Luke 2: a lot going on

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With these verses the Lucan birth narrative comes to a close and the Holy Family enters into a scene that is counterpart to the naming and dedication of John (1:57-80). Luke has an emphasis on the Jewishness of Jesus and his family. Five times in our text we are told that they observed the Law (vv. 22, 23, 24, 27, 39). Just before the Gospel for the Presentation of the Lord begins (v.22), Jesus has been circumcised (v.21). In v.39 we read, “When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord” – only then did the family return to Nazareth where the child “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of the God was upon him.” Following our text, we are told that Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover as was their “habit.”  As Jesus’ life begins with fulfilling the Law and coming to the temple in Jerusalem, so the Gospel ends with similar themes. Jesus’ last speech begins with: “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” (24:44). 

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A Liturgical Note: Presentation of the Lord

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In accordance with Jewish custom and Law, the Holy Family travels to the Jerusalem Temple to celebrate a host of religious celebrations: purification of Mary, and the presentation and consecration of Jesus. The Presentation of Jesus is celebrated by many Christian denominations. In addition to being known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, other traditional names include Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, and the Meeting of the Lord.

Candlemas is a northern European name for the feast because of the procession with lighted candles at the mass on this day, reflecting Simeon’s proclamation of “a light for revelation to the Gentiles”, which, in turn, echoes Isaiah 49:6 in the second of the “servant of the Lord” oracles. It is traditionally celebrated 40 days after Christmas. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Presentation of Jesus at the temple is celebrated as one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante (Ὑπαπαντή, “meeting” in Greek).

In the Roman Catholic Church the Feast of the Presentation is celebrated on 2 February – and if that is a Sunday celebration, then the Feast replaces the Sunday of Ordinary Time – as it does in 2025 replacing the 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time. And in case you are wondering, “Can Feb 2nd fall in the Season of Lent? The answer is “no” as February 4th is the earliest possible date for Ash Wednesday.

If you are interested in reading a detailed commentary on the Gospel for the 4th Sunday, Year C – which is the “rest of the story” started in the gospel for the 3rd Sunday, you can view it here.

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

The Story in Context

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Luke is the one gospel writer who makes his narrative intentions clear from the beginning prologue:

 “Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, 3 I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.” (Luke 1:1-4)

Luke wants to capture the testimonies, the stories, and accounts – all from the earliest of days – and write it all down in “an orderly sequence” so that the good news can be handed on with accuracy and received with certainty.

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The Tapestry of Scripture

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How about that first reading? “Pretty good stuff, huh? Ready for a pop quiz? Any volunteers?” About this time everyone begins to look down in the hopes that if we don’t make eye contact I won’t call on them. The first reading was from the Book of Nehemiah – just the title tells you a lot – fills in the who, what, when and where of the reading we just heard. It is the people of Jerusalem, returned from Exile in Babylon some 40 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and its beloved Temple. The people are rebuilding as best they can. Life is hard. The neighbors are making it difficult. The complaints and grumbling are many. What began in joy is wilting in the hot sun of their reality. They are forgetting who they are and to whom they belong.  And so they are all brought together in one place. The sequence of events that unfold are this: Continue reading →

Today

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This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time. 20 Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. 21 He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” 

With the reading complete, Jesus takes the posture (sitting) of the teacher – as he was expected to do. All eyes are upon him, his reputation preceding, his choice of scripture provocative – the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. Then simply and powerfully Jesus tells them that this great promise of God given in Isaiah, this promise of the long awaited Messiah has been fulfilled.

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The Mission

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This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time. It is important to note that this mission is specifically directed at the needs of people: poor, captive, blind, oppressed. Significantly, Jesus’ work will be good news to the poor. Mary’s prayer (1:52-52; the Magnificat) praises the Lord for lifting up the lowly and sending the rich away empty. Later, Jesus announces God’s blessing on the poor (6:20) and then refers to the fulfillment of the charge to bring good news to the poor in his response to John (7:22). The poor also figure more prominently in Jesus’ teachings in Luke than in any other Gospel (14:13, 21; 16:20, 22; 18:22; 21:3).Culpepper [105-6] provides additional insights for Luke’s use of the Isaian text:

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In the power of the Spirit

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This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time. As noted, this passage begins with a reference to Jesus being “in the power of the Spirit.” While there are no doubt some implicit Trinitarian ideas here, the OT should serve as the means of understanding the direction of Luke’s narrative. The OT metaphors of wind (Heb: ruach – breath, wind, spirit), smoke, and cloud, as well as fire, were ways of talking about the active presence of God in the world. Even though the single Hebrew term is translated in various ways even when used of God, this idea became a way to talk about God in terms of his immediate activity in the world. The idea behind the Hebrew term ruach expressed the immanence of God in the world and encompassed his willingness and power to act in human history. This idea carried over into most of the NT since the equivalent term in Greek (pneuma) carries the same varied meaning.  As well, this “power of the Spirit” also points to a commissioning of prophets and enabling leaders to carry out their mission. 

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The Spirit: first words

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This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time and Jesus is in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. In the previous post Jesus proclaimed a reading from the Prophet Isaiah. In this post Jesus’ first words are recorded.  How appropriate that the first record of public ministry is the very living Word made flesh sharing the Word of God. Luke records these first spoken words of Jesus’ ministry:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”

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Expectations

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This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time. Jesus is in the synagogue in his hometown. “He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read 17 and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:” The Gospel of Mark has a similar account but records it later in Jesus’ public ministry near the end of the ministry in Galilee (Mark 6:1-6a). Luke reports the account at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. In doing so, Luke highlights the initial admiration (Luke 4:22) and subsequent rejection of Jesus (Luke 4:28-29) and presents it as a foreshadowing of the whole future ministry of Jesus. Moreover, the rejection of Jesus in his own hometown hints at the greater rejection of him by Israel (Acts 13:46). Luke’s account seems to have at least two emphases: (a) the announcement of Jesus’ ministry as the fulfillment of God’s promises from the OT in general, but in Isaiah in particular; and (b) a statement about the context of Jesus’ ministry (cf.  Luke 4:18-19). In each case, the prophet Isaiah serves as the fulfillment text. 

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An interesting Intersection

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Today is an interesting intersection of national events. President Trump’s return to the oval office after four years will begin today with his inauguration. The same day in which we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I have no doubt that pundits, journalists, and writers will have more complete and better insights than I. Both these historic events are joined at this interesting intersection by our gospel: the wisdom of new/old garments, wine and wineskins.

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