The Presentation of Jesus: The Ransom

.“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me to do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!” - Psalm 40:8-10

Thirty-three days after Our Lord’s circumcision, it was time for Joseph to take his wife and son to the temple at Jerusalem. The Law stated that after the birth of a child, the mother had to be purified, and though Mary herself was Immaculate, she willed to submit herself to the rite of Purification, just as her son was subjected to the circumcision. The Presentation was a ceremony in which the father would present his son to be redeemed under God. The child would be “ransomed” with an offering to the Lord, Joseph and Mary seeking to follow the Law as it was prescribed.

When the days of her purification were fulfilled according to the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord... - St. Luke 2:22

SIMEON

St. Joseph brought his family to the Jerusalem Temple to be Purified and Presented under the Law, not knowing what was in store. At the temple was Simeon, a devout priest of Jerusalem who, according to the Gospel of St. Luke, was awaiting the coming of the Messiah with great anticipation. We are told that he was quite old and wished desperately to see the “consolation of Israel” before he died. His prayers were answered when he was given a revelation from the Holy Spirit stating that the time had come for him to behold the Promised One. Simeon was the first man at the temple to recognize and revere the Saviour and hold the Child Jesus in his venerable arms, praising and thanking God for granting him this honour:

“Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word, in peace; because my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples:a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and a glory for thy people Israel.” - St. Luke 2:29

HEARTS OF SORROW INTERTWINED

After hearing this Canticle of Simeon and marveling at his words, the venerable priest went on to prophecise to Mary and Joseph the future of this child as well as words concerning the very soul of Our Lady, which would one day be wounded:

“Behold this Child is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be contradicted. And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” - St. Luke 2:34-36

Jesus being a sign of contradiction would cause concern in his parents’ hearts as this would come to mean that one day men would blaspheme against their son, who had come to redeem mankind. Knowing these things would inflict great sorrow within his mother’s Immaculate Heart, for the future of her son, and for those who would reject him. Mary’s very soul would be pierced along with her son’s, and this would be realized years later as she watched in horror as Jesus was whipped, beaten, and spat upon, but worse was to come. She would be at the foot of the cross to which her only Son was nailed. What mother wouldn’t want to kiss her son’s bruises and alleviate his pain? Her heart would be wounded with grief beyond measure, and her husband would not be there for her to lean on.

The most Humble Heart of Joseph would be in full union with that of his spouse, which together would carry a unique agony known only to them. Besides sharing this with Mary, St. Joseph had his own private affliction of knowing that he would not be there to protect his suffering boy or comfort Our Lady. Since he was not mentioned in Simeon’s prophecies, he knew that he would not live to witness these events. He knew that he would not be there to shield and protect those whom the Lord had lovingly entrusted to him. These hearts of Joseph and Mary brought together, by the Will of the God, in love, were now intertwined in sorrow, each one to be the consolation of the other.

PROPHETESS ANNA

After contemplating these things, the priest Simeon blessed and prayed over Mary, giving St. Joseph a special blessing as well. After these words, God sent to Joseph and Mary a consolation by means of Anna the prophetess who bore public witness to the greatness of God. It is traditionally held that Anna knew the Blessed Virgin when she was a child, teaching her in the ways of the Lord.

There was also Anna, a prophetess... She was of great age, having lived... by herself as a widow to eighty-four years. She never left the temple, with fastings and prayers... And coming up at that very hour, she began to give praise to the Lord, and spoke of him to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem - St. Luke 2:36-93

JOSEPH PRESENTS HIS SON

St. Joseph fulfills the Law’s requirement to present his son to God to be redeemed by a sacrifice of two turtledoves. St. Joseph had just fulfilled his second official act as father to Jesus, having presented and consecrated him at the Temple of Jerusalem.

Just as with the circumcision of Jesus, the Law required that the first-born son be redeemed. Joseph brought Jesus into the Inner Court of the Temple. He carried into the temple the True High Priest though no one would recognize the child as such nor would they pay him homage. In the midst of the temple was the Messiah Himself – the one’s arrival the Jews were earnestly praying for, though it was only the venerable Simeon and Anna who saw the Redeemer in this child. Jesus was to become the Sacrificial Lamb who years later would carry the cross upon which he would die for the redemption of the world. At the Presentation, his burden is not yet apparent as he is carried into the temple by his most faithful servant Joseph, consecrated to his Heavenly Father.

The Lord spoke to Moses and said, “Consecrate to me every firstborn that opens the womb...for it belongs to me.” - Exodus 13:1-2