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The Presentation of Our Lord in the
Temple
Oil and Tempera Painting, The Mische Technique
2005
Not for sale
And when ‘the days of purification had been completed’ according to
the law of Moses they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
... and to offer for sacrifice ... a pair of turtle doves ... And behold, there
was in Jerusalem a man named Symeon ... and it had been revealed to him by the
Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the
Lord. And he came in the spirit to the temple when the parents brought the
child Jesus to carry out the custom of the Law in his regard. He himself also
received him into his arms and blessed God and said: “Now thou dost dismiss thy
servant, O Master, according to thy word, in peace: because mine eyes have seen
thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all the
peoples; a light of revelation unto the Gentiles, and of glory for thy
people Israel.” And his father and mother marvelled at the things that were
said concerning him. And Symeon blessed them, and he said unto Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is set for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, and
for a sign that shall be contradicted - yea, and thine own soul a sword shall
pierce - that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
- Luke 2:22-35
The painting shows the moment when Mary hears that a sword shall pierce her
heart. She is gripped by a terrible fear, but the child reaches out to comfort
her. In life sometimes we are given a premonition of our fate, which perhaps
makes it easier to bear when the blow falls.
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