Our Sacred Roots: The Priesthood of All Believers

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T he S eason after E piphany

The Presentation of the Lord February 2, 2022

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Epiphany affirms Jesus’s presence in the world as hope for all peoples. In him alone, God provides the light of his salvation, making known God’s grace to all peoples, even to the farthest corners of the earth. TODAY’S THEME A Light to the Gentiles and the Glory of Israel, Luke 2.22-40 Mary and Joseph obeyed the Lord by keeping the Law’s command for new mothers to be purified and to present their firstborn males in a ceremony to the Lord. Each firstborn male was considered holy, to be set apart to God for his glory and purpose. During their visit to the temple, a certain righteous and devout man, Simeon, was there. It had been revealed to him by the Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. Coming into the temple as Mary and Joseph brought Jesus in, he took the child in his arms and blessed the Lord. Simeon said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2.29-32). Simeon blessed them, and warned Mary that her baby would be for the “fall and rising of many in Israel” alongside her own suffering as well. A prophetess, Anna, a long-time widow eighty-four years old, came up at that very hour, giving thanks to God and speaking about the child to everyone who was “waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (v. 38). Truly, Jesus is God’s gift of salvation to humankind, the “light of revelation” to the Gentiles and “the glory” of Israel. To the non-Jews he is the revelation of God’s plan of salvation, and he is the fulfillment of God’s promise to the nation for a Messiah who would reign as King forever. In Jesus, God’s kingdom promise is now fulfilled.