The Paradox of Jesus' Presentation and Purification of Mary

GOSPEL THOUGHTS

*Ordinary Season:  Fourth Week :  Tuesday*

*Gospel :  Luke 2:22-40*

*First Reading : Malachi 3:1-4*

*Responsorial Psalm : 24:7-10*

*The Paradox of Jesus' Presentation and Purification of Mary*

*1) The Apparent Paradox*

According to Jewish Law (Lev 12; Exod 13):

*The Presentation*: Every firstborn male was to be presented to the Lord and “redeemed.”

*The Purification*: A mother underwent ritual purification after childbirth.

Yet:

*Jesus is God*, not someone who needs to be “offered back” or redeemed.

*Mary is Immaculate*, untouched by sin or ritual impurity.

So the question is very sharp: Why submit to laws that do not apply to them?

*2) Not Necessity, but Freedom*

Neither action was morally necessary for Jesus or Mary.

They act not from obligation, but from loving freedom.

This is crucial: They are not under the Law in the usual sense; they enter into it voluntarily.

St. Paul gives us the key: “Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor” (2 Cor 8:9).

Their obedience is not about cleansing or redemption—it is about solidarity.

*3) Jesus: Redeemer Who Accepts Redemption*

*The deepest irony is this*: The One who redeems the world is himself “redeemed.”

Jesus allows himself to be treated as:

one among many

a child needing ransom

subject to the Law

Why?

Because salvation works from inside the human condition, not from above it.

He does not save us by exemption, but by entering fully into our situation.

*4) Mary: Purity That Chooses Humility*

Mary’s purification is not about sin, but about humility and communion.

She does not separate herself from other mothers, even though she is unique.

She chooses to walk the path of ordinary obedience, quietly and invisibly.

*This teaches something profound*:

Holiness does not insist on its privileges.

True purity does not announce itself.

It hides, serves, and waits.

*5) Fulfillment, Not Rejection, of the Law*

Jesus later says: “I have not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it” (Mt 5:17).

This moment in the Temple is already a sign of that fulfillment:

The Law is honored, But its limits are revealed

The Law points forward to Christ—but Christ enters the Law first, as a child in his mother’s arms.

*6) A Silent Teaching on Scandal and Love*

There is also a lesson in not causing scandal.

Had Mary refused purification, or Jesus refused presentation, it would have:

drawn attention to themselves

disrupted the community

elevated private privilege over communal faithfulness

Love sometimes chooses to submit rather than explain.

*7) Simeon and Anna: Heaven Recognizes What the Law Cannot*

Interestingly, the Law sees nothing special.

But Simeon and Anna see everything.

*This shows*:

Legal obedience prepares the way

But spiritual sight recognizes the mystery

The Law opens the door; the Spirit reveals who has entered.

*8) Various Lessons*

*A) Obedience Can Be an Act of Love, Not Fear* : We obey not always because we must—but because we love God and others.

*B) Holiness Often Looks Ordinary* : God’s greatest mysteries pass through the Temple like any other family.

*C) Humility Is the Shape of Redemption* :Salvation begins not with miracles, but with submission.

*D) God Meets Us in Our Institutions* : Even limited human structures can become places of divine encounter.

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim DSouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*