“Make America Great Again” – think what you will, but it is a fantastic slogan – easy to remember, tells a story of what is possible, and it is three election cycles old and we all know it. Marketing and advertising experts will tell you it hits all the marks. And stop for a moment…does anyone remember the slogans of the opponents in the last three elections? Think what you will of MAGA, it is a masterpiece in sloganeering. And we have the spinoffs: for example, Make America Healthy Again. I asked Chat-GPT for some other suggestions along the same lines and got: “Make America….” Safe Again, Energy-Independent, Strong, First, Free, Bold… “Again!”  Maybe I should copyright some of these ideas? I thought about “Make American Moral Again” or “Make America Mighty Again” – not bad, but then the slogan would be MAMA and I am not sure what that would say if I walked around with a MAMA hat.

I wonder what the Prophet Malachi would think of all these slogans? Malachi is the last of the OT prophets and no sloganeer. The Word of God came to Malachi in a time when the people were negligent in their spiritual life, lacked generosity to the poor, did not welcome the stranger, took advantage of workers for the benefit of themselves alone, and picked who they listened to so they were assured of always hearing what they wanted to hear. Underlying all this was a weary attitude, a cynical notion that there is nothing to be done, nothing be gained by doing what God wants – I mean, look around, the faithless and those who do evil prosper. It is into this cauldron that the prophet speaks: “Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.” Malachi is a prophet for our time and especially for this Sunday when we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation.

There in the Jerusalem Temple is a righteous and faithful man, Simeon. He is a man of the covenant, one to whom Malachi’s word would come true: “suddenly there will come to the Temple the LORD whom you seek.”  The Spirit reveal to Simeon that the child of Mary and Joseph is the long awaited Messiah and he proclaims: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”

What a gift for Simeon, a man at the end of his life.  I have no doubt he remembered the rest of Malachi’s prophecy: “But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears?  For he is like the refiner’s fire…” The people of Simeon’s time were very similar to the people of Malachi’s time and Simeon understood his people. He prophesies: “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel.”  A fall for people, then and now, who do not recognize the glory of God in Jesus; people who will not see by the light of revelation.

The Feast of the Presentation is all about “light” and “revelation.” Traditionally it is the final celebration of the “Season of Epiphany – a season that is all about epiphania, about revealing the person of Jesus to the nations, about revealing the nature of God and as an invitation to share in the divine, Trinitarian life. It is a day when we are reminded that we were given the “light of Christ” at our baptisms and admonished to never let the flame of that grace-filled moment be extinguished. And by that light of revelation to see the world as God would have us see so what we can endure the day of his coming.

Are we like the people of Malachi’s time? Negligent in our spiritual life, lacking generosity to the poor, unwelcoming to the stranger, primarily concerned about ourselves, selective about who we listen to, always assured we will hear what we already think or believe? Is there a weariness with all that “stuff” out there that threatens to disrupt our peace and quiet – agitating our world?

We all have many things that define us: job, family, wealth, politics, hobbies, and the list goes on. But our most intrinsic – and sometimes most hidden – identity is that we are People of the Covenant with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are People of the Word of God, we are People of the Eucharist – and it is by those lights of revelation that we are called to first and foremost view the world.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, something that would have happened about 40 days after Jesus’ birth. Likely not too long after this, the Holy Family will become refugees from Israel and migrate to Egypt in order to escape the coming violence from King Herod.  Today, open your news source and odds are the virtual “front page” will be carrying some content on the current topic of refugees and immigration. No controversy there….just kidding… It is nothing but controversy. But here is the question that our readings ask of us: what is your first thought? Is that thought about illegal border crossings, special temporary protection programs, asylum, impact on sectors of the US economy that rely on immigrant labor, work permits – don’t misunderstand – those are all important considerations. But are these the first lights by which we are called to see the world. Are they indicative of our identity?  Are they sources of a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.

It is a complicated world – immigration is just one of many topics – open your window to the world; the list is long and never ending.  The readings challenge us to see by the light of revelation of Jesus, first and foremost. Perhaps we all our news feeds need to first display the words of St. Paul in Colossians 3: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.” (Col 3:12-14)

It doesn’t reduce to a slogan, but they are words to live by and the first light of revelation by which to see the very complicated world.The gospel well reminds us:  “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel.”  A fall for people, then and now, who do not recognize the glory of God in Jesus; people who will not see by the light of revelation.

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Image credit: Giotto di Bondone, Presentation of Christ in the Temple | Lower Church in the Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi | PD-US