A Sermon preached on Feb. 2, 2020 (Candlemas) at
St. Augustine’s, Wiesbaden
Isaiah 61:10-62:3,
Hebrews 2:14-18, Luke 2:22-40
If you thought we have a lot going on today at church, just look at what
is happening in the passage we just heard from Luke’s Gospel!
First, we have the purification according to the law of Moses. This is
the requirement, according to Leviticus (12:2-8) that for 33 days after the
birth a woman “shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary,
until the days of her purification are completed.” And then, on the 33rd
day, “she shall take two turtle-doves or two pigeons, one for a burnt-offering
and the other for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her
behalf, and she shall be clean.” In the old prayer book we had a service called
the Churching of Women (now just called Thanksgiving for a Child), which while
it focused on giving thanks for the safe delivery – and survival of the mother
– and required no animal sacrifices was still a vestige of the rite of purification.
Turning back to Luke, we next have the consecration of the firstborn
based on Exodus (13:1-2 ): “The Lord said to Moses: Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is
the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals,
is mine.” There was buy-back clause, you could redeem your child for three
shekels. Sounds like a good fundraising idea to me!
Luke also references the presentation or dedication of Samuel in this
passage. Samuel, the great prophet, priest and leader was dedicated to the Lord
by his mother Hannah: “For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the
petition that I made to him. Therefore, I have lent him to the Lord; as long as
he lives, he is given to the Lord.” (1 Samuel 1:27-28)
And I’m sure that Luke knew the prophecy from Malachi and saw this
event as its fulfillment: “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way
before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.”
(Malachi 3:1) That would certainly explain the extraordinary reaction of two
complete strangers, Simeon and Anna, who recognize Jesus as the Messiah or
Redeemer – the Lord whom they both seek.
Why all these different events and references? Luke wants to show that
Jesus is rooted in his tradition and culture, that Jesus is the fulfillment of
Old Testament prophecies like Malachi’s, and that he is the Messiah. But he
also wants his readers to understand but that Jesus’ mission will go beyond and
even against everyone’s expectations: it will be fulfillment with a twist!
That is why it was so important that “they finished everything required
by the law of the Lord,” and that Jesus was presented in the Temple like
Samuel, another child born by the will of God. Jesus became “like his brothers
and sisters in every respect,” (Hebrews 2:17) and as Jesus was born a Jew in
Palestine that also means that the customs and traditions of that culture were
adhered to. But being rooted in a particular tradition and culture does not
mean that we cannot go beyond the culture and expand that tradition, just as
Jesus did in his later ministry reaching out to those his culture rejected and
neglected.
In Luke’s story, it is left to Simeon and Anna to explain the greater
meaning, that in Jesus Simeon sees God’s salvation, “which you have prepared in
the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel." (Luke 2:30-32) Jesus is God’s plan
of salvation for all people without any distinction. This is a moment of
great joy, but when Simeon alludes to the means of salvation, the cross, a somber
moment too. In those haunting words, “a
sword will pierce your own soul too,” (2:35) Simeon tells us that the child
destined for glory is also destined for suffering. One day Jesus will return to
Jerusalem for another purpose. The temple priests who bless Mary’s son today
will one day seek to crucify him. On the cross, Jesus will make “the sacrifice
of atonement for the sins of the people” and by being “himself tested by what
he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.” (Hebrews 2:18)
What’s the connection to today’s service – apart from there being a lot
going on? We have commemorated the Presentation in our Candlemas procession; we
will celebrate a 40th wedding anniversary, and we will administer Holy
Baptism. Commemorating the Presentation, and the Jewish traditions and rites it
stands for, is a good way of reminding ourselves that our religion has Jewish
roots, was founded by Jews and that we share many things with our brothers and
sisters – much of our scripture and the same faithful God of course.
I don’t want to compare John and Roxane with Simeon and Anna, though just
as Anna “never left the temple” I do sometimes have the feeling that John and
Roxane live here. Simeon and Anna were witnesses to Jesus and to Jesus’s power in
their words and actions. John and Roxane are also great witnesses to Jesus in
their lives. And just as a wedding is a sign, in our liturgy we pray that the
couple will “make their life together a sign of Christ's love to this sinful and
broken world,”[1] so a wedding anniversary
is also a sign and witness, not necessarily to perfection, but to holding
together through thick and thin, to being able to forgive one another’s
mistakes.
Baptism is not quite the same as a presentation or dedication. For one
thing, Leona and Justice, you can take Fredrick home with you after the
service. But there are similarities. In bringing Frederick here for Baptism you
are rooting him in Jesus and grounding him in the Christian
tradition, culture, and especially the community of this church in which you
grew up, Leona, and you and Justice met. We – this community - will all promise
to support you and to support Frederick in his life in Christ.
Even before his presentation, Jesus dedicated himself to us, to all of God’s
children. In return we dedicate ourselves to him, our Lord. “You are sealed by
the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own forever,”[2]
is what I will say a little later when Frederick is baptized. Baptism is the
moment in which we begin to share in the salvation that Simeon and Anna recognized
in Jesus. In the water of Baptism, we “are buried with Christ in his death … share
in his Resurrection (and) … are reborn by the Holy Spirit.”[3]
Being dedicated to Christ, as all of us
here are, also means acting like Christ in the world. Not only do we share in his
resurrection as a gift, we are called to share with others the Good News of
God’s love and of the victory over death and the fear of death that the
resurrection stands for.
Of Jesus we read that when he and his parents returned home, “the child
grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.”
(Luke 2:40) That is my prayer for Frederick also, that rooted in Jesus he will
grow and became strong, be filled with God’s wisdom; that the favor of God remains
upon him and that he – and all of us – share that favor with the world that so
needs God’s wisdom, grace, favor and love.
Amen.
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