Today we’re celebrating one of the great feasts of the Church’s year. To give the feast it’s proper name, we’re celebrating the Presentation of the Lord because, as we’ve just heard in the Gospel, what we celebrate today is that day when Jesus, as a first-born son, was taken to the temple 40 days after his birth to be presented and dedicated to the Lord. But this feast is also commonly known as Candlemas because as part of our celebration we light and bless candles. So why do we do that on this day and what is this celebration all about? 

As I’ve already said, what we’re celebrating today is Jesus being taken to the temple to be presented to Lord, and we know that this is a feast the Church has been keeping since at least the 4th Century. Through our Gospel reading, we also remember today the words of Simeon who prophesied that Jesus would be the Saviour of the world, and specifically, 

“…a light for revelation to the Gentiles…” 

and by the 5th Century it had become the custom of the Church to symbolise this, that is to symbolise Jesus as the Light of the World, by lighting and blessing candles of this day. And so the feast eventually acquired the name of ‘Candlemas’.  

So much for the Church’s celebration of this feast, but what is this story in the Gospels really all about, why does St Luke tell the story and why does he tell it in the way that he does?  

This is really a story about revelation. Revelation about Jesus, obviously, but it also reveals a lot about the people we meet in the story, Mary and Joseph, and Simeon and Anna. And what it reveals about them is very important to us as we go about the business of being Christians in our daily lives.  

What the story reveals about Jesus comes in Simeon’s prophecy. Simeon can now depart this life in peace because God has kept his word and Simeon has seen God’s salvation. So Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. But Jesus is not just the Saviour of Israel because he is the salvation God has prepared for “all peoples” a light to reveal God to all nations. So Jesus will be the Saviour of the world. And this is very reminiscent of Isaiah’s prophecies about the Lord’s Servant, such as this; 

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant 

    to raise up the tribes of Jacob 

    and to bring back the preserved of Israel; 

I will make you as a light for the nations, 

    that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” 

Simeon’s prophecy also reveals Jesus as the “glory” of Israel and here again in Isaiah’s ‘Servant’ prophecies we find this;  

“I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off, 

    and my salvation will not delay; 

I will put salvation in Zion, 

    for Israel my glory.” 

Isaiah makes it clear that it’s God who is speaking here; it’s God’s salvation and God’s glory he’s talking about, so Jesus is the salvation and glory of God, he is Immanuel, God with us. And when Simeon prophesies that Jesus will be “opposed” we’re invited to recall Isaiah’s prophecies about the ‘Suffering Servant’ of the Lord. And of course, what all this reveals about Jesus is that he is the one who will fulfil the Scriptures.  

But, as I said earlier, this Gospel story reveals a lot about the other people involved in the story too, and what it reveals about them can help and maybe even inspire us as we try to live out our faith. So what does this story reveal, first of all, about Mary and Joseph?  

As we read the Gospel, we’re told repeatedly that what Mary and Joseph did was according to ‘the Law of the Lord’. They went to the temple to offer a sacrifice and the sacrifice they offered was in accordance with the Law and, at the end of the story we read, 

‘And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.’  

So what’s revealed about Mary and Joseph is that they were good, what we might call God-fearing people. They did what the Lord required of them. And that’s something we, as Christians, are also called to do. But do we do that? Isn’t it often the case that we do what the Lord requires of us only in so far as it fits in with what we want to do, or perhaps what our family and friends require of us? Perhaps the easiest way to show that is in our Church attendance. We know that it was Jesus’ custom, as a good, God-fearing Jew, to attend the synagogue every Sabbath. 

We know that it was the custom of his disciples to meet together in prayer and worship. But how often do people, who say that they’re Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, not do that because they prefer to do, or perhaps because they’ve been asked to do something else instead?  

