It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like …
Endless winter. That may be your first thought after the past week of weather.
It may seem a long time since Christmas. Blustery and cold as it is, yet one by one, the days are getting longer.
But we get a brief reprise of Christmas today. Well, not exactly Christmas. Yet, Jesus is a baby again. On the church’s calendar it is the feast of the Presentation of Our Lord. The feast day has a nickname as well. It is sometimes called “Candlemas,” because of the tradition of blessing candles on this day.
Our church calendar can seem out of sync if you think too much about it. Each year, we mark the entirety of Jesus life, from birth to resurrection. Yet, the cycle of pregnancy and birth dictate certain festivals. The annunciation is nine months before Christmas. The nativity of John the Baptist is exactly six months before Christmas, at the summer solstice. And Presentation/Candlemas is forty days after Christmas, even in years when Lent follows on its heels.
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus is presented in the temple forty days after his birth. The remarkable story involves two memorable, aged saints—Anna and Simeon. Before they die, they see the fulfillment of God’s promises as they take the Holy Child in their arms.
The story even includes a hit song from scripture—sometimes called the Nunc Dimittis. You may recognize the first line: Lord, now you let your servant depart in peace … Simeon proclaims that Jesus will be a light for revelation to the nations and the glory of Israel. Light, candles, you get the picture.
You may think of February 2nd as Groundhog Day and consider it a mere secular flirt with the coming of spring. Yet the origin of the day is in folklore of northern Europe. German farmers believed that if they saw an animal’s shadow on Candlemas, there would be six more weeks of winter.
February 2 is a hinge—between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. We get a little taste of Christmas again. At the same time, we look to the coming of spring and the lengthening of days, as we celebrate Jesus as the One whose death and resurrection brings light and healing to the world.