A Sermon preached in
Christ Church Grosse Pointe, Michigan
by The Reverend Vicki Hesse, Associate
by The Reverend Vicki Hesse, Associate
Candlemas
Procession and Feast of the Presentation
February 2,
2017
I will give
you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the
earth. Is.49:6b
Listen here.
This
evening there is a lot of feasting going on!
Far as I can count, there are four, maybe five major reasons to
celebrate.
First, today is the Feast of the Presentation
of Jesus. Mary and Joseph presented their first-born son to the Temple
Priest, Simeon, for a blessing, to fulfill their Jewish obligation, according
to the Law of Moses, the Torah. Mary and Joseph, devout Jews, observed
religious requirements and participated in rituals. These actions defined who they were; it was
their MO.
This
day, at the Temple, the aged priest Simeon and widowed prophet Anna see Jesus
and are moved by the Holy Spirit. Simeon utters the beautiful poem “Nunc
Dimittus,” (which we say at Evening Prayer) and Simeon also prophesies the
contradictions of Jesus’ future ministry. Prophet Anna effusively utters praise to God
for the redemption of Israel. Today is “The Feast of The Presentation.”
Second, today marks The Feast of the Purification
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here, Mary performs a ritual as prescribed in
Leviticus, that until forty days after giving birth she is considered “unclean,”
so, she brings an offering to the priest (an offering that is normally a lamb, but
if the woman is poor, she brings a few turtledoves or pigeons.) Once the priest
makes atonement for her with these offerings, he declares her ceremonially
clean. This is The Feast of The Purification.
Third, because Luke has so conflated
the rituals for The Presentation and The Purification, some
churches call this day the “Feast of Our Lord and Our Lady.”
Fourth, today marks for the Eastern Church,
Hypapante, or the “meeting” of the
five (Mary & Joseph, Anna & Simeon, and Jesus). This is the sign of a
new community,[1] the
Old Testament meeting the New Testament.
Fifth, today signifies “Candlemas,”
which is a medieval nickname of North European origin, referring to an ancient
custom of procession with lighted candles before the Mass[2]
- thus, Candlemas. As we know, the ritual begins with blessing candles that are
used in churches and in homes.
This
is appropriate for mid-winter, in the darkness, when we really need light.
This
ritual brings awareness to the nearly a dozen ways that candles shine in this
church:
·
The
Paschal candle from Easter,
·
Torch
lights at Gospel procession,
·
Altar
candles at Eucharist,
·
Votive
candles at prayer stations,
·
Aumbry
flame for the tabernacle,
·
Advent
candles in the wreath, and
·
Personal
candles we see here, to mention a few.
Finally (perhaps finally) today is known in the US as “Groundhog Day,” where
Punxsutawney Phil’s shadow reportedly predicts how much longer winter will
last. This prompted Stephen Colbert in his 2013 Comedy Central TV to bemoan the loss of the true meaning
of Candle-mass, where he lamented that this Christian holiday had been “all
ground-hogged up and commercialized.” (see link for a good laugh).
So
much to celebrate! So much feasting!
Regardless
of what we call it, this evening is about illumination, about light, about
flickering flames, about the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ Jesus, the light of the world, is
carried into the Temple by Mary, the God-bearer herself. She carries the light
and immediately both Simeon and Anna… man and woman … one with privilege in
those days (the priest) and one of lowly estate (a widow.) So, already in this scene, Luke tells of
Christ’s expansive light and love for all
people.
But
there is trouble ahead.
For
what can we make of the prophecy made to Mary?
How must it have sounded to this young mother? First Priest Simeon praises God for the
beautiful baby and then says,
“…this
child is going to be great, so great that the whole world will respond to his
birth, and the response will never abate. And in that greatness, he will be the
focus of tremendous love. And because he is great, he will also be the object
of unfathomable hatred. He will be spoken against and contradicted – forever!
…”
Oh
how Mary must have gasped. Such jarring words spoken about this tiny child. She
surely clutched him even tighter. Her
little boy! And her God
Is
this a reversal of the Garden of Eden[3]?
