“Thus says the Lord, See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his Temple”
What a beautiful passage from our old testament reading this morning from Malachi; a foreshadowing of the birth and life of our savior Jesus Christ.
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord, also known as Candlemas.
According to Jewish custom, a firstborn son was to be presented in the Temple for purification and redemption, which Mary and Joseph did with Jesus. This was meant to fulfill Jewish Law.
It is estimated that Jesus was about 40 days old, when Mary and Joseph brought him to the temple. Along with his presentation, Mary was to go through a ceremony of purification after giving birth. This was also considered a redemption of the firstborn son, as required by the Torah.
Today, we celebrate the Presentation of Christ, 40 days after Christmas. Equally as important to the Presentation of the first born son was the purification of women after giving birth. In our church we find that the title given in the 1549 BCP to the rite commonly called the Churching of Women. It is derived from the Sarum rite. The Use of Sarum (or Use of Salisbury, also known as the Sarum Rite) is the liturgical use of the Latin rites developed at Salisbury Cathedral and used from the late eleventh century until the English Reformation. Its ultimate source is the Jewish rite of purification, and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Lk 2:22-39). St. Augustine of Canterbury mentions the existence of this Christian rite. In the 1552 BCP the title of the service was changed to “The Thanksgiving of Women after Childbirth, commonly called the Churching of Women.” In the 1979 BCP the service was replaced by “A Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child.” The text of the Prayer Book service has always stressed thanksgiving for the mother's preservation through “the great danger of childbirth.” The service itself includes a psalm and prayers. The churching was originally the occasion for the return of the child's white baptismal robe to the parish. The present rite includes both parents and gives thanks for the birth (or adoption) of the child. All suggestions of ritual impurity have been removed.
Back when I gave birth in 1976, my Priest offered to perform the 1928 Episcopal Prayer Book version, of the Purification of a woman after childbirth. This is the closing prayer in that rite:
O ALMIGHTY God, we give thee humble thanks for that thou hast been graciously pleased to preserve, through the great pain and peril of child-birth, this woman, thy servant, who desireth now to offer her praises and thanksgivings unto thee. Grant, we beseech thee, most merciful Father, that she, through thy help, may faithfully live according to thy will in this life, and also may be partaker of everlasting glory in the life to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
As I can remember, it was a beautiful blessing and thanksgiving for the gift of becoming a mother.
Back to the story.
What I find so amazing about this story, first starts with Mary and Joseph. Who from the very beginning, of the conception of Christ, acted without hesitation and simply said yes, and then relied upon their Faith in God. I can’t believe that either of them had any idea who or what Jesus was or would become. But they knew it was special. Blind faithful obedience.
So on that day, as prophecy foretold, like in the passage of Malachi, Mary, Joseph and Jesus made their way into the temple with two turtledoves to offer as a sacrifice according to the law. What they didn’t expect was to encounter two amazingly spiritual folks Simeon and Anna.
Simeon was an older man, who was devout and righteous to his Lord. He had been visited by the Holy Spirit who revealed to him, that he wouldn’t die before he saw the Lord’s Messiah; Jesus Christ. The Spirit guided the man to the Temple the day Jesus was being presented. Again, a man filled with Faith.
When Simeon saw Jesus, he took him in his arms and declared that now he could die because he had seen with his own eyes the Messiah. “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel”, “ a light to the Nations”. Mary and Joseph were surprised at this proclamation.
Then they encountered Anna, a prophet, who was an older widow. She never left the temple. She fasted and prayed and worshiped both day and night. Another Faithful person. When she saw Jesus, she began to praise God and spoke about what this child meant for the redemption of the world.
So why is all this important and what meaning can we take from all this?
First, of course, we are shown that having faith is crucial. Sometimes our human tendency is question why we should do something. I’ve learned that being a Christian has more unanswered questions than anything else. But I’ve also learned that if I just have faith in God, I will be okay. I may not like the results, but I’m not in charge, God is.
All the players in our Gospel today, had Faith, and even a blind Faith in their God and his directions.
And Second, God had big plans for Jesus, and for us through Jesus.
I’ve often wondered: Do you suppose God asked any woman before Mary to carry his son? Or was she the first?
What if Joseph had tossed Mary away. Would she have been able to give birth to Jesus or would society cast her out?
What if Jesus made the human decision to walk away from his Father’s requests? What if he had said, in the words of Southpark’s Eric Cartman, “Screw this I’m going home”?
All the What If’s.
I believe that our Faith is tested regularly, not by God, but by Satan. We are human. We aren’t perfect, and God doesn’t expect us to be. He simply loves us and asks that we have Faith in him to take care of us.
This past year was very difficult for a lot of people, not just myself.
There were times when I couldn’t pray. That I was mad at God. All the Why Questions swam in my head.
But, deep down, I knew that God has a plan. He is in charge and with his love and the love of others my Faith would return.
Happy are they who dwell in your house
Happy are they who put their trust in the Lord
For the Lord is both sun and shield
He will give grace and glory to his people.