An email devotion sent to members of Grace Lutheran Church in Thornville, Ohio on February 2, 2022.
When I sent this email, I had only been serving as the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church for one month. Because my family and I moved right after Christmas, we did not have the opportunity to set up Christmas decorations in our former home in South Dakota. We promised our children that we would set up some Christmas decorations once we got to our new home in Ohio even though the Christmas season was done shortly after our arrival. However, the holiday of Candlemas, also known as the Presentation of our Lord, falls on February 2, which according to some, truly completes the Christmas cycle. In the midst of unpacked boxes, tape, and bubble wrap, we set up our tree in the parsonage. It is a Christmas and Candlemas we will never forget.
Reflections on Candlemas
One thing I especially enjoy in ministry is writing. While I promise not to flood your email inboxes with messages, from time to time I will offer a brief devotional reflection on a topic, especially focused on lesser-known parts of our Christian calendar.
Another one of my loves is the area of Christian hymnody. Hymns not only provide us with ways to express our faith in the present; they also provide us with a connection to the past. When we sing hymns, we join with God’s faithful people of former times who have been sustained in their faith by these words. So, on this my one-month anniversary of serving as the pastor at Grace Lutheran, I offer the following thoughts and a hymn for the occasion.
Most people know of today, February 2, as Groundhog Day. This unofficial holiday marks the beginning of the end of winter in the minds of many. “Will Punxsutawney Phil (the groundhog) see his shadow?” But for Christians, this day is also a largely forgotten festival known as Candlemas. In many modern worship resources, it is known as the Presentation of our Lord or, especially among Roman Catholics, the Purification of Mary.
For my family and me, this last Christmas has been odd. We spent most of November and December packing up our lives in South Dakota, preparing to come to Thornville. For that reason, we missed out on our traditional Christmas celebration. We wanted the children to experience something of Christmas this year, so we promised that we would set up the Christmas tree once we arrived here. As it turns out, this isn’t so out of place. Candlemas, February 2, marks the true end of the Christmas cycle. It is known as Candlemas because a tradition in medieval Christian worship in northern Europe involved procession with lighted candles before receiving the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion) on that day.
You can read this story in the Gospel of Luke 2:22-39. This chapter tells of the birth of Jesus, angels, and shepherds. There is a brief mention of Jesus’ circumcision eight days after birth, observed on January 1. What follows is the story of Candlemas. I often call this “Christmas: Part Two.” Forty days after Christmas, Mary and Joseph fulfill the requirement of purification after childbirth outlined in Leviticus 12:1-8. This was also an opportunity to set aside Jesus as the firstborn son, presenting him to the Lord.
There in the temple in Jerusalem, Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus run into two characters: a man named Simeon and an older woman named Anna. Christian artwork has often depicted Simeon as an elderly man, and that is certainly possible. But Luke never specifies the age of Simeon. He is simply described as “righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.” Luke records that the Holy Spirit let him know that he would not die before looking upon the Christ (Greek for the Hebrew word “Messiah,” the anointed one of God).
God kept his promise to Simeon. Simeon had an encounter with the Christ of God, the infant Jesus. He took the child in his arms, and he knew God’s promise had been fulfilled. He was ready to rest in peace. And Simeon speaks words that have reverberated throughout Christian history. These are the words of the “Nunc Dimittis,” Latin for “Now you dismiss.”
The translation of the Revised Standard Version puts it this way: “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou has prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).
Though we do not currently sing it at Grace Lutheran, this “Nunc Dimittis” is an option for the post-Communion canticle, and in most Western Christian liturgies throughout the ages it was sung or spoken after people had received the Lord’s Supper. Perhaps eventually we will have the chance to sing those words of Simeon after Communion. Just like Simeon, when we have an encounter with Christ, we know that we have seen God’s salvation and can rest in God’s peace. Candlemas is a reminder that the hope of the world is found in Jesus Christ our Lord and that God calls us to the same faith that Simeon displayed on that day.
“Blessed are you, O Lord our God, for you have sent us your salvation. Inspire us by your Holy Spirit to see with our own eyes him who is the glory of Israel and the light for all nations, your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Lutheran Book of Worship p. 32, Collect for the Presentation of our Lord).
Pr. Tom Jacobson