Now presenting...
**As power is still out for many Austin area residents please keep our fellow COTC members, as well are ur neighbors more generally, who are without electricity in prayer. If you're in need in relation to the power outages please don't hesitate to reach out.**
Buried somewhere in the basement, Shannon’s family has some old home films. Super 8 or 16mm, I can quite remember. One of those family films is of a young Shannon, maybe 4 or 5, balanced not-too-precariously on a barely moving tire swing. Festooned with a colorful robe shawl, Shannon extends her arms, balancing with her body and legs only, looking into the camera with precocious pride. In the background, her older sister announces, “Now presenting… the great Lucy Jane!” (No one knows where that name came from.) Every thought of that moment of celluloid magic kills me every time.
Yesterday was the Presentation of Christ in the Temple according to the church calendar. This lesser known date commemorates Joseph and Mary taking Jesus to the temple, and their encounters with Simeon and Anna, who were faithfully waiting for the Messiah. “Now presenting….Jesus the Christ! A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” The humble grandeur of these scenes connects in my mind with the image of a playful and young girl proudly swaying on the swing.
The collect appointed for February 2nd reminds us of the humility of the young Jesus in those moments at the temple, and also points to the ways Jesus’ presentation leads to our presentation before God. Through Jesus’ presentation as a human being, we are drawn into the life of God. The prayer reads: “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.”
The language of presentation also describes our life with God in response to the grace and goodness we’ve seen in Jesus. We respond by presenting ourselves in humility, just as we are, asking for mercy and forgiveness. We present the whole of our lives as on offering to God. In prayer, we present our cares and concerns. In worship, we present our attention and voices. In service and mission, we present our work, time and strength to the purposes of God in the world. We present ourselves to the leading of God through silence and stillness (*Register for our silent retreat in early March below, and read this brief introduction by the retreat’s leader, Jon Ingle). This week, how might the Spirit be inviting you to present yourself to the Lord?