February 2, 2019
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
23rd World Day of Consecrated Life
Malachi 3: 1-4 (or) Hebrews 2: 14-18; Luke 2: 22-40
The readings of today were offered for our reflection only recently, on the 8th day after Christmas. They are given once more today, but they open a whole new perspective today with all that surrounds it liturgically today!
From the readings of today, we can pick up three signs of our total offering to the Lord:
Familiarity: As the Holy Family which enters the Temple with that ease and eagerness to perform their spiritual duty, so are we called to remain always familiar with the Lord. As families we need to grow in our identity as families of God, families where God is at the centre, families which live their daily life around God!
Flexibility: For Mary or Joseph, performing the duty was not merely a ritual; even for us it shouldn't be so! We cannot be so legalistic and ritualistic, drawing boundaries as to what is to be done and what is not to be done, with such precision and perfection, as if we know every bit of the mind of God. We are called to be pliable in the hands of God, as malleable as the silver and gold in the hands of the smith, so that we can become what the Lord wants us to. The only thing after all that matters to God is love, nothing but love.
Filiality: It is this love that takes us to that loving destiny that God has prepared for us: it is towards filiality, we are ultimately invited to, as the letter to the Hebrews reminds us. This filiality inspired and enthused Jesus to belong to God totally and we are called to imitate the same self-giving!
Let us grow more and more, familiar, flexible and filial.