Talks, Sermons and Reflections

Luke 2:22-38 If you go into an Orthodox church, often in front of you, where the sanctuary rail would be, is a large panel on which rows of icons are placed – the iconostasis. One of the rows on the iconostasis is called the festival row and on it are scenes from the life of Mary but mainly of Jesus. And today we are looking at the icon of the presentation or purification. On the left, we have Joseph and Mary. Behind them is the temple. The red drape in iconography shows that we are looking at what is going on inside the building, even though the main characters are shown standing in front of the building. PURIFICATION Mary and Joseph have come into the temple. Joseph is holding in his hands two birds, pigeons. The pigeons are a sacrifice for the purification of Mary, which the law required for a mother after she had given birth. Why was a woman thought to be ritually unclean after giving birth? Indeed, why was Mary unclean after the birth of Jesus? I wonder whether what we have here ...