The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas

“Presentation of Jesus at the Temple”
by Palma Giovane c. 1600

 
Readings for the Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas [1]
 
Reading from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: 1 John 2:12-17
 
I am writing to you, children,
because your sins have been forgiven for his name’s sake.
 
I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
 
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have conquered the Evil One.
 
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
 
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
 
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong and the word of God remains in you,
and you have conquered the Evil One.
 
Do not love the world or the things of the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life,
is not from the Father but is from the world.
Yet the world and its enticement are passing away.
But whoever does the will of God remains forever.
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Commentary on 1 Jn 2:12-17
 
St. John addresses his audience individually on sin and forgiveness using an interesting metaphor for the Trinity: children, fathers, young men. The believing community he addresses is armed through faith against the evil one. He focuses in his last paragraph on avoiding the secular world. He exhorts them to separate themselves from “things” of the world, saying that they are of the world and therefore unworthy of special care; they lead the faithful away from God (see also John 17:9-26 and John 15:18-27).
 
CCC: 1 Jn 2:16 377, 2514, 2534
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 96:7-8a, 8b-9, 10
 
R. (11a) Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
 
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
 
Bring gifts, and enter his courts;
worship the LORD in holy attire.
Tremble before him, all the earth.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
 
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
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Commentary on Ps 96:7-8a, 8b-9, 10
 
While Psalm 96 is a song of praise, the psalmist reminds us that even in praise we need to offer what we have in gratitude. The structure is familiar: first we are given the audience ("you families of nations"), then the response ("bring gifts, and enter his courts"), and finally praise of God as a response ("he governs the peoples with equity").
 
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Gospel: Luke 2:36-40
 
There was a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
 
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.
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Commentary on Lk 2:36-40
 
Continuing the story surrounding the presentation of Jesus, in this passage St. Luke describes the prophetess, Anna. This role, for widows to prophesy in the temple, was not uncommon. The symbolism depicting Anna has clear linkage back to Old Testament events. It begins with the number seven. Rabbinical literature recognizes seven as the number of prophetesses: Sarah and Miriam in Exodus 15:20, Deborah in  Judges 4:4, Hannah mother of Samuel in 1 Samuel 2:1, Abigail third wife of David (following the death of her husband Nabal) in 1 Samuel 25:32, Huldah in 2 Kings 22:14, and Esther. These women gave witness to God’s will, at least in their holiness, and spoke in his name. Anna, in this prophetic role (Phanuel translates as “face of God” and Asher as “good luck”), echoes the words of Simeon saying that this young baby (Jesus) is the redemption of Jerusalem. The city, in this instance, represents all of the elect.
 
The final verses provide a glimpse of Jesus’ necessary hidden life in Nazareth. He grows in faith and stature in preparation for the mission assigned to him (we note the favor of God was also assigned to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Luke 1:30). Luke’s description of St. John (Luke 1:80) the Baptist parallels this short synopsis of Jesus’ early life.  [4]
 
CCC: Lk 2:38 711
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Reflection:
 
The timing of the first reading from 1 John is very good.  It is almost a week since the great secular glut of commercial Christmas and its aftermath, the post-Christmas feeding frenzy.  Just as we see the children tiring of their new toys and games and the adults thinking about returning to the routines of the world, the evangelist addresses himself to us.  He reminds us first about the meaning of the Nativity whose octave we are still in: “your sins have been forgiven for his name’s sake.”  He then goes on to restate the great Christian paradox found in his own Gospel, to be part of the world but separate from it. 
 
The evangelist warns us about what we just went through: “sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life”; all part of the commercial Christmas.  It is so pervasive that in the U.S., even religious people of non-Christian denominations gather and buy gifts with no attachment whatsoever to the birth of the Savior.
 
These are not the things of God but, as St. John says, things of the world.  The Christian must be in the world but stand apart from it.  What is truly important is not how well we did “under the tree,” but how well we did by the standards of him who loves us. The Lord came as not just a symbol of love, but love itself, into the world.  St. Luke gives us extra evidence using the prophetess Anna, demonstrating that God’s plan for our redemption requires our constant vigilance.  Even as we think about taking extra good care of the new golf clubs or the new appliance, we should ask ourselves what we are doing to take care of what is really important in ourselves.
 
Today we are reminded of our Christian duty and the role we are called to play in God’s plan.  He casts us into the world like seeds so that we might transform it (not be transformed by it).  Today our voices join with the prophetess Anna in thanking God for the gift of the Christ Child and pledging to rededicate ourselves to the cause which brought him into the world.
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture is “Presentation of Jesus at the Temple” by Palma Giovane c. 1600.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Pablo T. Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke (Baker Academic, Grand Rapids MI, © 2018), 72.