The Tuesday within the Octave of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord
Posted on December 30, 2025 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 2:22-24 (NKJV)
2:22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
Devotion
When the days of Mary’s purification were accomplished, she and Joseph brought the Child to Jerusalem to present Him before the Lord. The Law required that every firstborn male be redeemed by sacrifice, for the first fruits belonged to God. The Redeemer was brought as if He needed redemption, yet He was the Lord Himself. He would be the holy sacrifice for our sin, so it was fitting that all righteousness was fulfilled throughout His life. His parents offered a pair of turtledoves—the humble sacrifice permitted for the poor. The rich and the mighty may boast in golden offerings, but the Lord delights in obedience and faith.
Already, the mystery of the Gospel shines forth: the Son who is holy by nature submits to the Law that condemns sinners. He takes our place under the very ordinances that reveal our guilt. The child in Mary’s arms is the true Temple, and yet He enters the temple to fulfill what His people could never keep. Thus, even His earliest days proclaim His purpose—to redeem those under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
We learn that Christ’s glory was not found in splendor, but in humility; not in what man gives to God, but in what God gives to man. The Redeemer is carried to the altar that He might one day be the Sacrifice.
Collect: Almighty and Everlasting God, direct our actions according to Thy good pleasure, that in the Name of Thy beloved Son, we may be made to abound in good works; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord
Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the new Birth of Thine Only-Begotten Son in the flesh may set us free who are held in the old bondage under the yoke of sin; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
