Scripture Readings for the Feast of the Presentation

Just as I was beginning to work on this sermon, an old friend said, “I feel as if I have dropped into my own life, and it fits.” He went on to say that it was more about what was happening within him than what was happening around him. It made me smile. It was such a great description of what we all want to be able to say. There are moments in our lives when our senses awaken and open to a greater reality, a larger world, a more whole life. Those are the moments when our seeing gives way to recognition and acknowledgement of a deeper longing and more profound reality. They are the moments of meeting, moments when divinity and humanity touch, and heaven and earth are joined. That’s what this day, the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord, is about. It’s about presence and longing. We’ve all had those moments when we were fully present, acknowledging that somehow all the pieces of our life fit with an integrity and authenticity and a reality greater than the circumstances of the moment. We’ve all had those moments, even if only briefly. And it was because of such a moment that Mpumelelo requested to make his Initial Profession. In those moments we are living today’s Feast, and we catch a glimpse of what all those present experienced. 

Sermon for the initial profession of Br Mpumelelo – by Br Robert JamesRead More »