Candlemas

Luke 2.22-40, Malachi 3.1-5, Hebrews 2.14-18

The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

I can’t believe it’s February already many people are saying, it seems like it was only Christmas yesterday, where did January go? With the snow and cold weather this week it feels like we are truly in the grip of winter yet Candlemas marks an important point in our calendar and is an underrated festival in my view. Its timing is symbolic of change, it’s one of those pivotal points in the Christian year between the crib of Christmas and our preparations for lent. Hold onto that crib image and the new born Jesus as we scroll forward from the time of his birth.

The official feast day for Candlemas is 2^nd February, obviously this is the Sunday nearest. The Church of England rules for the Christian year state that it is a principal feast day like Ash Wednesday or Ascension day for example, yet it is one with which we are often less familiar. We may also know it as ‘The Presentation of Christ in the Temple’.

Traditions grew based around light, perhaps the light of Christ revealed in the temple mixed with pagan recognition that we are half way between the shortest day, moving away from the season of darkness, and the spring equinox, and this date was adopted as the day when a church would bless all its candles for the year, obviously important when there was no electricity, hence the name Candlemas. Candles can only share their light by burning themselves away, resonating with self-sacrifice, service and love.

Including Christmas day we are now 40 days on from Christ’s birth day. Some of you probably know that Jewish law considered a woman unclean for 40 days after she had given birth to a boy and for even longer after the birth of a girl. During this time the mother would have been excluded from the temple. At the end of this they were brought to the temple to be purified, and also brought the child to present him to God and give thanks, after which the woman would be permitted to join in worship once again. As we strive to make this church a place that is welcoming to everyone it’s hard to hear how the temple at the time of Jesus excluded so many through its various rules and we are reminded to keep in mind how we can make others feel welcome.

So here we have Mary, mother of Jesus attending the temple for her ritual purification 40 days after the birth of her son Jesus. Luke emphasises the humble state of Mary and Joseph as they bring the offering designated for the poorest: two turtle doves or pigeons rather than a lamb. While they offer these sacrifices for their son, it’s a sobering thought that he will grow up to offer himself one day as the sacrificial lamb upon the altar of the cross.

As Christ is presented in the temple there is a strange mix of the ordinary and extraordinary. It’s quite possible that this routine ritual was being observed by several couples who have come to dedicate their babies at the same time, as we sometimes do with christenings. Every parent feels that their child is special but one is clearly more special than the others who are somewhat upstaged by what happens next!

The extraordinary is made real by Simeon and Anna. Luke gives them credibility and respect, a sort of character reference describing Simeon as ‘righteous’ and ‘devout’ and stating that ‘the Holy Spirit rested upon him’. We hear how Anna worshipped in the temple ‘with fasting and prayer night and day’. They are each of a good age and there is a sense that they are the people who could be relied upon to recognise the ‘Lord’s Messiah’ if anyone could. They had been waiting, watching, longing and preparing patiently over the years. 

Simeon, a total stranger, takes Jesus from Mary’s arms and begins to proclaim loudly about him. ‘My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel’. 

Simeon and Anna are able to sense the incredible power emanating from this little baby and realise that God has filled the temple, Simeon’s reaction is to praise God, light and hope have been born into the darkness, he’s effectively saying that nothing greater could happen in his life, to the extent that he was now ready to accept death peacefully as a fulfilled and joyful man. Anna starts sharing the good news with those seeking the Messiah. 

Of course the words of Simeon have been incorporated into our ritual worship, as the Nunc Dimittis, from the Latin, ‘now you dismiss’. Said regularly at Evensong they become familiar words of comfort, one commentator describing them like a cup of Ovaltine before bed, creating a mood of contentment before the final rest of the day. But when we recite these familiar words we should remind ourselves of the reality and emotion of the events. 

But we should also remember that Jesus’ parents must have been disturbed and frightened to hear that many will oppose their son and that struggle and pain were in the future.

As we reflect on Simeon and Anna there’s encouragement here for us to keep a patient faith alive. We can all struggle to maintain a vibrant relationship with God at times, and there’s the temptation to drift or just fall into a pattern of worship which is as routine as the weekly ironing. Yet with patience, persistence and mutual encouragement we are far more likely to recognise God at work in each other, know that his love for us is real and that he is with us in our hard times.

After all Anna and Simeon have not stumbled across God by chance, it’s clear that they haven’t lost their hope even as they began to recognise that the years ahead of them were few.

It’s hard to imagine a starker contrast than that between the enduring faith of Simeon and Anne versus the post exile Jews which the prophet Malachi describes. No longer trusting God’s justice and doubting his covenant love, they began to lose hope.

They have totally lost their way and degenerated into a form of worship which had no real meaning, they no longer took the law seriously, tithes were ignored, the Sabbath was broken, intermarriage with pagans was taking place, and the priests were corrupt.

I guess many of us may have had a memorable moment when we receive truths which are hard to hear about what we have lost or our lifestyle, a wakeup call which points out the potential consequences if we don’t change and here we find Malachi doing exactly that and he doesn’t hold back.

The imagery is about separating the bad from good with a great heat that leaves only the pure silver and gold remaining. The ‘fuller’ would beat and tread clothes using alkaline substances to clean them, highlighting the effort that can be needed to become clean again, perhaps not an image so strong for us now we throw a capsule in the washing machine and wait for the bleeps to tell us that all is clean.

Who is the Lord who will suddenly come to his temple that Malachi speaks of? If it is Jesus and his presentation we heard of today which took place over four centuries later then ‘suddenly’ we hear spoken of makes more sense when understood as ‘unexpectedly’, just when you least expected it or had even given up hope.

The challenge of Candlemas, then, is a challenge to find the presence of God in our midst, to look for his love at work among us at home, at work, at school even in church.

As we move closer to Lent now is also a great opportunity to decide how we might use the season to break habits that stop us seeing God at work in each other, might we even learn to be a little more ‘Simeon like’ in our faith, patience and expectation?

So there are several strong messages in our bible readings today but it feels as if they cluster around central messages about our need for enduring faith and an acceptance that God’s time is so immense that we can struggle with this at times, but thinking about our own church might help.

Even though we didn’t have a sermon last week we kind of did really, even if they didn’t realise it, as we were reminded by Vanessa, Mark & Gesiena of our need to show enduring faith in the way we play our part in this church.

A little while back I was reading some old parish newsletters which you may have seen at the back of the church. In one from the 1960’s, when I was born, an appeal was made for all in the congregation to prayerfully consider their giving, people were leading groups, worship patterns were being discussed and much tea and cake was being consumed.

I am extremely grateful to these people as without their devotion I can’t be sure whether I would have found the faith that I now have and I almost certainly wouldn’t be standing here spouting now. Of course many others who have followed have also come to know of God’s love for them here but I wonder how often we look back in thanks that the previous generations had enough faith and love to keep all this alive for us.

Thus it has been for 800 years. Now it’s our turn to enjoy all that we are offered here and keep it going for the next generation. All else we can trust to God’s timing.

Amen  
Kevin Bright  
3^rd February 2019