“Now you are dismissing your servant in peace.” That’s what Simeon says in this evening’s gospel (Luke 2:22-40) after he took the child Jesus in him arms. Simeon’s experience of receiving and holding Jesus was one of being set free,…
Tag: Feast of the Presentation
Do You Have A Secret? – A Sermon On Luke 2:22-40
Many year ago, at the suggestion of my priest, I did some work with a counselor. During one of our meetings the conversation lulled and he asked me a question. “Mike, do you have a secret?” Tears filled my eyes. I had butterflies in my stomach. And my heart was pounding. I nodded, whispered yes, and waited for what I knew would be his next question.
Showing Up – A Sermon on Luke 2:22-40 for the Feast of the Presentation
What good is it to us if Simeon receives into his arms the child Jesus and we do not? What good is it to us if Simeon’s eyes see salvation and our eyes do not? What good is it to us if Simeon is free to go in peace if we are not?
Blessing Candles on the Feast of the Presentation (Candlemas)
Forty days after Christmas the infant Jesus was presented in the temple of Jerusalem and placed in the arms of the old man Simeon (Luke 2:22-40) who declared: Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace…
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A Blessing Specific to the Feast of the Presentation
The Book of Occasional Services, one of the liturgical books in the Episcopal Church, offers several blessings specific to seasons and feast days. It does not, however, offer a blessing specific to the Feast of the Presentation, a major feast…
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Arvo Pärt’s Nunc dimittis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHaBEQE8JQI Nunc dimittis, the Song of Simeon, from the Feast of the Presentation: Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you…
A Life that Fits – A Sermon on Luke 2:22-40 for the Feast of the Presentation
I recently heard a man say, “I feel as if I have dropped into my own life and it fits.” It made me smile. It was such a great description. I think we all want to be able to say…
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A Blessing for the Feast of the Presentation
In a previous post I wrote about blessing candles on the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple. But what about a blessing specific to the feast itself? The Book of Occasional Services offers several blessings specific…
A Blessing of Candles for the Feast of the Presentation
The Feast of the Presentation, celebrated on February 2, is one of the major feasts in the church year. It is sometimes known as Candlemas or the Feast of the Purification. This feast is celebrated forty days after Christmas and…
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Ave Regina Caelorum
The Feast of the Presentation of our Lord is the hinge between Christmas and the cross. It holds in tension life and death, light and darkness, the salvation Simeon sees in the child and the sword that will pierce Mary’s…