Reflection Saturday Week 3 Year C (Presentation of the Lord
and World Day of Consecrated Life)- Fr. Michael U. Udoekpo
Readings: Hebrews Malachi 3:1-4; Ps
24:7-10; Heb 2:14-18 and Luke 2:22-40
Today we
celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. It reminds us that Christ is the Son
of God, the first born, the heir and higher than the angels. He is the messiah,
human and divine and of course the light of the world; the savior of the world,
who conquers our fears, particularly that of death.
This
morning I received the sad news the passing on of two priests who not only had
presented themselves for years of services in the Lord’ vineyard, but touched
my life too, on my personal journey to consecrate myself in the service of the
Lord as they did. One of them is Rt. Rev. Msgr. S.T. Umoh who was my one time
vocation director, the other Fr. C. C. Ndonduok, one time Parish priests of
mine. May they rest in perfect peace, in Christ Jesus?
My
consolation (and I believe that of their families and the church as a whole), is that, that preparation for the Lord long
foretold by Malachi in today’s first reading has been fulfilled in the person
of our Lord Jesus Christ whose feast we celebrate today- presentation of
Christ. We rejoice with Mary, Joseph, Anna and Simeon because our eyes have
seen the salvation and our ears continue to hear this message of hope and
salvation daily, and sometimes in mysterious ways.
The Letter
to the Hebrews puts to us this message of hope well in the second reading. Even
in the face of death or loosing a loved one, Jesus has final power over death
and the devil of fear. He is the life, death and the resurrection. He demonstrates
this by overcoming temptations in the desert.
Moreover, after his presentation, baptism, and through out the course of
his ministry he taught us on every step of the way, to be courageous, to
overcome fear with courage and love. Courage and love took him to the cross, as
a merciful priest, faithful and humble victim!
Symbolically,
the candle we carry today in processesion
is a candle of hope and love; a universal love for peoples of all walks
of life, culture, race and nations; a light for Israel and a Light for the Gentiles;
the opposite of darkness of sins and evil. It is a light of hope no matter what
our daily challenges and fears may look like.
May we
encourage one another today; May we continue to be that conduit and channel of
Christ’s light to our neighbors, especially the poor, the depressed, the
sorrowful and those who have recently lost their loved ones, including those
who had consecrated themselves in one way or the other to the service of the
Lord and Humanity.