“…Jesus is taken from her flesh, as Eve was taken from Adam’s…and while the
Serpent told Eve the lie she wanted to hear; Simeon tells Mary (the New Eve)
the truth she would perhaps rather not know.
I
wonder …if this is the kind of heartache we feel when we begin to follow
the light of Jesus. When we bathe in the light of his love, we come to realize
that although it is all grace (all the time), it is not at all about
comfort.
We
come to know a truth about this journey that is something we would rather not
know. The truth of:
·
The
responsibility to carry that light to others, especially in dark times as
these.
·
The
need to admit our sins.
·
The
burden of companionship with those who suffer: refugees, immigrants, those who
are poor.
·
The
call to feed those who are hungry.
·
The
joy of speaking out when we are oppressed: we who are women or otherwise
marginalized.
·
The
work of grieving openly when we are harmed and working it out through
confrontation.
·
The
desire to experience community with who are different from us.
We
come to know, through this light, that in following him, in being baptized into
his life, we are also sharing in his death.
And his resurrection. Tonight’s feast day invites consideration: what is that uncomfortable truth for you?
What is the sword that pierces your heart even while you bathe in Light?
As
you reflect, consider the broadest Truth being illuminated in this day,
something even more dramatic. See, in 587 BCE, the Babylonians invaded
Jerusalem and destroyed the Holy City, the Temple and The Ark of the
Covenant (inside the Temple). The
Ark of the Covenant contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the
Staff of Aaron and a vial of the Manna.
Most importantly, The Ark contained the Very Presence of God in Israel,
much as our understanding of the presence of Christ in the tabernacle.
Yet
after 587’s destruction, the Ark was never found again, even some eighty years
later when the Temple was rebuilt and the Holy of Holies was restored. The people
wondered if the presence of God could ever be found again.
So,
when traveling to Jerusalem and to The Temple Mount, the people actively
grieved and yearned for that Ark. Approaching the Temple Mount, the people
climbed and sang the psalms of Ascent, like Psalm 121 “I lift up my eyes to the
hills, from where is my help to come?” Or Psalm 132, “Let us enter God’s
dwelling, let us worship at the Lord’s footstool. Arise O Lord and enter your
dwelling place, You and the Ark of your strength!”
And
on the day that Mary and Joseph ascended and sang the psalms, Mary carried
Jesus, the newborn baby. She made the climb, difficult as it was carrying a
newborn up the stairs to the Temple Mount, through the gates and the tunnel
walls, and then she emerged onto the bright Temple Platform.
And
this, perhaps, was the feast day of feast days, for in that moment, God had
returned to God’s Temple; God and the Ark who carried him – Mary, the Ark,
carrying Jesus, very God, True God from True God. God was once again present
among God’s people. And we hear in the reading from Malachi, “…and the Lord
whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant
in whom you delight – indeed he is coming, …”
What
a dramatic moment! Surely there must have been trumpet blasts, thunder and lightning,
and host of angels on high!
But
only an aged Simeon and widowed Anna took any note. They alone understood the
presence of greatness and they alone beheld the indescribable drama. A moment for which the Israelite people
waited for centuries. The Ark of God was
found and God had returned to the Temple. And in the ordinary completion of the
religious duties, living into their daily lives, these five presented their
souls to God and the world changed. The
light of Christ was lit forever.
May
we, this night, share this light with others.
In this broken, suffering, confusing world, we – here – all of us – are
to share the light, to hold the light, to preserve the light of hope of
redemption for all of humankind. That is
our MO. When darkness begins to creep in, remember that your light shines as
the moment of brightness on the Temple Mount that day.
Share
your light, this night, and forever. For
the dramatic Love of God-with-us will forever light your way. And that is more
than any reason to celebrate!
Amen
.
[1] Paul Bradshaw, ed. The New Westminster Dictionary of Liturgy
& Worship, (First American Edition) (Louisville, Westminster John Knox,
2002), page 93
[2] Ibid., page 93, 94
[3] Author Elizabeth Scalia at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2015/02/02/everything-illuminated-feast-of-the-presentation/
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