Church Fathers Commentary Luke 2:22-24

"And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord), and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." — Luke 2:22-24 (ASV)

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Next, after the circumcision, they wait for the time of purification, as it is said, And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses had come.

The Venerable Bede: If you diligently examine the words of the law, you will indeed find that the mother of God, just as she is free from all sexual relations, is also exempt from any obligation of the law. For not every woman who gives birth, but she who has conceived and given birth, is pronounced unclean; by the ordinances of the law, she is taught that she must be cleansed, probably to distinguish her from one who, though a virgin, has conceived and given birth. But so that we might be freed from the bonds of the law, just as Christ did, Mary also willingly submitted herself to the law.

Titus of Bostra: Therefore, the Evangelist has rightly observed that the days of her purification had come according to the law, for since she had conceived by the Holy Spirit, she was free from all uncleanness. It follows, They brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

St. Athanasius of Alexandria: But when was the Lord hidden from His Father’s sight so that He could not be seen by Him? Or what place is excluded from His dominion, that by remaining there He would be separated from His Father unless brought to Jerusalem and introduced into the temple? But perhaps these things were written for us. For He was not made man and circumcised in the flesh to confer grace on Himself, but to make us gods through grace and so that we might be circumcised in the Spirit. So for our sakes He is presented to the Lord, so that we also might learn to present ourselves to the Lord.

The Venerable Bede: On the thirty-third day after His circumcision, He is presented to the Lord, signifying in a mystery that no one is worthy to come into the Lord’s sight except the one who is circumcised from his sins. It also signifies that no one who has not severed himself from all human ties can perfectly enter into the joys of the heavenly city. It follows, As it is written in the law of the Lord.

Origen of Alexandria: Where are those who deny that Christ proclaimed in the Gospel that the law is from God? Or can it be supposed that the righteous God placed His own Son under a hostile law that He Himself had not given? It is written in the law of Moses as follows, Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.

The Venerable Bede: By the words, "opening the womb," he signifies the firstborn of both man and beast. Each of these was, according to the commandment, to be called holy to the Lord and therefore to become the property of the priest; that is, the priest was to receive a price for every firstborn son and require every unclean animal to be ransomed.

Gregory of Nyssa: Now this commandment of the law seems to have found its fulfillment in the incarnate God in a very remarkable and unique manner. For He alone, ineffably conceived and incomprehensibly born, opened the virgin’s womb—until then unopened by marriage—and after this birth miraculously retained the seal of her chastity.

St. Ambrose of Milan: For no union with a man opened the virgin’s womb; rather, the Holy Spirit infused the immaculate seed into an inviolate womb. He, then, who sanctified another womb so that a prophet could be born, is the one who has opened the womb of His own mother, so that the Immaculate One should come forth. By the words "opening the womb," he speaks of birth in the usual manner, not that the sacred dwelling of the virgin’s womb, which our Lord sanctified by entering it, should now be thought to be deprived of its virginity by His coming forth from it.

Gregory of Nyssa: But the offspring of this birth alone is seen to be spiritually male, as He contracted no guilt from being born of a woman. Hence, He is truly called holy. Therefore Gabriel, as if announcing that this commandment belonged to Him alone, said, That Holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. Now, concerning other firstborns, the wisdom of the Gospel has declared that they are called holy because they are offered to God. But the Angel pronounces that the firstborn of all creation—That holy thing which is born...—is holy in His very nature.

St. Ambrose of Milan: For among those born of a woman, the Lord Jesus alone is holy in every way. In the newness of His immaculate birth, He did not experience the contagion of earthly defilement but dispelled it by His heavenly majesty. For if we follow the letter of the law, how can every male be holy, since it is certain that many have been wicked? But He is the holy one whom the pious ordinances of the divine law prefigured as a type of a future mystery, because He alone was to open the hidden womb of the holy virgin Church for the begetting of nations.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! He offers sacrifices, who in each sacrifice is honored equally with the Father. The Truth preserves the types of the law. He who as God is the Maker of the law, as man has kept the law. Hence it follows, And that they should give a sacrifice as it was ordered in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

The Venerable Bede: Now this was the sacrifice of the poor. For the Lord commanded in the law that those who were able should offer a lamb for a son or a daughter, as well as a turtledove or pigeon; but those who were not able to offer a lamb should give two turtledoves or two young pigeons. Therefore the Lord, though He was rich, deigned to become poor, so that by His poverty He might make us partakers of His riches.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But let us see what these offerings mean. The turtledove is the most vocal of birds, and the pigeon is the gentlest. And such was the Savior made for us; He was endowed with perfect meekness and, like the turtledove, entranced the world, filling His garden with His own melodies. Therefore, either a turtledove or a pigeon was killed, so that by this type He might be revealed to us as one who was about to suffer in the flesh for the life of the world.

The Venerable Bede: Or, the pigeon denotes simplicity and the turtledove chastity, for the pigeon is a lover of simplicity, and the turtledove of chastity, so that if she happens to lose her mate, she does not seek another. Rightly, then, are the pigeon and turtledove offered as sacrifices to the Lord, because the simple and chaste conduct of the faithful is a sacrifice of righteousness well-pleasing to Him.

St. Athanasius of Alexandria: He ordered two things to be offered because, as a person consists of both body and soul, the Lord requires a twofold return from us: chastity and meekness, not only of the body but also of the soul. Otherwise, a person will be a dissembler and a hypocrite, wearing a face of innocence to mask hidden malice.

The Venerable Bede: But while each bird, from its habit of wailing, represents the present sorrows of the saints, they differ in this: the turtledove is solitary, but the pigeon flies about in flocks. And so the one points to the secret tears of confession, and the other to the public assembly of the Church.

Alternatively, the pigeon that flies in flocks represents the busy interactions of the active life. The turtledove, which delights in solitude, speaks of the lofty heights of the contemplative life. But because each sacrifice is equally accepted by the Creator, St. Luke has purposely omitted whether the turtledoves or young pigeons were offered for the Lord, so that he might not prefer one way of life over another, but teach that both ought to be followed.