Today we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord instead of the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Gospel today tells us the story of Jesus’ parents following the Law of Moses and bringing the baby to the Temple in order to present him after the proscribed days after His birth. I looked up the word presentation in the Oxford Dictionary: An introduction, as at court; an offering, delivering or bestowing as in a gift; a religious dedication by bringing him before God. I like the idea of dedication to God by His parents—it reminds me of our own Baptism and our baptismal promises. I like the idea of delivering or bestowing a gift, too—we should all be gifts to all of our Communities…
The Gospel story continues with the man Simeon’s reaction to the baby who prophesizes about the child, Jesus. Then the prophetess Anna comes forward to speak of the redemption of Israel by Jesus, too. The description of Anna has always intrigued me: “She never left the Temple, but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer.” St. Paul has written about praying without ceasing, and I always wondered how anyone can live and practice this—as apparently Anna did!
This same problem occurred to St. Origen, an outstanding Bible scholar, teacher, and preacher of the first half of the third century AD in Alexandria. He commented in his “Sermons on Samuel” that if this be the only meaning of “prayer,” anyone who tries to “pray without ceasing” will die of starvation or dehydration because eating and drinking would interrupt the prayer. St. Paul's admonition would likewise forbid sleep and many other necessary daily activities…
St. Origen formulated a possible solution for this problem in his “Treatise on Prayer” written around AD 235. He further commented on it in his “Sermons on Samuel” five years later. The sermons tell us that a prayer is not interrupted by any action done in the service of God, nor by an act or word done or said in accordance with God's will. So, as long as we perform our daily activities for the glory of God, then we are praying constantly. If we count all good works and all obedience dedicated to God as part of prayer, a good person never really stops praying. The only way we can pray without ceasing is to constantly practice our faith, as did Anna. This definition helps us understand that all we do to intentionally honor, bless, and obey God, and to bring justice, mercy and peace to the world, is all part of our unceasing prayer to God.
I like to think that we have all been presented by our parents after our births too—a gift to the Community and dedicated to God by our Baptism. The challenge is to take our own presentation seriously, and to live the example of Anna given us today. Let your life be a witness of unceasing prayer for the world in all you say and do! Keep praying!
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
The Gospel story continues with the man Simeon’s reaction to the baby who prophesizes about the child, Jesus. Then the prophetess Anna comes forward to speak of the redemption of Israel by Jesus, too. The description of Anna has always intrigued me: “She never left the Temple, but worshipped night and day with fasting and prayer.” St. Paul has written about praying without ceasing, and I always wondered how anyone can live and practice this—as apparently Anna did!
This same problem occurred to St. Origen, an outstanding Bible scholar, teacher, and preacher of the first half of the third century AD in Alexandria. He commented in his “Sermons on Samuel” that if this be the only meaning of “prayer,” anyone who tries to “pray without ceasing” will die of starvation or dehydration because eating and drinking would interrupt the prayer. St. Paul's admonition would likewise forbid sleep and many other necessary daily activities…
St. Origen formulated a possible solution for this problem in his “Treatise on Prayer” written around AD 235. He further commented on it in his “Sermons on Samuel” five years later. The sermons tell us that a prayer is not interrupted by any action done in the service of God, nor by an act or word done or said in accordance with God's will. So, as long as we perform our daily activities for the glory of God, then we are praying constantly. If we count all good works and all obedience dedicated to God as part of prayer, a good person never really stops praying. The only way we can pray without ceasing is to constantly practice our faith, as did Anna. This definition helps us understand that all we do to intentionally honor, bless, and obey God, and to bring justice, mercy and peace to the world, is all part of our unceasing prayer to God.
I like to think that we have all been presented by our parents after our births too—a gift to the Community and dedicated to God by our Baptism. The challenge is to take our own presentation seriously, and to live the example of Anna given us today. Let your life be a witness of unceasing prayer for the world in all you say and do! Keep praying!
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
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