 We’re not told exactly what Mary and Joseph offered in sacrifice that day in the temple; it might have been ‘a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons’ but what we’re told does reveal that Mary and Joseph were of, at best, modest means. We read in the Book of Leviticus that what the Law specified as a sacrifice a mother was to make after childbirth was, 

‘a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.’ 

But the Law goes on to say , 

‘…if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering.’ 

So Mary and Joseph couldn’t afford to offer a lamb, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t do what was required of them. And it should be the same for us. No matter what our resources are, we can still offer something to  the Lord. It might be our time, our gifts and talents, or our money, but we do all have something to offer and so we should offer something from what we have. And yet how often do people refuse to do that? How often, when their church is crying out for help, do people say, 

“I can’t do that; I don’t have the time.” 

Strange though isn’t it, how often the same people can always find time to do other things? 

“I can’t do that; I’ve never done it before.” 

But if we adopted that attitude towards everything in life, none of us would ever have done anything at all, would we?  

“I’d like to put a bit more in the collection, but I can’t afford it at the moment.” 

I know times are hard, but how many of those same people can still manage to find enough spare money to spend on treats both small and not so small for themselves, regardless of how hard times are?  

So the examples of Mary and Joseph, two people of modest means who nevertheless did all that the Lord required of them, can help and inspire us to do perhaps just a little more for the Lord, at least.   

And what of Simeon and Anna, what does this story reveal about them? Simeon, we’re told, was, 

‘righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.’  

And Anna, we’re told,  

‘…did not depart from the Temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day.’ 

These are all ways in which scripture in general and Luke in particular describe people who are not only devoted to the Lord but are open to the possibility of God entering into their lives at any time. So it’s no surprise that of all those who were at the temple that day, and there must have been many, it was these two, Simeon and Anna, who recognised the presence of God in the infant Jesus. And that is how the story of Simeon and Anna can help and inspire us.  

How often do we think that we want to be about that Lord’s business, that we want to do something practical about our faith, but never seem to find the opportunity? But we can turn that around. How often do those opportunities present themselves to us but we miss them because we’re not really looking for them at the time, perhaps because we’re too busy with other things? I’m sure that happens far more often than we imagine  

because how many of us can honestly say that we are always looking for God to enter into our lives, and are ready for that to happen at any moment?  How many of us can honestly say that we expect God to enter into our lives at any moment? And if we’re not, or when we’re not, how often do we fail to recognise him when he does? So if we want to make the most of our opportunities to be about the Lord’s business, we have to be like Simeon and Anna, waiting, expecting, God to reveal himself to so that we can respond when that happens.  

So this Gospel story and the event in the story of our salvation it records serves as a double revelation. It reveals something of who Jesus is and of who it is we follow and worship. And in what it tells us about Mary and Joseph, and Simeon and Anna, it reveals something of what it means to be a disciple of Christ, and hopefully, inspires us to be better disciples.  
Amen.     

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Propers for The Presentation of the Lord (Candlemas) 1st February 2026

Entrance Antiphon 
Your merciful love, O God, 
we have received in the midst of your temple. 
Your praise, O God, like your name, 
reaches the ends of the earth; 
your right hand is filled with saving justice. 

The Collect 
Almighty ever-living God, 
we humbly implore your majesty 
that, just as your Only Begotten Son 
was presented on this day in the Temple 
in the substance of our flesh, 
so, by your grace, 
we may be presented to you with minds made pure. 
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
one God, for ever and ever. 
Amen. 

The Readings 
Malachi 3:1-4  
Psalm 24:7-10 
Hebrews 2:14-18 
Luke 2:22-40 

Prayer after Communion  
By these holy gifts which we have received, O Lord, 
bring your grace to perfection within us, 
and, as you fulfilled Simeon’s expectation 
that he would not see death 
until he had been privileged to welcome the Christ, 
so may we, going forth to meet the Lord, 
obtain the gift of eternal life. 
Through Christ our Lord. 
Amen. 

