10 More Facts About Candlemas

· Written by Chris Browne

10 more thoughts about Candlemas

This is a follow up to my previous blog on Candlemas and focuses on it's meaning for Christians in the 21st century.

• The Biblical roots of Candlemas is the account we read in Luke chapter 2 about the occasion when Jesus was presented at the temple in Jerusalem 40 days after his birth.

• The fact that Mary and Joseph took Jesus to be presented in the temple shows that they followed the traditional Jewish teachings, the Law of Moses, as written down in the book of Leviticus.

• This was also the occasion when Mary ended her 40 day purification period and Jewish Law required, she bring a lamb as an offering of Thanksgiving. Poorer families could bring two doves or pigeons instead and it is these that were brought by Mary which reveals that Jesus was born into a poor family.

• The family met Simeon in the temple and he pronounced that Jesus was to be a ‘light to the Gentiles’. That means a light to the whole world.

• ·The family also met Anna who was 84 years old and had been a widow most of her life. She had spent her time night and day in the temple worshipping God through fasting and prayer. Anna announced that Jesus would bring redemption for Israel.

• Redemption is about being saved from evil and wrong.

• The message that Christian’s find in this story is that Jesus is a light for the world and his followers must also be a light for the world.

• The connection with Candlemas is that traditionally people would bring their candles to be blessed and the church candles would also be blessed so all of them will bring the light of Jesus into a world that has lots of darkness.

• ·Can you think of the dark parts of our world?

• · What sort of responses from Christians will bring light into these places of darkness?