the very moment that humankind dumped its worst sin on God by killing the very Son of God, God met that sin with the overpowering spirit of His love.

There is only one power in the universe that is more powerful than sin, and that is God’s power and determination to forgive. In the end, John tells us in the Book of Revelation that, when all of the world’s sin has been removed for all eternity, there stands one solitary victor in the midst of the throne room of God – and that is “the Lamb, Jesus Christ.” In the end, it is the Lamb who is victorious – worthy of glory and honour and praise. And we are reminded of this every time we celebrate the Eucharist. We hold the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and gaze upon the elements and say those memorable words, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” And all the people say, “Amen.”