Subject: Infancy Narratives
Title : The Presentation in the Temple
Liturgical Time : Christmas, or directly thereafter
Source : Luke 2:21-33 and 36-39, RPC 15-113, GSC 71-73, CCC 529 Ex:13:2, MM pp 88 & 97, SPSA Spring 2007
Invite the children to gather near the Land of Israel topographical map.
Before Christmas we talked about Jesus coming to earth. We heard of the joy when:
� The angel announced to Mary she was going to have Jesus
• Mary visited Elizabeth
• when angels told the shepherds Jesus had been born.
We are going to hear more of that joy today.
Going to the Temple
After Jesus was born Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem . [Point to Jerusalem on the topographical map.] High up here in the hills.
Mary and Joseph were Jewish people who followed all the customs and traditions.
Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple to consecrate him to the Lord, to give him to the Lord. All Jewish people did this.
At the Temple lived a man named Simeon and a woman named Anna. Simeon and Anna had been waiting and waiting for Jesus to be born and brought to the temple by his parents. We’ll read the Scripture to see what happened and to hear the joy.
Solemn reading of scripture with lit candle
[Show where Jerusalem is on the map in the booklet]
[Read Luke 2 excerpts – “Presentation in the Temple ”]
Meditation & unpacking the vocabulary
Did you hear places where people were joyful?
Simeon had been waiting for a long time. When Jesus came in Simeon took him in his arms and was so happy. We can wonder, how did Simeon know? What was it about the baby Jesus that helped Simeon know?
After waiting so long, Simeon must have been full of joy!
Mary and Joseph stood there wondering, full of joy.
Anna the prophetess came by. When she saw what was happening she glorified and praised God. She told everyone she met. How much joy in that?
• “ the Christ of the Lord”? -- That means Jesus is the light.
• a promise? – God made a promise to Simeon; God keep his promises
• dismiss your servant in peace – God’s promise to Simeon was that Simeon would not die until he saw Jesus, the light
• in the sight of all people, as a light for all people (Jew and Gentile) – God sent Jesus for everyone!
Introducing the materials
[Take out temple.] We can think of this as the Temple .
[Take out figures, one at a time and name:]
• Simeon [place on steps of Temple ]
• Anna [place in Temple ]
Second Reading with Materials
[Re-read excerpts from Luke: Presentation in the Temple ]
When the eight day came… they gave him the name Jesus as the angel said.
When time came for them to be purified…[Move Mary, Joseph and Jesus closer to Temple ]
Now Simeon took Jesus in his arms and blessed God. [Move Jesus to Simeon’s arms and put turtledoves on the steps.]
Simeon: “Now I can go….”
Anna came by just at that moment and began praising God – telling everyone.
Went back to their own town of Nazareth .
Simeon – holy, listened and loved God very much; God promised he would not die until he saw the Christ the Lord. How did Simeon know? We can wonder how he knew Jesus was the light when he was brought to the temple.
What was there about Jesus that helped Simeon know that He was the one?
We can wonder what Simeon felt when he held Jesus. Was he expecting a baby?
We can wonder what this must have been like for Mary . People she didn’t know holding and loving her baby and saying all these wonderful things about Him.
Simeon and Anna were very old. I wonder if their being so old had anything to do with their ability to recognize Jesus.
There is a Christmas song that you probably know: “O come let us adore him, o come let us adore him, o come let us adore him Christ the Lord!”
Restoration of the Material
Model for children putting the figures back into the basket, and putting the basket and Temple on the shelf.
“This is your work, you can explore it anytime.”