Old Testament Reading 1 Samuel 1:21 28

Transcription

1 Introit We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,* in the midst of your temple. Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised* in the city of our God! His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth,* Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. Within her citadels* God has made himself known as a fortress. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God,* which God will establish for- ever. Collect of the Day Almighty and ever-living God, as Your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in the substance of our flesh, grant that we may be presented to You with pure and clean hearts; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Old Testament Reading 1 Samuel 1: The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the LORD and dwell there forever. 23 Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the LORD establish his word. So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the LORD. 27 For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD. And he worshiped the LORD there. Epistle Hebrews 2: Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make 1

2 propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Holy Gospel Luke 2: 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 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord ) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel. The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple Tuesday, February 2, 2010, 7:01 AM Rev. Paul T. McCain Rogier van der Weyden, St Columba Altarpiece (detail), c

3 This day brings to an end our observation of the great events of Christmas and Epiphany, and appropriately, gives us to ponder a somewhat obscure event in our Lord s life, the occasion of his mother s purification according to Old Testament law and His presentation in the Temple. The beautiful song of Simeon is featured in the readings these days. I encourage you to pay particularly close attention to the lovely Bach Motet based on the words of Simeon, which he composed early in his career for the funeral of the daughter of one of the pastors in Muhlhausen, where Bach was working at the time. The Cantata is titled God s Time is Always the Best Time. I ve put it in the extended entry, with the performance first, followed by the words in German and English. The Presentation of Our Lord at the Temple, one of the Christological feasts of the Christian Church, is Scripture s final infancy narrative concerning Jesus. After the Presentation, the Bible says nothing more about Him until His twelfth year. Many liturgical calendars name this the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, emphasizing its Marian connection. Still another term used is Candlemas, drawing the name from the tradition of blessing the coming year s church candles on this day. Saint Luke is the only one of the Evangelists to describe the event (see Luke 2:22-40), something likely unfamiliar to most of his Gentile readers. According to the Gospel, Mary and Joseph took the Baby to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth to consecrate Jesus to God and to complete the ritual purification of Mary, both because of the command of God s Law (Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16; Leviticus 12). Upon entering the temple, the family encountered the devout and holy Simeon. Luke records that he was promised that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord s Christ. (Luke 2:26) Simeon took Jesus into his arms, prayed the prayer that would become known as the Nunc Dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon, blessed the parents, and prophesied regarding Jesus and Mary. The prophetess Anna (2:36-38) was also in the temple. She, too, offered prayers and praise to God for sending the Savior. In the Western liturgical calendar, the Presentation of Our Lord falls on 2 February because this is forty days after Christmas, the celebration of His birth. It is the last festival determined by the date of Christmas and thus shows that the Epiphany season is drawing to a close. Most churches in the East observe the occasion on 14 February since they celebrate Christ s Nativity on 6 January. 3

4 Purification of Mary and Presentation of Our Lord February 2, 2014 Text: Hebrews 2:14-18 Theme: Just Like Us On the 40 th day after his birth, the oldest son of a Hebrew family was taken to the temple where appropriate sacrifices were made to God. His mother was spiritually purified from the uncleanliness of childbirth and the son was dedicated to God. Mary and Joseph did as was commanded by the Lord. In Exodus 13 God commands that the first born male must be consecrated to him and in Leviticus 12, he gives the specifics for how and when to do that and the sacrifices that were demanded. All of this was done to set the people apart from the heathen nations around them. All of the purification rites, all of the dietary restrictions, everything was done to clearly and visibly set God s people apart from the world as a chosen people. So, the very one who would set us apart with his own life and soul, followed all the rules to the letter. As one set apart he would deliver all people so that no one need ever be set apart again. Now the whole world is God s people by the blood of Christ. Mary and Joseph were poor people so they took with them a couple of pigeons for the offering; which was probably far more than they had lying around. We might think that a couple of pigeons is nothing but it was a great deal a huge offering for Mary and Joseph. We casually toss a $50 check in the offering and feel good about ourselves but it s not really a sacrifice for most of us. We give 4

