Feast of the Presentation
Depending on your viewpoint, February 2 is Groundhog Day, the
Feast of the Presentation, Candlemas (for those preferring the old name for the
Feast of the Presentation), or some combination thereof. Of Americans who know February 2 is some sort
of special day, probably more people are familiar with the secular Groundhog
Day than with the liturgical day. (See Feb 2 2011 post Candlemas Light for more about the Feast of the
Presentation.)
Groundhog Day is when “the groundhog” – traditionally any
old woodchuck, real or imagined, that happened to poke its head out, but
increasingly taken to mean a specific groundhog kept in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania –
looks out after a long winter’s sleep. If the groundhog sees its shadow, it
goes back in for six more weeks of winter; if it doesn’t see its shadow, it
sticks around for an early spring. It’s the sort of folk observance that can be
fun; it’s only when people take it as seriously predictive that it stops being
fun.
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| Sandhill Cranes, Hall County, January 2012 |
We have a winter storm on the way this week, but so far this
winter has been mild, with some temperatures above average and precipitation
below average. While we have been experiencing our pleasantly abnormal weather,
other places have experienced unusual weather patterns that resulted in the
sorts of severe weather and floods we might expect in spring rather than
winter. If we do have a mild end to winter – an early spring – we would do well
to look for causes other than a woodchuck afraid of its shadow.
It’s common for weathercasters and the rest of us to talk
about Mother Nature controlling the weather. No doubt someone this evening is
saying, “Mother Nature has some winter weather in store for us”. The
personification of natural forces in Mother Nature goes back to ancient times
and its part of our language, but we know that changes in weather have causes
other than the whims of an unseen woman. We run into problems when people stop
at the playful explanation and lose interest in reality.
The Gospel reading for the Daily Office on the Feast of the
Presentation is John 8:31-36: “…you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” The reference
to the truth in this passage is to the essential, saving truth in Christ’s
word. The Greek word translated as truth is the negative noun form of a word
meaning to keep hidden or secret, to lie. Later in John’s Gospel, Jesus, using
the same word, says, “I am the truth”. Christ is the personification of truth;
belief in Christ and belief in truth are bound together.
The future of humankind might very well rest on our paying
serious attention to things like the extremes that have been so apparent the past several
months. (See for example NOAA: 2011 a year of climate extremes in the United States.) Most climate scientists think that there is a connection between climate
change and these extreme events; the question is the degree to which climate
change is involved. If that’s the case, then our weather will become
increasingly extreme.
We will be in much better shape to respond to what is
happening and to take care of ourselves and our global neighbors if we quit
hiding the truth behind Mother Nature’s skirts and bring ourselves to look at
reality.
