Candlemas

 

Candlemas is tomorrow but many churches will mark it today.  It’s the day when we remember Jesus’s first visit to the temple when he was just forty days old. 

Candlemas marks a gentle turning point in the Christian year.  It was an end to the seclusion following his birth and the start "getting on with life".  And we see the faithfulness of  an old man and an old woman.   Simeon and Anna each saw hope fulfilled in this child.  There isn’t the noisy joy of Christmas with angels and shepherds and magi but rather a quiet joy showing their trust.

Now, Lord, you let your servant go in peace:

your word has been fulfilled.

My own eyes have seen the salvation

which you have prepared in the sight of every people;

A light to reveal you to the nations

and the glory of your people Israel.

 But Simeon went on to say that the child would bring great change and would cause his mother to suffer. His words remind us that this light will reveal hearts and bring both joy and cost. Candlemas invites us to reflect on how we carry that light.

(If you want to read the story, it is in Luke, chapter 2, verses 22 to 38)