Throughout the Nativity cycle, we have celebrated the appearing of the Lord in the flesh—in Bethlehem as an infant, in the Jordan as a full-grown man, and now in the temple as a sacrifice. This was the pattern of the Lord’s life: he came as a child, actively ministered for three years after his baptism, and then was offered up to death on the Cross. This should also be the trajectory of our life: we are born in Christ through water and the Spirit, we reach some level of spiritual maturity, and then we are ready to live sacrificially for the Lord and for others. What shall we offer to the Lord in place of two turtledoves—time, talents, treasure? What shall we render to the Lord for all he has given unto us sinners?
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