Luke 2: 22-40
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Last week we read, here in church, about Jesus and how he was preaching and calling his first Disciples and now we are reading about Jesus as a baby. It only goes to show that religion, that the church calendar, and the choice of readings for each given Sunday do not always coincide with the order of life. Much of our calendar was established, at different times in history, with little regard to chronological accuracy. That said, the story of the Presentation of our Lord is an important story.
The Law according to Scripture was clear, the first-born male was to be dedicated to the Lord, designated as holy to the Lord and a sacrifice for purification was required, two doves or two pigeons. Additionally, the first-born male had a special role within the Jewish family, each family hung their hat, for the future of the family, on the first-born male and so to dedicate him to the Lord, to risk his being taken for the work of the Lord, was a great show of faith, a great show of trust in the Lord. For Mary and Joseph, it was already understood that Jesus was going to devote his life to the Lord; it was made clear to them before Jesus’ conception and it was reinforced by all that followed. But there was something special about the events of that day in the Temple, when they brought Jesus there to present him to the Lord, these events further reinforced all that they already knew and believed about who Jesus was.
Standing within the Temple, Joseph and Mary, Mary holding Jesus, were approached by two very special individuals, individuals known and respected for their being touched by the Holy Spirit, by their righteousness and their prophetic words. Simeon was the first to approach them; he approached them having previously been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until after he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Holy Spirit to Mary and Joseph, Simeon took Jesus into his arms and praised God. I can see Simeon, almost dancing about with joy and expectation as he proclaimed his release from the burdens of his life and announced to all that in seeing Jesus, he was seeing the salvation prepared for all Israel and the light that was for the revelation for all others, for the Gentiles. This was to bring glory to the people of Israel. For a Jew living in a time when Israel suffered under the oppressive power of Rome there could be no greater joy. The kind of salvation that was to be brought by Jesus, no doubt, Simeon did not fully understand, but that didn’t matter; Simeon knew that Jesus was bringing the Lord’s salvation and that was to be celebrated. Simeon’s joy was tempered only by the prophetic words he spoke to Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” For Jesus to save the people of Israel and the world he would endure a lot; what that would be Simeon did not know. Simeon’s words surely excited and worried Joseph and Mary.
And then Anna, a prophet of the Lord, a woman of maybe 84 who was devoted to prayer and fasting, began to praise God and to speak about the baby Jesus. She spoke to anyone and everyone who, with her, were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. We don’t know the content of her proclamation, only that it had to do with Jesus; Jesus, she knew, was the key to the redemption of Jerusalem. I can’t imagine the emotional roller coaster Mary and Joseph road that day. I can think of no other words, than glorious and exciting, joyful and scary as well as worrisome, to express their feelings. Mary and Joseph did all that was required of them by the Law of Moses that day, and when they were finished, they returned to Nazareth to live out their lives, raise their son and fulfill the calling given them by the Lord. And we are told that the child, Jesus grew and became strong, that he was filled with wisdom and the favor of the Lord was upon him. The Day of the Presentation of Jesus didn’t involve miracles or battles or moments of human struggle, but the two prophets did a lot to prepare Mary and Joseph for the child and the man that Jesus would grow to be.
Lutherans do not bring their children to the church to present, to dedicate them to the Lord; only the churches that hold off baptism until adolescence or adulthood dedicate their infant children to the Lord. As Lutherans we baptize our infant children. In this service we vow to teach, and guide our children in the faith, dedicating our children to the Lord and in that service the Lord accepts our baptized children, and also baptized adolescents or adults as God’s children; the Lord sends his Holy Spirit to present gifts to all the baptized so that they may live within the community of faith and participate in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Most of us, have lived a long time into our baptisms. And because we are here, I can say with some certainty that the gifts of the Spirit have not been wasted on us, at least not fully. Many of you, like me, have embraced your baptisms, taken seriously the vows made for you when you were baptized and taken on for yourselves those vows, when you were confirmed, and so use your gifts regularly. We exist here as a church, (1.) because the Lord wants us here and (2.) because as we remember our baptismal vows, we understand that we are children of God who are called to ministry.
I am confident that the Lord has supplied St. Peter’s Lutheran Church with everything that we need to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, to care for each other and share the love of Jesus Christ with the community. I struggle when I see a short fall in finances, when a leadership role is not filled, when planned events, studies and activities are not well attended or supported and when the suffering of others is ignored. I ask myself, “Are we dedicated in truth to the Lord, or are there some among us who are just going through the motions? Search your hearts, see what needs to be done, make use of the gifts of the Spirit; there is no need for this church to fall short in any way. I am confident that the Holy Spirit has supplied St. Peter’s Lutheran Church and you his children by baptism, every spiritual gift needed to minister right here and right now.