Malachi 3:1-4/ Hebrews 2:14-18/ Luke 2:22-40
Today is the third day of the Chinese New Year. Actually the more correct term is the Lunar New Year.
Here in Singapore and elsewhere, it is a big celebration for the Chinese, so it is often referred to as Chinese New Year.
But whether Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year, it is a celebration of culture and traditions that are uniquely Chinese.
And there are also some strange taboos that have somehow become traditional practices.
For example, there must be no washing of hair on the first day of Chinese New Year. It can be before or after but not on the day itself. It has something to do with the washing away of luck. So washing hair cannot, but bathing can!
Also on the first day of Chinese New Year, there must be no sweeping or mopping of the house. And all brooms and mops must be kept out of sight. Again it has something to do with luck.
Well, my family is not a strict traditionalist family, but this year, we broke the tradition.
Because my brother and his family wanted to go away for a holiday during the Chinese New Year and they want to leave on the eve of Chinese New Year.
And the eve of Chinese New Year is the day for that all important Reunion Dinner.
So it means that we have to bring forward the Reunion dinner, which is something my family had not done before.
Thus, I had to go home on Tuesday for the Reunion Dinner, which was two days ahead of the eve of Chinese New Year. Anyway it was done and we had a good dinner.
Then came the question of the eve of Chinese New Year, the traditional day for the Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner.
Should I go home for dinner with my parents? After all, it’s just going to be my parents and myself. So to go home or not to go home – that’s the question.
Well, in the end, I went home on the eve of Chinese New Year and had a simple dinner of leftovers with my parents.
After dinner we just sat around, the three of us, and we brought out the family photo albums and we talked about the past and how my parents struggled along with the children growing up, about the present and the challenges, and about the future with our hopes and dreams.
To put it simply, I was glad I went home to keep the traditional day of the Reunion Dinner. Otherwise, I would have missed out a good family time with my parents.
In a way, the gospel of today is about the keeping of traditions.
Mary and Joseph kept the traditions of the Law of the Lord and took Jesus up to Jerusalem for the purpose of purification and to consecrate Jesus to the Lord since He was their firstborn.
Mary and Joseph were just doing their duty and keeping to the tradition of the Law. It was significant for them and for Jesus but it was nothing exceptional.
Little did they know that in that simple act of keeping the traditions of the Law of the Lord, many things were waiting to happen.
First there was Simeon who was looking forward to set his eyes on the Christ of the Lord.
He had been waiting and waiting for that day, and it finally came when Mary and Joseph brought in the child Jesus to do for Him what the Law required.
And then there was Anna, that 84 year old widow, a prophetess, who was waiting to make that last prophecy, and preparing herself with fasting and prayer.
She came by just at that moment, and it was to be her moment of fulfillment. We may call it her “five minutes of heaven”.
As for Mary and Joseph, it may have been a revelation beyond their expectation to hear all that being said about Jesus.
And especially for Mary, what Simeon said to her may have left her bewildered and forlorn.
She and Joseph came to fulfill their duty for Jesus, and yet in doing so they have fulfilled the longings of Simeon and Anna.
But the central figure in all this is Jesus. With His revelation, Mary, Joseph, Simeon and Anna knew where to move on to.
For Simeon and Anna, they can finally close their eyes to this world and move on to meet God in the next.
For Mary, she must prepare for that day when the sword will pierce her heart.
For Joseph, he now knows that his task is to watch over and care for mother and child to meet their destiny in life.
And for us in this feast of the Presentation, there may be a revelation for us.
We too, have come here to keep the tradition of the Law of the Lord in the Sunday Eucharist.
What will the Lord reveal to us, that will be between Him and each of us.
Keeping to a religious tradition, like coming for Mass every Sunday may not be always exciting and inspiring.
Yet, the Lord is always revealing something to us so that we can have a beautiful way of looking at things.
There is this story of a father who was trying to read a magazine but his little daughter was distracting him.
On a page of the magazine was printed the map of the world. So, to keep her busy, he tore out the page and there tore it into many pieces and asked her to go and put them together to make the map again.
He was quite sure that she would take the whole day to get it done.
But the little girl came back within a few minutes with the perfect map.
He was surprised that she did it so quickly and asked her how she did it.
The little girl said: Oh, there is a man’s face on the other side of the paper. I just have to put the face right to get the map together.
With that, she ran outside to play, leaving the father bewildered.
We too, may not understand the pieces of map of our lives.
But Jesus will reveal His face to us so that we can put our map together and have a beautiful way of looking at things and at life.
So as we celebrate this feast of the Presentation of Lord, let us also offer our lives to the Lord.
And may the Lord reveal His plans for us.
Then, like Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna, we will be able to move on in life and fulfill our destiny.