Jesus Is Presented in the Temple
When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your 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.”
And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him.
~ Luke 2:22-33 (NRSVUE)
During Advent, we talked about being present and sharing the gift of presence with others. The past week, for Christmas, I’m sure that many of you shared homemade or purchased gifts wrapped in fancy paper with friends and family. Actually, I was blessed to be the recipient of several of those gifts, so thank you for your kindness! During our sharing time today, you had a chance to share one of the favorite gifts you’ve ever received, and it’s often said, especially at Christmas, that Jesus is the greatest gift of all!
Today, I want you to think of a different kind of gift. I want you to think of someone that you know or have known who has a strong faith in God. Can you think of someone? Now, I’m not necessarily talking about a religious person or someone who can spout off scripture at the drop of a hat. And I’m definitely not talking about someone who forces their beliefs and understandings on others. But what I am talking about is someone who has a deep faith and a sacred connection with God, and the only way that you can really tell is by the way that they live their life. If you know someone like that, I want you to think about what it is like to be around them. Think about how they react to unexpected situations or how they treat others and the world around them.
In our scripture reading today, we heard about several people with amazing faith. We heard about Mary and Joseph and Jesus, but we also heard about a man named Simeon. Every time I think of Simeon, I can’t help but reflect on something that happened to me about twenty-five years ago. Just before I started attending seminary, I had an experience in which I was overcome with a desire and a longing to be filled with the love, joy, and grace of God. It happened at an Episcopal church in Danbury, CT. I attended a three-day “Godly Play” workshop there. If you have never heard of “Godly Play,” it’s an interactive way of storytelling and sharing scripture with Children of all ages. The workshop was attended by about twenty-five or thirty people, and during our time together, we had the experience of worshiping in the church’s enormous Gothic cathedral. As I listened to the simple words of our service that echoed through the vast stretches of the sanctuary, I suddenly realized that I had never felt so small before in my life. It was like looking up at the vastness of the dark sky on a starry night. I remember having goosebumps all over because, in that moment, when I felt so small and insignificant, I also felt held securely in the hands of God. It was something that I had never experienced before in my life, and it was one of those moments when I felt so overwhelmed by something so much bigger than me that tears came to my eyes, and I wasn’t sure if they were tears of fear or tears of utter joy. It was such an amazing experience, and I felt a little shaky after worship as we headed out to one of the Sunday School classrooms to continue our learning.
As I entered the classroom, I saw a picture that caught my eye. It’s the picture that’s on the front of our bulletin this morning. For some reason, I was totally drawn to it. As I looked at it, tears came to my eyes again, and I thought to myself, “That is the love and joy and grace of God that I had been longing for!” The only problem was that I had no idea who the person in the picture was, and I was too embarrassed to ask anyone at the workshop. So, I made it my new quest to figure out who that man was, what his story would tell me, and why he seemed so filled with joy. Deep in my heart, I remember wanting what he had. Now this was before you could pick up a cell phone and Google something. You may have been able to use dial-up on your desktop PC to Ask Jeeves, but after searching and researching in actual books for quite some time, I learned that this was a picture of Simeon.
Now, to be honest again, here I was about to start seminary, and I had never heard the story of Simeon. I knew the Christmas story with Jesus being born in the stable and the angels and the shepherds and the wise men and the star in the sky. I knew the story about Jesus’ parents finding him in the temple as a boy when he said to them, “Didn’t you know that I would be in my Father’s house?” I knew about Jesus being baptized at the Jordan River by his cousin John the Baptist and then being sent out into the wilderness before beginning his ministry, but somehow, I had always missed the story of Simeon.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of times in our busy lives, we miss the miraculous and joy-filled ways that God works in the world around us. Sometimes, we get too caught up in our to-do lists, and we no longer sense God’s presence and God’s guidance. Sometimes, we don’t think we have time to listen to God’s still-speaking voice, so we just turn on the news to look for information. But friends, let me give you a very important hint: the news is never a good place to learn about your faith!! Because that’s usually where we just get caught up in the violence, the hate, and the arguments, finger-pointing, and the political mudslinging that surrounds us.
That is why each and every one of us needs to find a place and a way to feed our spirit, to listen for the voice of God in our lives, and to hear the stories of faith-filled people like Simeon. Simeon reminds us of something that we often forget. He reminds us that the story we heard about from Bethlehem last week wasn’t about the star in the sky, the angels, the shepherds, or the wise men. When Simeon gazed upon the baby, he realized that the waiting was over. There in that tiny, fragile, vulnerable baby was light, and hope, and salvation. What he held in his arms was Emmanuel, God with us, and that, my friends, is the message of Christmas.
Unfortunately, when we start simply going through the motions of our faith, the Christmas story just becomes a yearly ritual instead of a faith-changing moment. We stop looking and searching, and sometimes we even stop believing. The problem is that if we are not looking, if we are not searching, if we are not researching, if we are JUST going through the motions, we miss the reason for the story and we miss God coming in and touching our lives.
Folks, in the crowded city that day, many others may have seen Mary and Joseph with their newborn baby going to the temple, but that was all they saw: just another couple doing their duty as obedient Jews, by taking their baby boy to be initiated at the temple. As Mary and Joseph cradled their newborn child, pushing their way through the busy streets, even the people who brushed past them did not know what was happening. They did not know that God had come to them, and at that very moment, in the arms of Mary, the Messiah was passing by them!
My friends, as we get ready to begin a new year, let us invite God into our lives. Let us be open and attentive to the movement of the holy spirit all around us, and let us find places and ways to feed our spirit. Because of the gift of faith, the gift of living each day appreciating the sacred mysteries of life, the gift of being filled with hope, joy, and grace, the gift of feeling so small in the midst of something so much bigger than we can ever imagine, and the gift of being held in the loving arms of God is a choice. And the good news is that it’s available to anyone at any time.
So, brothers and sisters in Christ, as you go out into your busy week ahead, and as you step into the coming new year, may you search for and receive the Greatest Gift of All. May you open your eyes, your heart, and your mind to the Holy Spirit in your midst. May you be open to the possibilities and the things that you’ve never seen or imagined. May you be surprised and strengthened by your faith.
And may you share your faith with the world by the way that you live your everyday life, giving thanks to God in all that you say and do.
My friends, may it be so. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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