5 God a token of our abundance, on this day, Mary and Joseph gave him not only a sacrificial offering from their hearts but even their own son. They walked into the temple with their baby who was supposed to be the son of God and had certainly had some hoopla made over him by a bunch of shepherds, but remember that no Magi had arrived yet from the East that was still two years away. They were living in Bethlehem still but we surmise that Joseph had gotten them out of the barn and into a rented house or the room of some family member or something because by the time the Magi came they were in a house. The shepherds had left and Mary and Joseph had begun to settle in to being new parents, changing diapers, 2 a.m. feedings and no doubt sitting around for hours holding Jesus and just staring at him like new parents tend to do. Babies are miraculous when they are your babies. Anyway, they walked into the temple having made the trip to Jerusalem, walking 5 or 6 miles with a newborn. They came into the temple and Jesus was grabbed by a strange man who started singing to God. Can you imagine that scene today, a day in which we terrify our children of other adults and make them afraid to walk outside by themselves? But Mary and Joseph had complete trust in God so it was just another weird day for the Mom and Dad of Jesus. 5

6 But it was really even more than that. Jesus had to be like us in every respect so even as an infant he was already fulfilling the Law for us. This was the very beginning of a perfect life of fulfilling every aspect of the Law in our place. There is a reason I don t worry about sin. It s not that I don t think my sin is all that bad it is. I have committed atrocities in my life against God and other human beings. These sins are fully deserving of damnation. Yet, not once do I worry about going to Hell when I die, because Jesus took my place. He was dedicated to God not just in the way Samuel was, to serve God in the temple but to become the temple where all sin is paid off and through whom all sin is paid off. Jesus was presented to God as the all-atoning sacrifice on this day and Simeon announced his arrival with his famous song, Lord, Now I depart in peace because your word has been fulfilled. Every time we leave the altar, having received the body and blood of the one who paid for our sins we sing Simeon s song. We depart in peace because God s Word has been fulfilled. It is finished. Our sin can no longer be held against us. Now we are free to live out the reality of our salvation, because, not only are we forgiven of sin but we are freed from the weight of sin. Not only can Satan no longer accuse me but I now have the power within me to banish him from my life. That is the joy of living under grace. 6

7 See, some people think that to be under grace means to act pure and holy. But, because no one is completely holy, they suffer tremendous guilt and fear of their sin. What if I go to Hell because I am not pure and holy? So then, they try to hide their sin from everyone, but you can t hide from God. Other s see sin in their lives and assume that since they still sin, they must not be saved so why bother? Why go to all the trouble of worship and a Christian life when I m never going to be able to stop sinning anyway? Still others believe that they can punish themselves and others enough to stamp out sin in their lives, but that is impossible too, because not only do you sin actual sin, but you ARE sin, original sin. There is one last option and it is the only one that works. Accept the reality of sin in your life. Live with it and neither deny it nor empower it. Mary and Joseph had no fantasy that they were without sin. That is why they followed the law and brought the sacrifice to the temple. The way to handle sin is to pour grace upon grace upon that sin knowing that only God s grace and forgiveness, found in his Word and Sacraments, can finally and forever conquer sin. Slowly, ever so slowly, our faith grows as it is fed and nourished and we are able to break free of the actions and words that destroy and grab securely the life lived in the light of Christ where we will have no need to monitor our brothers and sisters and 7

8 keep track of every sin. A life lived in the light of Christ does not judge others lest we ourselves fall under judgment. Rather, a life lived in the light of Christ radiates light and in so doing destroys all the darkness around us. Today, Jesus was presented in the Temple. Today Simeon proclaimed the truth of who he was and what he had come to do. Today, you and I live in a constant state of grace, loved, encouraged, strengthened, forgiven and waiting to join our Lord in paradise. 8