Of Candles and Groundhogs

It has been 42 days since Christmas.  I know this without looking at a calendar because February 2nd is when the Church remembers the Feast of the Presentation, which is based on the Jewish custom that a woman would be made ritually clean at the Temple 40 days after childbirth.  It combines nicely with the tradition of parents “buying back” first born sons from being given (literally) to God by making an offering at the Temple (1 Samuel 27-28).  The Feast commemorates when the Holy Family went to the temple to take care of these ritual obligations, and encountered Simeon and Anna on their visit, who prophesized about Jesus (Luke 2:25-38).
Another name for this occasion is “Candlemas.”  As the Church began to develop its traditions, one way of celebrating the “light to the nations,” as Simeon declares in his speech (which became an integral part of evening worship in the canticle Nunc Dimittis), was to bless all the candles that would be used in a church for the year.  This was one way to recognize all the work that went into making candles, as well as a somewhat superstitious way of protecting against fires.  Some churches have modernized the idea by blessing light bulbs and the oil used in candles. 
Of course on February 2nd our secular culture focuses on the prognostication abilities of land dwelling rodents to decide when spring will come.  While I find the tradition of Candlemas a bit arcane, at least it is redeemed by once again proclaiming Jesus as the “Light of the World.”  I have a feeling Punxsutawney Phil would rather not see the light of day until March 20th, when spring will come regardless of his ability to see a shadow.
I wish I could say that these two events show the “clash” of sacred versus secular, but I doubt these two events even brushed past each other.  While Phil and some other groundhogs I have never heard of before (one on Long Island – really?) made the evening news, I am abased to say that we did not even have a service on the 2nd.  That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does make the point that secular rituals (the Super Bowl, Groundhogs Days) are more easily marketed than a day that commemorates a significant event in the life of Jesus.
While it may seem cliché to “keep Christmas everyday” or remember that every celebration of the Eucharist is a “mini-Easter,” days like Candlemas can keep us grounded and focused on the important things, especially in the midst of the cold, icy days of winter.  Even if we don’t attend a service, we can offer a prayer that reminds us that Jesus IS the light of the world, and challenge ourselves by sharing his light in some way each day.  That is how we get the sacred and secular to meet, as friends rather than enemies.
In Christ,

Rev. Valerie+

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