Bible Text: Luke 2:21-40 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
When a child is born there are certain expectations- some cultural, some legal, some spiritual- about what is to happen in the first few days or months of the child’s life. For example, there are the stories of the fathers’ being invited to “cut the umbilical cord”, within our tradition there is the hope that the child will be baptized, prayed for by the community and there is of course the expectation that the parents will name the child- supplying the legal name for the birth certificate. The top baby names for 2015 were Aidan, Jacob and Ethan for boys and Emma, Emily and Madison for girls. But for 14 solid years from 1970-1984 Jennifer was the top girls name. In Canada it spiked in 1975 with almost 3,000 girls in Ontario alone given that name and then in 1984 the trend began to plummet until 2011 when no girl born in Ontario was given that name and thus, Jennifer became another name for the history books. Along with names there are all kinds of other expectations, announcements and pictures now shared over emails or face book and rites of passage like Baby’s first hair cut. There are responsibilities and there are traditions.
This is always a funny week in the year as most of us aren’t finished with our Christmas celebrations- there are a few family members left with whom to be in touch, there are a few special parties and social events, there is still Christmas music in the stores and yet there is a big sigh that we have made it through another Christmas and now it is on to beginning a new year, setting goals and resolutions or reflecting on the year gone by. As a result we find ourselves in this awkward Sunday in which we are still singing the carols but the stories of Baby Jesus are scarce. The one that we find in Luke, however, is all about those responsibilities that Mary and Joseph have- been they cultural, legal or spiritual. While these stories are scarce in any of the gospels they do give us an indication of how Jesus was raised and what mattered in his upbringing.
The text begins with a rite of passage central to the Jewish tradition, Jesus being presented for his circumcision and naming ceremony. What this tells us is that Israel’s laws and covenant will frame, form and direct Jesus’ life within his family. His parents take these laws seriously. Throughout the passage Luke repeats himself at how important it is that Mary and Joseph observe laws as they were given by Moses. This is to emphasize that the law was central to Jesus’ childhood. From the time of his birth Mary and Joseph teach Jesus a devotion to God. The law of Moses will be instilled in him as he grows up. When I was younger my parents forced my brother and I to learn piano and music theory. I hated it and really didn’t see the point of music theory and while I am by no means musical, my brother continues to play the piano. One night when I complained about a music theory lesson, my father explained- we have to learn how something works so that we can make it better. What seems like such an insignificant verse can be a foreshadowing of so much. Jesus knew the law inside and out so that- he would understand how it worked and how it could be improved. This is certainly true when we look at how the Pharisees and Sadducees and other religious authorities would take advantage of the law or would manipulated it for their own gain- creating religious practices that undermined the point of the covenant and the love of God and neighbour. Jesus also never abandons the law but is a fulfilment of it.
In our Scripture passage, Jesus is then brought back to the temple about 40 days later and we are introduced to Simeon and Anna, who and what Jesus will become are confirmed through their words. This portion of the narrative is Spirit-filled and perhaps this is also a foreshadowing of what Jesus’ presence will mean and bring. The Spirit will inspire, affirm, and fill the days of Jesus’ life and how appropriate that the first occurrence of all of this will be in the temple. The law, the spirit and the temple- it should be noted that in this passage Luke entwines all three, you cannot have the law fulfilled without the temple and the Spirit speaks through Simeon and Anna in the temple while the parents are observing the law. For many of us church is a cultural and spiritual behaviour- there is nothing in our laws that says we have to be here- and that’s ok because our civil law means nothing to God’s divine law. But perhaps that’s the point I’m trying to make, our church is our temple, and here we should be observing the laws of God’s new covenant as fulfilled and lived by Jesus (which means I’m not talking about Presbyterian polity). We should be experiencing the presence of the spirit, in the temple by observing Christ’s covenant, so that we are spirit led people like Simeon and Anna.
Simeon’s spirit-led speech includes some very important details. First, God is the one to bring about salvation, “for my eyes have seen YOUR salvation” and more importantly that God’s salvation is not limited to a chosen few. But rather this is “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” It struck me for the first time how shocking it would have been to hear something like that in the temple- not just that the saviour had been born but also that this saviour would bring salvation to gentiles. The temple is a sacred space reserved for those who practice Jewish traditions and observe the Israelite covenant but within the walls of the temple it is announced that Jesus is for all. That’s huge.
While Anna’s words aren’t recorded they too highlight a thankfulness to God and a universal scope. Anna, however, also does something central to who and what Jesus will become. Verse 38 in our passage says, “At that moment she came and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” For Anna this good news that was preached about in the temple is not reserved for her alone- it is not a private act but rather news, good news that should be shared, celebrated, and talked about.
At different moments throughout our worship we are the different characters in this story. We come as Mary and Joseph with responsibilities and expectations, we are spirit led in our praise and prayers and sometimes preaching like Simeon and sometimes we find ourselves sharing the good news like Anna. But most of all we are Christ’s body in the world and are called to be God-revealing lights-pointing to God’s salvation. Amen