Presentation of Christ in Temple

The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

(Lk. 2.22-35)

As you know, in the Church of England every Sunday of the year has a different theme. But occasionally, when certain festivals happen to fall on a Sunday, the usual theme for the day gets replaced by a special one, ...and today is one of those Sundays, (which is why we are wearing white).

The 2nd of February is the day when we celebrate the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. We have just heard an account of what happened in our Gospel reading, ...and as I've been thinking about it over the last few days, I think it is of great relevance to our current situation here at St. Bartholomew's Church.

But first, since we only have this reading once every seven years, let me begin by painting a picture of what happened on that day, ...and explain why Jesus was taken to the Temple in the first place.

The Old Testament laws stated that there should be three ceremonies following the birth of a baby boy. (See Caird, p64).

The first ceremony was that of circumcision, which took place when the child was eight days old. That was also the normal occasion for giving the child his name, ...and as we heard this morning, Mary's child was given the name Jesus, (which was the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means 'the Lord is salvation').

After this, if the baby was the firstborn, there was the rite of consecration. Once again this was to satisfy the demands of the law, ...for God had said to Moses "Consecrate to me every firstborn male." (Ex. 13.3).

And finally, after 40 days, there was the ceremony of purification for the mother, which involved the sacrifice of a lamb and a pigeon. However, if a couple could not afford a lamb, they could make a 'poor man's offering of two pigeons.

So Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, he already had been circumcised and given his name, ...and now he about 6 weeks old. Mary and Joseph make a short journey, (only about 8 miles), to the Temple in Jerusalem, in order to carry out these last two ceremonies, ...the consecration of Jesus, and the purification of Mary.

How do you picture Mary?

I think my mental picture of her has been influenced by the various paintings I've seen in different churches, ...or stained glass windows like that one.

The picture I have is that of a young woman, with a halo over her head, a gentle face, and a serene smile. ...The overall impression is of a woman who is has a deep peace, and is in total control of her situation.

Is that how you picture Mary?

Well if you read these first chapters of Luke, I think you get a very different picture. There are good reasons to support the view that Luke wrote these chapters after he had personally spent some time talking with Mary in later life, ...because there are many events which he describes from her perspective.

And the picture you get is of a teenager who at times struggled to make sense of everything that happening to her.

It started with the appearance of an angel, ...enough to frighten anyone, and it certainly frightened Mary. "Don't be afraid, he said"

And then he told her that she's going to have a baby, even though she is still a virgin, ...enough to confuse anyone, and it certainly confused Mary. "How will this be?", she asked.

Then, on the day that her son was born, a group of shepherds tell her about the amazing things that have just happened to them, ...what with an angel and a great company of the heavenly host, ...and we read that Mary was left pondering what it all meant.

And now at the Temple, she is faced with another of those life changing experiences.

I guess that there were probably several proud parents in the Temple that day. All of them with their little babies, ...all of them doing the things that the Old Testament laws said they should.

In fact there were probably proud parents there everyday, ...just like there are at the registry office in Coventry. ...But today would be different.

An old man was there, Simeon was his name, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. He was a very old man, ...yet the Holy Spirit had told him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah, ...the one that all Israel had been waiting for.

And when Simeon sees Jesus, he just knows that he is the one. He takes the baby in his arms, and begins to praise God,

Lord now you let your servant go in peace:

your word has been fulfilled.

My own eyes have seen the salvation:

which you have prepared in the sight of every people;

a light to reveal you to the nations:

and the glory of your people Israel.

And we read that Mary was amazed at what Simeon said about her son.

I began by saying that I think this story is of great relevance to our current situation here at St. Bartholomew's, ...and I do so for two reasons:

- firstly, because of the people who were involved,

- and secondly, because of the things that Simeon said.

The presentation of Jesus in the Temple is one of the great events of history which we still celebrate today. But who are the main characters who are involved?

Well, there was a baby, a teenage mother, ...and a very, very old man.

And that reminded me, that in God's plans, people of all ages are involved.

Back in the first century, the elderly were treated with great respect, ...but children and young people were often treated as second class citizens.

In our own society things are just the reverse, ...it's older people who are often neglected, ...and once you reach the relatively young age of 45, people can find it much harder to find a job. All too often, the elderly are regarded as a drain on societies resources.

But that's not how things work in God's plans, ...he wants young and old to work together to bring about his purposes.

Just think about how many key people in the Bible were either very old or very young.

- There was Abraham. Did you know that he was 75 years old when God first called Abraham to leave his own people, and he first received God's promise that his offspring would become a great nation.

- And then there was Moses. David was telling me earlier this week that he takes great encouragement from the fact that when Moses was his age he hadn't even begun his ministry. In fact Moses was about 80 years old when God first spoke to him through the burning bush, [...so you've still got a couple of years to catch up].

- And, at the other end of the age range, Samuel was just a young boy when God started to speak to him.

Age is not an issue to God. ...What he wants is people who are willing to listen to him, and to be obedient to him, ...and in our Gospel reading we saw how God was able to use Mary, a teenage girl, and Simeon, an old man, to bring his purposes out.

One of the things that I really like about our own church is the way that young and old are working together.

I come across some other churches which are full of elderly people, and whose congregations are slowly getting smaller. Some of you may remember that I was involved in a mission down Offa's Dyke last year, and I remember an elderly gentlemen expressing his fear that when his generation has gone their church will have no-one left.

Equally, I hear about churches which are full of young people, but who lack the experience and wisdom of more mature members.

I'm so grateful that we have such a broad spread of people of all ages. For we all have much to learn from each other.

Last October many all church members were invited to a meeting to discuss some possible ways of developing our Sunday worship, (particularly the 10.00 am service). Everyone was then invited to write their responses on a reply slip, ...and we received replies from 83 people.

Since then the PCC has discussing the best way forward, and we have been giving careful consideration to the comments and suggestions that we received. It's quite a big task, and we don't want to rush things, ...but we are hoping to share the results of our thinking and praying at the Annual General Meeting in March.

So put Thursday 13th March in your diaries, because once again we want the whole church to be involved in shaping the future of our Sunday worship.

But one thing that our Gospel reading has done for me, is to clarify the fact that God wants people of all ages to work together, ...no-one is too old to be used by God, and no-one is too young.

The second, and much shorter point, concerns the things that Simeon said.

You see, Simeon had a much wider vision for God's Messiah than most others of his day. Many people thought that God's Messiah would come to deliver the people of Israel from the oppression of the Romans. But Simeon declared that Jesus had come as "a light to reveal God to all the nations".

He saw that Jesus wasn't just for the Jews, but for everyone.

And that too has much to teach us when we are thinking about our church.

Even the phrase 'our church' reveals how easy it is to think of things from our own point of view, (and I admit that I'm as guilty as anyone else).

But as we all know, this is not 'our' church, it's God's church, ...and like Simeon we need God to help us grasp the wider picture. God isn't just interested in the people who come to church each week, but he deeply cares for everyone in Binley, (and even people outside of Binley!).

So during the next few months, as we think together about the future of our Sunday worship, let's not allow ourselves to be blinkered by our own needs and desires, ...but let us pray that God's purposes may be worked out for the best of everyone, ...that the salvation which Simeon talked about may become a reality for a great many more people.