Feast of the Presentation 2025

There are those religious feasts which evoke much party and celebration.  At Christmas a tree may be decorated and gifts may be exchanged.  At Easter perhaps families will paint eggs and go on an egg hunt.  And it makes sense to go all out for these celebrations.  After all, the birth and resurrection of Jesus are big deals.  Then there are those feasts that the Church emphasizes greatly but do not seem to warrant much party or celebration.  We have such a feast today in the Feast of the Presentation which happens to fall on a Sunday this year.

At first glance, the Presentation of our Lord seems unremarkable.  As a baby, Jesus is brought to the temple forty days after His birth as was the Jewish custom.  His parents, since they were poor, brought a pair of pigeons for sacrifice.  They are met by an old man who takes the child in his arms, offers a thanksgiving to God, prophecies that He will be a light to the nations, and blesses the parents.  Then the holy family is met by an old woman ripe for death who also gives thanks to God.  Then everyone goes home.  There hardly seems to be anything remarkable here.

But isn’t this how God operates?  He often uses the unremarkable and the hidden to accomplish His works.  He often works quietly behind the scenes when all of the sudden He steps into the light, manifesting His presence, manifesting His works.  At first glance, little about the Feast of the Presentation seems noteworthy.  But pause and ponder what is really happening here.

All of Israel had been waiting for the coming of the Savior.  They yearned and pined for this light of the nations to pierce their darkness.  When would God visit His people?  And then, out of nowhere and in the most unassuming appearance, there He was.  Here He fulfills the prophecy of Malachi who said that “Suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek.”  Slowly and silently, then suddenly, God acts.

The world was consumed by evil – until, suddenly, God sent the flood, sparing only Noah. Abraham waited in hope for years – until, suddenly, Sarah conceived.  The Israelites found themselves as slaves of the Egyptians – until, suddenly Moses stood up to Pharaoh.  The Israelites were taken into exile by the Babylonians for seventy years.  Suddenly Cyrus the King of Persia let them return home.  Simeon had waited many long years for the Lord to fulfill the prophecy that he would see the Christ before he died.  Suddenly, He appeared in the form of a weak and poor little baby.

In every age, the world remains blind to the workings of God.  Yet in every age, God veils His providence while guiding it forward, blessing us with sudden moments where He pierces the veil of darkness with little bursts of light.  We long to see God at work in our lives.  Perhaps we grow tired waiting for Him to manifest Himself.  When will He hear my prayer?  When will I hear Him speaking to me?  When will He pierce that darkness and shine a light into my life?  We are tempted to give up.  We are tempted to think that He doesn’t care – or worse, that He is not there at all.  And then, suddenly, instantly, there He is in front of us.  We have those small moments where His grace amazes us.  These moments of light assure us that God is always at work, even when unseen.  We are blind to the silent, slow, and subtle workings of grace.

And so, like Simeon and Anna, be patient.  Trust that the Lord is always at work, even when His hand seems hidden.  Have faith and hope that He is near, caring for you, guiding you in ways you may not see.  At the time He chooses, He can pierce your darkness in an instant – like a father flicking on the light as his child cries out in the night.  Be watchful.  Be patient.  When the time is right, the Lord will come – suddenly and unmistakably.