Monday – Feast of the Presentation

Gospel – Luke 2:22-40

Home Sweet Home  

Dakin Street, Chicago

Almost exactly one year ago today, we sold our Chicago home, a house filled with over 42 years of memories!  Over the years, we celebrated Christmases, Easter and Thanksgiving dinners with family and friends.  So many cookouts and pool parties, so many Halloween visitors and neighborly chats over the fence.  Jaime was barely 6 when we moved in but it was the place where she grew into a young woman, from a toddler to a college grad, from playing with her toy doctor kit to working with compassion and expertise as an oncology nurse practitioner.  Such memories!  Such growth!

We celebrate today the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple!  Luke’s Gospel ends with a curious line.   “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him”.  And that’s it!  Except for one other story of Jesus being lost in the Temple, we know nothing else about His early life, nothing!  No pictures!  No video!  No other stories! No backyard birthday parties!  No family photos! Nothing until He is about 30 years old.  Those ‘hidden years’ are summed up in that one sentence.  It seems unsatisfying; we want to know more. 

We believe, in many ways, that Jaime did indeed grow in wisdom and grace in that Chicago home! We have said our goodbyes to Dakin Street, but we are building new memories here in Tennessee!  Jaime and the boys are just up the hill!  And now we get to see our grandsons move into adult life – Tyler graduating from UT in May and Nate just starting his college journey.  So much to be said and grateful for – home is a place for growth and maturing!

Under the guidance of His parents, Jesus grew, became strong and filled with wisdom.  And through it all, the favor of God was upon Him! And that is what we celebrate today – Jesus being presented to His Heavenly Father in the Temple and then, under the guidance of the Spirit, being raised by His earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, in wisdom, in grace and in faith.

For all of us struggling in the darkness of winter, in the midst of bitter cold and snowstorms, may the Lord grace us, just like Jesus, Mary and Joseph, with that same hope and faith to make Him the center of our own family’s life, so that we all may grow in wisdom and grace.

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