Today, it seems we move back in time! We thought we left the Christmas season behind because the last three Sundays we listened to Gospel accounts of Jesus' life as an adult. But today we go back to an account of Jesus as a baby. Why?
This Sunday is exactly forty days after Christmas. (We can check this on a calendar. We put a finger on Christmas day, December 25, and count it as day number one. Then we move our finger along, touching and counting each day. We stop counting when we get to forty. Our finger stops on February 2.) In Jesus' time, exactly forty days after a Jewish mother has a baby, she goes to the Temple for two reasons, to present her child to God and to offer a gift to God.
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 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
A sacrifice is a kind of gift, a gift that is not so easy to give. Why might mothers want to give a gift to God that is not so easy to give? We can think of this as a way of thanking God for the gift of her baby, of showing God how truly grateful she is both to be a mother and to belong to God. Rich families might offer a lamb, while poorer families offer two little birds. Mary brings two little birds to the Temple, so what does this tell us about Jesus' family?
Also, when Jewish parents have their first boy baby, they make a choice: either bring the baby boy to the Temple to present him to God, or pay some money to keep the child all to themselves. God gives the boy to them, and so they offer something back to God—either money as a sign of their gratitude, or the child himself as a servant of God. St. Luke does not tell us anything about Mary and Joseph bringing money to the Temple. What choice do Mary and Joseph make for their child?
Both of these customs take place at the Temple. The Temple is the most holy place in the great city of Jerusalem. It is God's place, and so it is very right that Mary and Joseph bring Jesus—the Son of God, the perfect servant—to the Temple. It sort of seems like bringing him home, does it not?
At the Temple we find out something very important about Jesus. In the midst of all the people coming to pray and offer gifts at the Temple, an old man finds Mary and Joseph.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.
What does this tell us about Simeon? Righteous and devout means Simeon is in right-relationship with God; he obeys God; he has faith. And the Holy Spirit rests on him. "Rests" is a peaceful word, is it not? We rest in our home. The Holy Spirit has a home in Simeon.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God
Imagine this! This old man, a stranger, comes up to Mary and Joseph and takes the baby into his arms! We know how babies draw everyone's attention. They cry, and everyone turns to see. They smile, and everyone around begins to smile, too, and coo with delight! Mary and Joseph, after adoring shepherds come visiting, might get used to people stopping to admire their baby. But this is different. This man has something to say about their child. Simeon knows something about Jesus.
Listen to his prayer,
“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for 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 knows that Jesus is God's salvation. That means Jesus saves. We know he saves us from the sinfulness that keeps us from being the people God means us to be. We know Jesus removes our sin and fills us instead with the full life of God—the full life that he enjoys through his Resurrection from the dead. We know that through him we draw closer to God. We know all this, but how does Simeon know? Jesus is still just a little baby.
Simeon also knows that Jesus is a light for the Gentiles as well as being glory for the Jewish people. Gentiles are people who do not yet know the One True God. What does Jesus the light do for these people?
For that matter, what does Jesus the light do for us? Does he help us know the One True God? We remember that he shares his light with us at our baptism. Does that make us light, too? Can people know the One True God by our light, by our lives?
Simeon's prayer to God as he cradles the baby Jesus in his arms has become a prayer of the church. People all over the world pray this prayer each night. They hold onto Jesus' salvation as they go to sleep. They hold onto his light. Perhaps this week, we can make it our prayer.
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