In scripture we follow the holy family as they make their way to Jerusalem for the holy ritual. The parents of Jesus respond to his birth by attending to the obligations of Moses’ Law called for in Leviticus 12:3-8. Friends, for Mary and Joseph this Holy moment of purification in the church are as Holy a moment as when the messengers of God, the angels came to each of them and the shepherds. Under the Law of Moses it was required that you would bring your first born to the center of the community of Faith, the temple, to dedicate and bless them before God. Verse 23 links the presentation of Jesus to the words in Exodus 13:2 that every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord. In consecrating them to God, the Israelites affirmed their new identity as God’s people. In a similar way we baptize babies. We give them to God acknowledging God has entered into them.
I want to emphasize to you the importance of holiness in ritual. Listen to the words of R. Alan Culpepper author of Luke, The New Interpreter's Bible: The observance of religious requirements and rituals has fallen on hard times. Essential to Judaism is the praise of God in all of life. The Jewish law taught that God was to be honored in one's rising up and lying down, in going out and coming in, in how one dressed and what one ate…the pressures of secularism and modern life have again reduced the significance of ritual observances in the lives of most Christians. Busy schedules, dual-career marriages, and after-school activities mean that families eat fewer meals together. Prayer before meals and family Bible study are observed in fewer homes today than just a generation ago. For many, religious rituals are reduced to church attendance at Christmas and Easter and to socially required ceremonies at births, weddings, and funerals. …The result has been that God has receded from the awareness and experience of everyday life. Many assume that God is found only in certain places, in sacred buildings, in holy books, or in observances led by holy persons...the challenge to modern Christians, therefore, is to find effective rituals for celebrating the presence of God in the ordinary. We need to learn to greet the morning with gratitude; to celebrate the goodness of food, family, and friendship at meals; to recognize mystery in beauty… Rituals are not restrictive; they celebrate the goodness and mystery of life. [p. 74]. Mary and Joseph fulfilling this temple ritual is as valuable as they and the Shepherds witnessing the messengers of God, the angels, and heeding the words the Lord in obedience. For it is in the ritual, the mystery of worshiping daily and marking the holiness of baptism, Sunday worship, relationship with family and the daily that God reveals Himself. And so it happened…
As Mary and Joseph were among their ritual, Simeon, this old man comes to them and takes the child in his arms. We know nothing of Simeon; he is never mentioned again. Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit moved Simeon to the Temple that very day. At some point in his life, God told Simeon that he would see the Messiah before he died. I often wonder about messages like this from God, how often and to how many does God share the Spirit. How many of us in this very room have missed God’s word for our selves or others? God’s word falling on deaf ear! Well, Simeon did not turn a deaf ear! You will see the Christ before he died. Simeon was ready. He had been with the Lord for years and the promise was as the carol we sang a glimpse of salvation and the consolation of God’s people. In the heart of the city and in the Holy of Holies, Simeon sees the heart of God beating before him. Did he look around and proclaim, Do you see what I see?
To most, Simeon holding Jesus was just an old man holding a baby? But Simeon knew more…listen to his words again! –Luke 2:29-32 This is the glory for the people of Israel! Simeon had lived his life, not for the worries of this world, not in any hurts or pains that he had suffered in the past. His experiences had not clouded his expectations. He had lived in anticipation seeing him self as a servant of God only! Nothing else mattered to Simeon but growth, depth and strength in the Savior! What do we learn from Simeon: One moment spent with the promise of God rules out everything else, rules out our fears, hurts and pains. One moment with Savior is our promise for Eternity!
And then there was Anna, married for seven years, widowed for 84 years. The scriptures say that she never left the temple…that she fasted and prayed? Because of the lose of her husband. No, for Israel, she saw how the world was going. She choose to live her life in prayer…truly devoted so that when the Messiah came, she was not so caught up in herself she recognized him! What would drive someone to spend 84 years in church? She sees the Savior, gives thanks and spoke about the child!
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