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The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple (“Candlemas”)![]()
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My eyes have seen your salvation… a light for revelation” – Prophet Simeon (Luke 2:30 & 32a)![]()
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The day many call “Groundhog Day” is a significant day in the church’s liturgical calendar. Feb 2 marks 40 days after Christmas Day and commemorates the events of Luke 2:22-40. This passage recounts that forty days after Jesus’ birth, his mother and father presented him at the Temple in Jerusalem. This profound moment marked the first time God incarnate entered his temple. There, two prophets, Simeon and Anna, welcomed the child with joy. Like many prophets before them, Simeon and Anna had longed to see the Messiah who would bring salvation, and they recognized that this moment had now come. The Lord would be “a light of revelation to the Gentiles,” said Simeon. “and the glory of [his] people, Israel.” This light of revelation is traditionally celebrated with the lighting of candles, and the blessing of their continued use throughout the year. In the Northern hemisphere, this feast falls in mid-winter, and the theme of light advancing in the darkness has held particular resonance on this day. Candlemas is the final holiday in the liturgical calendar tied to the narrative arc of the Christmas story. Because of this, it is the final traditional date to display Christmas decorations. Some hard-core Christmas enthusiasts choose to finally take down their Christmas trees on this day (most have their trees down by Jan. 6’s feast of the Epiphany). ![]()
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Almighty and everliving God, we humbly pray that, as your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the substance of our flesh, so we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts by Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.![]()
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Art & bio by Ben Lansing | Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, 2019 edition. ![]()
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Book, podcast, prints, 2025 wall calendar at ourchurchspeaks.com![]()
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