Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed – Luke 2:34-35
This Sunday, instead of the typical Sunday in Ordinary Time, we shall celebrate one of the great Mysteries of Our Lord’s life, that of His Presentation in the Temple as an infant. As Luke recounts, Jesus was presented in the Temple in accordance with the Law of Moses which stated that all firstborn sons must be consecrated to the Lord (Lk 2:23, Ex 13:2). Luke also notes that the Holy Family offer a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons as an offering for Mary, to complete the forty-day purification ritual prescribed in the Law (Lv 12), hence this Feast is also known as the Purification of Mary. Another one of James Tissot’s gouache images shall be the subject for the reflection, his Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (1886-1894).
While it is common for the Presentation to be depicted indoors, Tissot is perhaps unique in depicting it not only outdoors, but also happening in the midst of a bustling Jerusalem. However, even though this is unique, Tissot’s depiction is possibly the more Scripturally accurate. Leviticus 12:6 notes that the mother of a firstborn shall bring to the priest at the door of the tent of meeting her child, along with her offerings. Given that in Moses’ time, this meant the entrance to the Tabernacle, it is likely that this ritual may have been conducted at the entrance to the Temple in Jesus’ day, as Tissot shows. Tissot’s composition of the image is also unique. Of the main characters shown in the image, only Simeon’s face is even partly visible, as all others; Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and Anna, are all obscured by veils or cloths. The colourfully dressed person in the foreground, who is probably the prophetess Anna, is the salient feature of the image, as opposed to the presentation itself. The actual ‘action’ of the presentation occurs almost in the background, as Simeon elevates the Child in his arms, gazing towards heaven. He is attended by boy acolytes, as the Mother and foster-father of Jesus stand, one holding out the offering of turtledoves in a cage.
Pope St. John Paul II notes in his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, speaking of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary that the Presentation and Finding of Jesus, “while preserving this climate of joy, already point to the drama yet to come” (20). Indeed, Simeon’s words to the couple, and Mary in particular, contain a sharp contrast. Simeon begins by rejoicing and thanking God that he has been able to witness God’s salvation in the Person of Jesus, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel (Lk 2:31-32). However, he swiftly changes tone as he declares that Mary’s Child is to be a sign of contradiction, and that a sword will pierce her heart (Lk 2:34-35).
T.S. Eliot’s poem “A Song for Simeon” (1928) expresses this mystery in such terms, written from the perspective of Simeon:
Before the time of cords and scourges and lamentation
Grant us thy peace.
Before the stations of the mountain of desolation,
Before the certain hour of maternal sorrow,
Now at this birth season of decease,
Let the Infant, the still unspeaking and unspoken Word,
Grant Israel’s consolation
To one who has eighty years and no to-morrow.
Simeon’s statement marks the first Sorrow of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, and prophesies of Jesus’ eventual condemnation and execution. This is for Our Lady perhaps the first indication she received that her Son will save His people through His sufferings and death, so one can only imagine the pain and shock she experienced when she heard this news. Far from the joy and ecstasy expressed in Luke 1, by Gabriel, Elizabeth, Zechariah, and Mary herself, she is confronted with the harsh reality that her newborn baby will grow up to die for Israel. The Presentation is both a time of joy and a time of hardship, and these two realities are inseparable from one another in the Christian life.
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