Today is much more than Super Bowl Sunday dear people of God, and quite frankly I wonder how many of us realize what we celebrate today other than the last NFL game of the year. It is very true that for all intents and purposes today has in effect become a national holiday filled with all kinds of traditions and rituals surrounding this singular football game. However, it is also true that our faith is filled with many feasts and celebrations that are also filled with ceremony, tradition and rituals. The feast day that we celebrate today is called the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which is celebrated on the 40th day after the birth of Jesus. It was Jewish tradition that mother and child were kept in seclusion from the world for the child’s first 40 days and then the child would be “presented” in the Temple in the presence of the faithful, which of course would include family and friends. The ceremony included a candlelight procession and then of course a grand celebration followed. Traditionally this day marked the end of the Christmas season, so if any of you still have decorations up you can justify yourself until today, but now they have to come down! The message of this Feast Day is to emphasize once again the message of the Christmas Season. God the Father and Jesus have done and continue to do everything they can to show us that they accept us completely and totally as the imperfect human beings we are even to the point of immersing themselves in our rituals and traditions, although I must admit I don’t know where the Super Bowl fits into all this. Any way for tonight as you are watching the game you can remind yourselves that you now know that today is not just Super Bowl Sunday; it is the Feast Day of the Presentation of the Lord. And whether your team wins or loses you will always know that you are a winner because you are totally accepted by God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ. And finally, although you may have just learned about this feast today, you will remember it’s message throughout eternity and believe it or not there will come a day very shortly when you will not be concerned one iota with who won this game or even the names of the two teams that play tonight. Just sayin’. Happy feast Day!