I don’t know if anyone watched it, but during the past week the 1971 film Mary Queen of Scots was shown on TV. I only managed to catch a few minutes of it here and there myself, but I have seen it before and it is a film I quite enjoy, as did many other people as is shown by the fact that it was nominated for several Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards at the time of its release. So it’s a critically acclaimed film too in many respects. In fact one of the few negative opinions of the film are in regard to its historical inaccuracies. Because, like many other historical dramas, Mary Queen of Scots does play fast and loose with history at times for dramatic effect. One aspect of the film which does have a good grounding in history though, is the hatred and animosity it portrays between Catholics and Protestants of the time. Although some critics have said that even this is downplayed to some extent in the film, its shadow hangs over the whole film and it’s central to many of the subplots within the film.  

Thankfully, we don’t have to deal with that level of hatred and animosity between the different denominations of the Church today. But sadly, in many ways and at many times, it is only a matter of degree to which things have improved since the 16^th Century. I’ve told the story before of the time when the Baptist leader of Churches Together in a certain area, an organisation with the sole purpose of fostering closer links and greater cooperation between the different churches in an area, excluded the local Roman Catholics from the organisation on the grounds that the were “not proper Christians”. At the time we Anglicans had very good links with the local Roman Catholics and in fact, our two churches went on joint pilgrimages to Walsingham together. So we were excluded from Churches Together too on the grounds that we were “too close” to the Catholics.  

On the other hand, I’ve lost count of the number of times Catholics have told me that I’m not a proper priest, and not even a proper Christian because I’m a Protestant. Just recently, an ex-Anglican who’s been received into the Roman Catholic Church told me that the priest at the church he now attends has told him that all the years he’d been an Anglican had been a “waste of time.” Why? Do we proclaim a different Gospel than the Roman Catholic Church? Do we not, like them, also acclaim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour?  

That said, I wouldn’t even know where to start when it comes to talking about the trouble within the Church of England between people can who see themselves as Protestants or Catholics and all things in between but belong to the same Church! 

I will never forget one particular incident though that happened on the day of my marriage to my late wife Diane. The wedding was wonderful, a Nuptial Mass during which, at one point apparently, Diane, I and the parish priest disappeared from view in a cloud of incense. But when we got to the reception and I went to speak to an elderly aunt of mine, she walloped me with her walking stick for getting “married in a Catholic Church!” And when I explained that the church was Anglican, she rather furiously pointed her stick, jabbing it backwards and forwards in the direction of Diane and said, with real venom in her voice,  

“She’s not one, is she?” 

“One what?” I said. 

To which she, with no diminishment of the venom replied, 

“A Catholic!” 

To be honest, I really don’t know what goes on in the heads of people who call themselves Christians and yet harbour such appallingly un-Christian thoughts, and act in such appallingly un-Christian ways towards people of the same faith, simply because they belong to a different Church, or simply because they worship the Lord in ways that are different to their ways. Do we not all proclaim the same Gospel? Do we not all acclaim the same Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour? We must do, surely, or we’re not Christians at all. So why are we so horrible towards one another? How can we be so horrible towards one another? If we are Christians at all, then we all agree that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. So how can we then, call ourselves Christians and at the same time, act in ways that are so contrary to the way, the truth and the life that Christ taught and lived?  

I think, in part at least, the problem is that people forget at times who it is they’re called to follow. People tend to follow, to a greater or lesser extent perhaps depending on which Church we’re talking about, where the head of their Church on earth leads. So, for example, I once heard a priest say,  

“If the Pope says black’s white, as far as I’m concerned, black is white.” 

On the other hand, I’ve heard many people say that they don’t care what the Pope says because they are not Catholics. So they would take their lead from somewhere and someone else. It might be from the 39 Articles of Religion, in which case, their lead comes, ultimately from Canterbury. They might be from what we sometimes call a non-conformist Church, so their lead might come from the teachings Luther or Calvin or another of the great Reformers. And sometimes, it must be said, that if we can’t make our minds up who’s right and who’s wrong, we simply make our own minds up and do what we think is right.  

