(In the process of making sure I didn’t forget to post my first couple of entries from our journey to Malawi, I managed to forget to post this reflection on Candlemas, February, 2nd – mea culpa.)
The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (known also as Candlemas and, still in a few places, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin) is one of my favourite feasts of the Church year. I do hope you’ll indulge me by asking why.
So here’s why: hear again the words of Simeon from St. Luke’s gospel, which are most familiar to us, of course, from the second canticle at Evening Prayer, the Nunc Dimittis:
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace : according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen : thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared : before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles : and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Ultimately, this is Simeon’s grand prophecy, which points us directly to the world’s only redeemer, Jesus Christ our Lord. What is particularly striking, to yours truly at least, is his request – ‘lettest thou thy servant depart in peace’. Why, of all things, would he ask to depart in peace? Upon seeing just a glimpse of Christ, wouldn’t one naturally be at peace? Or is there something, just something, that changes in us upon any encounter with the Son of Man?
Indeed, I think encounters with the numinous One do shake us, often times (and hopefully) down to our very core. Thus, after an encounter with the Risen One, life is most assuredly not the same, and I’m here to tell you it’s certainly not peaceful, that is, it’s not peaceful in the worldly sense of the word. And that’s why, I believe, Simeon makes his request known; he recognises that his world has been turned upside down. Worldly ‘peace’, for Simeon, is henceforth cast out, supplanted with the real and enduring peace of God. And that’s the scandal of the gospel, my friends.
The world, dear ones, tells us peace is found in our own hearts; we simply must unlock our own futures and try harder next time, always remembering to look inward for next great scheme and strand of happy thoughts, whatever that means. Then, and only then, will we know true peace and happiness. But is this, dear ones, truly peaceful, or is this principally pride, that is, Adam’s sin, simply writ large?
The Scriptures are overflowing with this reality, that is, on the one hand the human heart and its myopic worldview, and on the other the story of God’s peace and healing love. The Church Fathers, especially St. Augustine, perfectly encapsulate these two spheres of meaning-making. In Augustine’s masterpiece, De Civitate Dei (The City of God), he writes:
Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by a love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glorifies in itself, the latter in the Lord. For the one seeks glory from men; but the greatest glory of the other is God…one lifts up its head in its own glory; the other says to God, ‘Thou art my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
Christianity, you see, is a dangerous peace to the world’s apple carts, period. By definition Christianity upsets cultural norms; the message of the gospel cannot be domesticated and subverted to worldly wisdom, with its penchant for self-actualisation and its selfish gaze.
The peace that Christianity gives is the peace the world cannot, would not, and never shall give. And Simeon, on the feast of Candlemas, points us to the source of all peace and well-being, namely, Jesus Christ of Nazareth – incarnate, presented, crucified, resurrected and ascended on high! Only by looking at Christ, which is perfect peace, can peace begin to dwell within us.
The concluding pièce de résistance of Candlemas in the Wilson household is dinner, complete with the presentation of jumbo lump crabmeat from Bayou La Batre, Alabama.
Candlemas Crab With Champagne Aioli
Serves Six
N.B. I serve this as a hearty salad; however, Malacy always thinks it's best as a main course. If you choose the latter, perhaps slightly increase the amount of crab, buying 3 lbs. and increasing the other ingredients 1.5 times as well.
Ingredients:
2lbs. of fresh jumbo lump crabmeat (We get ours from Joe Patti’s Seafood in Pensacola. They will pack it and ship it. They often have really good pricing. Don’t settle for claw meat or lump – get ‘jumbo’ lump! There website is www.joepattis.com)
6 small heads of Bibb lettuce, washed, and hearts removed
½ cup fresh chives
4 TBSP of fresh parsley
¼ cup fresh finely minced celery
4 TBSP Champagne vinegar
1/3 cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise
Pinch of white pepper
Pinch of finely ground sea salt
Directions:
Drain the crab and place on paper towel and pat dry. Be careful not to break up the pieces. In a glass bowl gently fold the crab into a mixture of ½ of the chives, ½ the parsley, celery, white pepper, and salt. Meanwhile, make the aioli: place the mayo in a bowl and slowly pour in the vinegar in a slow stream while whisking vigorously. Add the remaining parsley and chives to the dressing. Evenly divide the crab mixture onto each head of Bibb. Drizzle aioli over each portion. Serve on a cold plate with a cold fork.
Yours in the Manifest One,
Charleston
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