Jan 25, 2026 Written by 

Contrasting Presentation: scrutinizing what is not being studied

(Mal 3:1-4   Heb 2:14-18   Lk 2:22-40)

 

The Lk’s Gospel passage narrates the surprising response of the Father to the prophecy of the last of the minor prophets (Mal 3,1-4).

An eloquent and peremptory manifestation of the power of the Israel’s God and the submission of those who did not fulfill the Law was expected.

Everyone imagined witnessing the triumphal entry of a boss surrounded by military leaders or angelic hosts (Mal 3:1).

Commander who would subjugate the pagan peoples, brought their goods to the ‘holy city’, guaranteed many slaves, and imposed observance.

Jesus?  Here he is yes in the Temple, but defenceless and accompanied by insignificant people.

No one notices them, although at all hours the sacred place was swarming with visitors.

So it’s not enough to be a devoted person to realize the presence of the Lord. But how to break through the wall of contrary appearances?

With the help of particularly sensitive people, who want to tell us something, because they are more able to understand the Unknown.

They are those who do not set their own intentions, current dreams, habitual expectations against the creative Design of the Most High - only demanding help from God to achieve them.

Here then rise Simeon and Anna, men and women from both inside and outside the Temple, who attempt to block the small domestic procession [Lk 2,28.38 Greek text].

The Holy Family must embark on a completely different Way - which will lead it to unforeseen growth.

Nobody should follow up legalist conventions based on culturally calibrated purisms and rites of social passage, which circumvent and block the evolutionary mechanisms brought about by surprises.

Women and men animated by the Spirit break in like ‘strangers’: they always try to prevent the "same" useless rite: it claimed to transform and reduce into son of Abraham the One who had been announced as the Son of God.

If the goal is the triumph of life, history must not prevail over Revelation.  Uniqueness that manifests itself in what is happening and is proposed even dimly, now.

The ‘unveiling’ is here; not something to conquer, nor a race for “excellence”. It’s the Present that opens an arc of full existence.

Thus in Mary: the Mother, figure of that more sensitive and original remnant of Israel - compared to all the people of expectations, still sterile.

The repetitive world, therefore content with itself but now without new momentum, is challenged by a contrast (vv. 34-35).

It’s the reversal that shatters the outcome that everyone had in mind.

 

In the figure of «the innocent, glory of his people», resides a Light that illuminates everyone (v.32).

Spirit of childhood and simple immediacy that becomes the «redemption of Jerusalem» (v.38), that is, of the institution.

It’s another Story, an unsuspected ‘time of the soul’... that have turned the ancient root into a sapling. And the Jesse trunk in new sprout (Is 11: 1).

Young Gift, without our knowledge. But that recovers the great Desires of each - instead of the “compliant” and reduced ways, which even today in the time of the crisis lose us without posing.

 

 

To internalize and live the message:

 

Forty days after Christmas, how do you meet in you the Child Jesus again, who is questioning you?

Has the joy of that Feast of Light faded? Did other "stars" caught your attention?

 

 

[Presentation of the Lord, February 2]

253 Last modified on Monday, 02 February 2026 11:59
don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

Here we can experience first hand that God is life and gives life, yet takes on the tragedy of death (Pope Francis)
Qui tocchiamo con mano che Dio è vita e dona vita, ma si fa carico del dramma della morte (Papa Francesco)
The people thought that Jesus was a prophet. This was not wrong, but it does not suffice; it is inadequate. In fact, it was a matter of delving deep, of recognizing the uniqueness of the person of Jesus of Nazareth and his newness. This is how it still is today: many people draw near to Jesus, as it were, from the outside (Pope Benedict)
La gente pensa che Gesù sia un profeta. Questo non è falso, ma non basta; è inadeguato. Si tratta, in effetti, di andare in profondità, di riconoscere la singolarità della persona di Gesù di Nazaret, la sua novità. Anche oggi è così: molti accostano Gesù, per così dire, dall’esterno (Papa Benedetto)
Because of this unique understanding, Jesus can present himself as the One who revealsr the Father with a knowledge that is the fruit of an intimate and mysterious reciprocity (John Paul II)
In forza di questa singolare intesa, Gesù può presentarsi come il rivelatore del Padre, con una conoscenza che è frutto di un'intima e misteriosa reciprocità (Giovanni Paolo II)
Yes, all the "miracles, wonders and signs" of Christ are in function of the revelation of him as Messiah, of him as the Son of God: of him who alone has the power to free man from sin and death. Of him who is truly the Savior of the world (John Paul II)
Sì, tutti i “miracoli, prodigi e segni” di Cristo sono in funzione della rivelazione di lui come Messia, di lui come Figlio di Dio: di lui che, solo, ha il potere di liberare l’uomo dal peccato e dalla morte. Di lui che veramente è il Salvatore del mondo (Giovanni Paolo II)
It is known that faith is man's response to the word of divine revelation. The miracle takes place in organic connection with this revealing word of God. It is a "sign" of his presence and of his work, a particularly intense sign (John Paul II)
È noto che la fede è una risposta dell’uomo alla parola della rivelazione divina. Il miracolo avviene in legame organico con questa parola di Dio rivelante. È un “segno” della sua presenza e del suo operare, un segno, si può dire, particolarmente intenso (Giovanni Paolo II)
In the rite of Baptism, the presentation of the candle lit from the large Paschal candle, a symbol of the Risen Christ, is a sign that helps us to understand what happens in the Sacrament. When our lives are enlightened by the mystery of Christ, we experience the joy of being liberated from all that threatens the full realization (Pope Benedict)
Nel rito del Battesimo, la consegna della candela, accesa al grande cero pasquale simbolo di Cristo Risorto, è un segno che aiuta a cogliere ciò che avviene nel Sacramento. Quando la nostra vita si lascia illuminare dal mistero di Cristo, sperimenta la gioia di essere liberata da tutto ciò che ne minaccia la piena realizzazione (Papa Benedetto)
Doing a good deed almost instinctively gives rise to the desire to be esteemed and admired for the good action, in other words to gain a reward. And on the one hand this closes us in on ourselves and on the other, it brings us out of ourselves because we live oriented to what others think of us or admire in us (Pope Benedict)
Quando si compie qualcosa di buono, quasi istintivamente nasce il desiderio di essere stimati e ammirati per la buona azione, di avere cioè una soddisfazione. E questo, da una parte rinchiude in se stessi, dall’altra porta fuori da se stessi, perché si vive proiettati verso quello che gli altri pensano di noi e ammirano in noi (Papa Benedetto)

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