The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Lk. 2:22-40)
Anawim is a term that we probably aren’t all familiar with. But if we are serious Bible readers, it is an important concept to understand. We see Mary and Joseph portrayed as part of the Anawim in the Gospel account we read today.
Who were the Anawim? The Anawim were the simple believers, the poor of every sort. The Anawim were the vulnerable, the marginalized, the people on the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. Such people had no earthly power. The Anawim were totally dependent on God for whatever their needs were. The Hebrew word means, “those that are bowed down.”
When Jesus gives his Sermon on the Mount, he utters these words. “Blessed are the poor in Spirit for they will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.” One thing the Anawin had that was irrevocable, was faith. What couldn’t be taken from these poor, powerless people was their radical trust in God.
Basically, they believed three things:
Anawim believed that God’s promised to be with them always.
The faithful poor believed that God loved everyone including them. Even if no one else loved them, God did.
The powerless but faithful ones believed that being devoted to God’s moral teaching would cause them to be marginalized by those who were violent, those who were rich, those who were powerful.
Most of the people Jesus associated with would have been part of this strata of society. Jesus warned against mistreating the powerless when he said, “If anyone causes one of the little ones to stumble it would be better for them to have a millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Mary and Jospeh were poor. Both knew they had no power in the world. The two of them were part of the have-nots of society. But there was one thing they knew couldn’t be taken from them, the love they had for God and the love God had for them. Mary and Jospeh had a radical trust in divine providence. For that reason, they brought the baby Jesus to initiate him into the Jewish faith. Also, it was the reason they dedicated him to God so that he might serve the Lord. He was their most precious possession, but they asked the Lord to use Jesus as he wished.
People who believe in a worldly way of living, who value riches, who believe in stepping on others to achieve status in society, would label Mary and Joseph as losers, fools, naïve. Such people would probably laugh at Joseph and Mary asking, “What has God ever given you?” But the Anawim are held up as examples throughout Scripture, as people to emulate.
We might know such people. I am reminded of a conversation I had with a man I knew. He was a hard-working man who owned his own business. He worked on cars. His hands were strong. His hands were dirty most of the time. He struggled to make a living. And he was at Mass every Sunday. He was known throughout his community as a man who was honest. He was known as man of integrity.
He spoke to me once about his great trust in the church. If the church put forth moral teaching he was going to follow it, even if it was difficult. If his parish was starting a new adult faith program, he was going to participate. And if his parish needed his financial support, he would give his fair share. His greatest desire was that his children would be faithful Catholics. He trusted in God. He trusted the church. He was part of the Anawim living in the world today. As I listened to him, I realized what an important responsibility I had as a priest to be worthy of the trust, people like him, had in religious leaders.
We have heard that the gap between classes in our society grows wider each day. One thing we should never doubt is that God loves his poor ones. We are called, as the Body of Christ, to love them as well. We can also remember that even if everything else is taken from us, no one can revoke our relationship with our Lord.