But we’re not called to follow any of these people, and neither are we called to follow our own way, we’re called to follow Christ. And if we look at the state of the Church, how divided it is and how divisive it’s language can be,  

‘We’re right, they’re wrong’ 

We’re the true Church, they’re not’  

and so on, we can only conclude that none of the churches are following Christ as they are called to and should do. If the Churches, all of the Churches, followed Christ more closely, the Church wouldn’t be so divided as it is. The language and behaviour of the Churches and the Church’s people, such as I’ve spoken about already, is very sectarian in nature, and perpetuates sectarianism and division. And there should be no place for sectarianism in a Church that was and is called to one Church made up of people who love one another.  

Today marks the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and our readings this morning are very appropriate to that topic. In our Gospel reading we find John the Baptist, someone who had a great following of his own, someone who many people believed was the Messiah, nevertheless directing people away from himself and his way, and pointing them towards Jesus because John knew that his way, as great as it was, was not the way, the truth and the life that only Christ himself could teach us and lead us in to. And this is what the Churches should be doing. Not saying to people, our way is the way because our way, and only our way, is Christ’s way but being honest enough to accept that none of us are following Christ as we should do and pointing people towards him. 

And we should never forget that, as Christians, this is what we’re called to do, to follow Christ and try our utmost to be like him. We’re not called to be like a Pope or an Archbishop or a Patriarch or any other earthly Church leader, we’re called to be like Christ. As St Paul says in this morning’s reading from his First Letter to the Corinthians, we’re called to be saints, holy people, dedicated to our Lord Jesus Christ. Because it’s in Christ that we’re sanctified; it’s in Christ and through our allegiance and obedience to him that we’re made holy and become saints. We’re not sanctified in Pope, Archbishop, Patriarch or any other earthly leader of the Church. We’re not sanctified through obedience and allegiance to Rome, Canterbury, Constantinople, Wittenberg, Geneva or any other place. We’re sanctified in Christ.  

One of the great problems we have in establishing greater unity between the Church’s of course, is pride; when we have differences with someone else, we like to think that we’re right and they’re wrong. So when it comes to Church unity the Churches seem to work on the basis that all the other Churches should fall into line with them. But that is never going to happen for the very simple reason that, to some extent, we’re all right in some things and we’re all wrong in other things, and why should we change something that’s right, for something that’s wrong? The problem again is  pride. Our pride won’t often let us accept that someone else might have got something right, and that we might have got something wrong . But if the Church is going to be more united, as it’s called to be and should be, we will all have to accept that.   

To me, this is what must happen if we’re ever going to make any progress towards Church unity. And I don’t think this idea has ever been better expressed than it was by the Catholic theologian Hans Kung in his 1968 book The Church. He wrote, 

Church unity is not a matter of one Church returning to another or joining another; it’s not a matter of the subjugation of one Church by another, but of the submission of all Christians to Christ. The road to Church unity is one which takes us on a common journey in which we must all move towards Christ. And the closer we come to him, we’ll find that we will necessarily, move closer to each other.  

To which I can only add, Amen 

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Propers for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 18th January 2026

Entrance Antiphon 
All the earth shall bow down before you, O God, 
and shall sing to you, 
shall sing to your name, O Most High! 

The Collect 
Almighty ever-living God, 
who govern all things, 
both in heaven and on earth, 
mercifully hear the pleading of your people 
and bestow your peace on our times. 
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
God, for ever and ever. 
Amen. 

The Readings 
Isaiah 49:3, 5-6  
Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-10 
1 Corinthians 1:1-3 
John 1:29-34 

Prayer after Communion  
Pour on us, O Lord, the Spirit of your love, 
and in your kindness 
make those you have nourished 
by this one heavenly Bread 
one in mind and heart. 
Through Christ our Lord. 
Amen.