Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel:

When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. 
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

    “Now, Master, you may let your servant go 
        in peace, according to your word,
    for my eyes have seen your salvation,
        which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples:
    a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
        and glory for your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
-and you yourself a sword will pierce-
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
There was also 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.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The heart of today’s Feast of the Presentation is Jesus. But the Gospel also mentions another person, Anna, who is one of the few female prophets in the bible. This will be our only encounter with her.

So, a word today on Anna.

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Anna spent most of her life as a widow. 

Anyone who’s lost a loved one – particularly a spouse – has known the sorrow of Anna. But her sorrow didn’t make her bitter; in a sense, God became her spouse. As Luke tells us, she never left the temple.

Anna reminds us that sorrow can do one of two things in life: it can dry up our faith. Or it can make us softer, more compassionate people.

In her case, she became a stronger believer.

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Anna was eighty-four.

Age changes us. As we become increasingly frail, there’s the temptation to hibernate and complain about our aches and pains. 

But Anna shows us a different way: she got up every morning and offered her day to the Lord. She was proactive in doing good.

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What was her secret? Where did she draw her strength from? How did she become so gentle in spirit?

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Anna left room in her heart for the Holy Spirit, which is why she recognized Jesus that day.

In a word, she prayed.

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Perhaps it’s not too late for us to add another New Year’s resolution: to pray daily like Anna, committing ourselves more fully to God.

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Image credits: (1) Anna the Prophet, Grace and Peace Joanne, LLC, YouTube (2) Anna the Prophetess, Pinterest (3) Prince of Peace Church

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Gospel: Mark 6: 1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. 
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished. 
They said, “Where did this man get all this? 
What kind of wisdom has been given him? 
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! 
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? 
And are not his sisters here with us?” 
And they took offense at him. 
Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.” 
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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By the end of chapter five in Mark’s Gospel, enormous momentum has been created in Jesus’ ministry.

Consider the things that he has already done: he’s calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee; cast an unclean spirit out of a tortured man; cured a woman who was hemorrhaging for twelve years; and raised a twelve-year-old girl from the dead.

Despite fierce opposition from the religious authorities, the kingdom of God is unfolding. However, today that momentum comes to a temporary halt as Jesus encounters the greatest obstacle to his ministry:

Unbelief.

“Where did this man get all this?” the local townspeople ask. “Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?”

The idea that Jesus, an ordinary carpenter whom many of these people grew up with, could be ushering in God’s kingdom seemed impossible.

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It’s easy for us to criticize these locals for failing to recognize all of who Jesus is. God appearing as an ordinary human being – as a baby, a teenager, a carpenter living in Nazareth – is still a stumbling block for many today.

But this is the beauty of God: nothing is too small.

The same God who created the cosmos, takes on flesh. The same God who stilled the stormy seas on Galilee is fully present in the Eucharist.

The same God who lives eternally listens to the beat of our heart, knows the number of hairs on our head, and listens to the cry of our voice.

The same God who raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead can go great things for us.

But access to that power only comes through faith.

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Image credits: (1) LoveThisPic (2) Alarm Capital Alliance (3) Etsy

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Gospel: Mark 5: 21-43

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat
to the other side, 
a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
“My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live.”
He went off with him
and a large crowd followed him.

There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors
and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.”
Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,
turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?”
But his disciples said to him,
“You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,
and yet you ask, Who touched me?”
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her,
approached in fear and trembling.
She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

While he was still speaking,
people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said,
“Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” 
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
“Do not be afraid; just have faith.”
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
“Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep.”
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child’s father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” 
which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There are two layers to be uncovered in today’s Gospel: there’s the reality of human suffering, and beneath it, the invitation to faith. 

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It begins with Jairus’ twelve-year-old daughter, who’s near the point of death. Jesus is on his way to heal her, when suddenly a woman reaches out and touches the tassel of his cloak.

Shocked at feeling power go out of him, Jesus stops, wasting precious time to find out who did it. Relieved, the woman steps forward admitting her desperate act of faith.

Meanwhile, the crowds inform Jesus that Jairus’ daughter has died. What good can be done now?

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Consider the dramatic difference in faith between this woman and the sea of humanity surrounding Jesus.

While hundreds – if not thousands – of people bumped into Jesus as he was walking, this woman touched him. Her faith allowed her to receive Jesus’ divine power and thus a dramatic healing.

I’m sure many others were either sick or sinful, but they didn’t receive what they wanted from him because they lacked what she had: faith.

This begs the question: How often do we bump into Jesus, as opposed to touching him?

Every time we listen to the Gospel, receive communion, pray, or even say his name, we make contact with the Lord.

But is it half-conscious contact? Or, like this woman, is it driven by a faith that is desperate to receive the grace that flows from the Lord?

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“Ask and you shall receive,” Jesus says. “Seek and you will find.”

We may add, reach, and receive what God has prepared for you today.

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Image credits: (1) Denise Marks Blog, WordPress (2) The Encounter Chapel at Mandala, Galilee (3) “Faith,” by Yongsung Kim