Candlemas Lessons Part 1

When the days were completed for their purification

according to the law of Moses,

Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem

to present him to the Lord (Luke 2:22)

I often sit in awe of God in the Holy Family while taken aback by realizing what a weakling St. Joseph was. You might say “What? Say that again?”. His renown for holiness has been passed down in our tradition 2000 years. It logically must be true as God chose him to father and shepherd His only begotten son as well as to love and protect the spouse of His Spirit. In a way, St. Joseph is a ‘stand in’ for God the father, completing the Holy Family as an extension of the Trinity itself. 

And yet St. Joseph, who the early church named “Scourge of Demons”, is the weakest member of the Holy Family. His wife was perfect, and his son was God. He still had to carry the role of head of household and decision maker. That had to be intimidating! Food for thought to all of us! 

A righteous and holy head of household was necessary in many respects; in one, to ensure the law of the Torah was carried out perfectly. We saw this first happen with Jesus’ circumcision and now this week with His presentation in the temple and purification of Mary. If we fast-forward to His passion and death that would take place 33 years later, we then known why it had to be. For the prophecies to come true, a perfect and perfectly innocent ‘lamb’ had to be ‘sacrificed’. By fulfilling the Mosaic law perfectly from the time He was born, Jesus was innocent at the time condemned and put to death. (1Sam 19:5; MT 26:66, 27:24; Jn 19:4, 7; IS 53:7) This is also the return of the presence of God to the Temple, now God Himself returns to the temple in human form. 

God could have made this happen without human help. But what would we have learned from it? By working through humans, we have their example to follow in our own lives. We also can begin to recognize God’s actions vs. human-centered action in ourselves and others. This is necessary to our own change and growth. Our purification.

Ultimately, God (without any need on His part and solely by His own benevolence) placed Himself at the mercy of humans to do His will and work because HE chose to. And He chose those specific people just as He has chosen us specifically to be His instrument in our place of the world. More than His instrument, He wants to transform us into Himself, in our souls. We then carry Him most fully within us. His Spirit in us reaches the souls around us. With the Holy Spirit prodding and poking them, even what we perceive as a hard-hearted person will shock us with moments of letting down their self-protecting shield.

But where does one begin to let God reform us? Part 2 of this article will provide ideas that will help you on your path walking with God. ??