Scripture: Luke 2:30-32 – “…for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” (NRSV)
This morning in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the world’s most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow, meaning that we have six more weeks of winter. This is a fun ceremony, but it is hardly an indication of how much winter we actually have left. Sometimes, February is mild, and we have a peaceful march (March?) toward spring. Other times we have snow into April.
Groundhog Day falls on February 2, which is about halfway between the first day of winter and the first day of spring. It is a turning point, therefore, away from darkness and into light, regardless of what a marmot might tell us. This alone would be important as we seek the light of the future.
However, Groundhog Day is not just a secular “holiday” but based on the Christian liturgical calendar. February 2 is Candlemas, the day when we celebrate Jesus being presented at the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth on Christmas. It is the end of the winter season of Christmas and Epiphany and a transition that looks toward Lent and Easter in the spring.
When Jesus was presented in the Temple, he met an old man named Simeon who recognized him as the promised Messiah. Simeon had looked back on the ancient prophecies in hopes for a glorious future, and that future was now in front of him. He said, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Just like the coming light of Easter which we see as a glimmer on the horizon, Simeon saw that Jesus, the Light of World, had come to save us all.
Many of us are still digging out of the blizzard from Saturday and more foul weather is predicted for Friday. It does not feel like we will be getting out of winter anytime soon. But Candlemas teaches us that even something as small as a baby’s blessing can be a turning point not only of the year but in our lives as well. Even in the cold and snow, kindle that small candle’s worth of light. Let it burn into your heart so that light and love may spread from you across all the world.
Prayer: God, bring warmth into our frozen world and melt hearts as snow so that love and justice might flow like mighty rivers. Amen.
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