Dear Brothers and Sisters,
If you are able to join us on Sunday (9:00 a.m. via zoom) and if you have been keeping up on the lectionary readings (http://www.lectionarypage.net/), then you might feel like you have walked into a time-warp as you listen to the readings.
No, they are not the readings you’d expect for the Fourth Sunday of Epiphany. Instead, we will be celebrating the Feast of Jesus’ Presentation in the Temple.
Because of the way the calendar works, we rarely get to celebrate this particular holy day. Which also means that there are some Scriptures we never get to hear. Both the upcoming readings from Hebrews 2:14-18 and Luke 2:22-40 are very important ones. Even more than that, we hear about how Mary and Joseph brought the child Jesus to the Temple to be offered to God in accordance with Jewish law. And as we hear the Psalmist sing in Psalm 84, “How dear to me is your dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts,” some questions must arise in our minds, too.
- Is God’s dwelling place really dear to us?
- Or is it only a place we stop in once a week for the Sunday service?
- (Or zoom in, till it’s safe for us to return.)
- And isn’t God’s dwelling place more than just our wonderful St. Margaret’s? Doesn’t God live in US?
- Can we say with the Psalmist, and mean it for ourselves, “Happy are they who dwell in your house! They will always be praising you.”
- If we dedicate ourselves to God as Jesus’ family offered him, how will that change our lives?
Hope to see you all soon, in person or on zoom, as we rejoice in God’s dwelling place. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for our Annual Meeting online on February 6 at 1:30 p.m.
God’s generous and loving blessings be on you all!
Peace and health,
Mo. Laura+
Photograph: “Presentation in the Temple” by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. on Flickr