SERMON: Sunday January 30^th, 2010

The Presentation in the Temple

Reading: Luke 2:22-40

In first century Judaea, all first-born male children had to be ceremonially consecrated to God. Jesus was no exception. The consecration of the first-born child goes back to the time of Moses as he prepares to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. In Exodus chapter 13, Moses says to the Israelites: “Every firstborn male among your children you shall redeem. When in the future your child asks you “What does this mean ?” you shall answer, “By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.” And in the Book of Numbers, chapter 18, God speaks to Aaron, saying: “The firstborn of human beings you shall redeem”; and a redemption offering of five shekels of silver is then specified. This rite of redemption came to be the ritual of presentation and consecration of each firstborn male child in the temple. It was linked with the ritual of the purification of the mother after childbirth, the procedure for which is set out in the Book of Leviticus (chapter 12), and this ritual also took place in the temple. 

So Mary and Joseph presented the infant Jesus to the priests at the Temple in Jerusalem, presumably making the customary offering of five shekels, and Mary also underwent the ritual of purification, which in the case of male children took place forty days after the birth – a period which was regarded as a time of particular vulnerability for mother and child, and therefore concluded with the blessing of purification.  The ceremony of purification also required an offering – in the case of poorer people, including Mary and Joseph - of a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. Mary and Joseph observed Jewish ritual and practice diligently and conscientiously, and Jesus’ infancy was framed by Jewish law, custom and history.

So the whole ceremony came to be an occasion for thanksgiving for the birth of the child, and a sign of God’s redemption. But wait a minute !  Here was Jesus being offered for redemption, when he was destined to be the one who redeemed others. Here was Jesus, along with all first-born boys, being offered as a thank-offering for the deliverance of Israel, when he was destined to be the Saviour of the world. Here was Jesus being consecrated to God, when he was God. But he was also being consecrated for his ministry of service and sacrifice.

The account in Luke has echoes of the story of the bringing of the young Samuel to Eli in the Temple, and this too was the story of one who was consecrated by God for his service. The story of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is also a story of the consecration of Jesus’ ministry, but crucially, it is also part of the story of the revealing of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

But how was Christ revealed, and to whom ?  Who in the Temple realised what was going one, in this awesome scene ?

Now at the Temple there was a righteous and devout elderly man named Simeon, who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would see the Messiah before he died. So Simeon was expectantly waiting upon the Lord. When he saw Mary and Joseph with the child he instantly recognised Jesus as the Messiah, took him in his arms and offered up to God the prayer known by its first two words in Latin, “Nunc Dimittis” (now you are letting your servant depart in peace.”) So Simeon, with the child in his arms, expresses his realisation that God is now releasing him from his duty  of watching for the arrival of the Messiah. Simeon’s song is rooted in the prophetic vision of Isaiah of God’s restoration and healing, but it also speaks of the universal outreach of God to Gentiles and Jews alike.

The Nunc Dimittis is a familiar part of the Prayer Book service of Evening Prayer, and of the late-evening service of Compline. In Evening Prayer it comes after the Magnificat – Mary’s song of praise and thanksgiving. And Simeon’s song, the Nunc Dimittis, is found in Luke shortly after the Magnificat (which is found in chapter 1 verses 46 to 55). Both songs (or prayers) are offerings of praise from people who are faithful to God’s will and who have seen the revelation of the Christ child, as the Saviour of the world.

And in Luke chapter 1 (verses 68 to 79) in between Mary’s song and Simeon’s song, there is Zechariah’s prophetic song, the Benedictus (which is a staple element of Morning Prayer), which foretells the role of John the Baptist, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, as prophet and herald of Jesus Christ. In the Benedictus, Zechariah has recognised the role of the infant John in salvation history, whereas in our gospel passage today, Simeon and Anna recognise the role of Jesus in salvation history. So in the first two chapters of Luke we have three of our most familiar prayers - the Magnificat, the Benedictus, and the Nunc Dimittis - and these are all prayers of prophecy and praise, pointing to God’s glory, and the fulfilment of his promises.

But after the inspiring words of the Nunc Dimittis, it falls to Simeon to tell Mary of her future sufferings, when her Son will be opposed and killed, and Simeon says in prophetic and chilling words to Mary: “a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

And, standing by the Temple door, was Anna, a prophetess, who was in her eighty-fourth year and who fasted and prayed in the Temple night and day. Anna was a model of piety and spiritual discipline, and like Simeon, she was chosen to acknowledge and honour the Christ child. Like Simeon, she was devout, obedient and constant in prayer. Like Simeon, she recognised Jesus as the Saviour, and began to speak about him to all those she met who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem – to all those who were looking for the Messiah.

The Presentation in the Temple is one of the three key occasions when Jesus is revealed as the one who would redeem the whole world – at the Epiphany, at the Presentation in the Temple, and at his Baptism. The Presentation of Christ in the Temple (which is celebrated in the Church’s year either today or this coming Wednesday) is the last day of the Epiphany season when we think especially of Christ being revealed.

To use the words of Simeon’s song, Jesus is a light for the Gentiles and for the Jews. And this revelation is like the flame of the candles we have been holding. Christ is the light of the world. Jesus says, in John’s gospel “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.” Jesus is the one who reveals light, and life and love.

At Candlemas we also think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and of her obedience to God’s will, and her holiness. Candlemas has long been seen as a special day too in honour of the Virgin Mary and in some churches, parishioners process with candles which are set before a statue of Our Lady.

Most pictures of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple in religious art show the elderly Simeon taking Christ in his arms, in the presence of Mary, Joseph and the prophetess, Anne. One of the most arresting pictures of the Presentation is by the fifteenth century Italian artist Giovanni Bellini, and I have placed copies of this picture in each of the four window recesses in the south aisle, by the side of the each of the candles. And I have also placed a single snowdrop from my garden in a little glass vase  in front of each picture, as a reminder that today we also honour the Blessed Virgin Mary, the one who bore God in her womb. Snowdrops are sometimes called the Candlemas bells, and are a sign of purity and hope, and are associated with the virtue of Our Lady. The pictures and the snowdrops, assuming they last, will be kept in church until next Sunday, and you might like to use these as aids to your prayers after church today and when the church is open in the coming week.

In the picture by Bellini, the solemn and slightly withdrawn expressions of Bellini’s characters seem to reflect the awesome impact of Simeon’s words on each of the participants. While you reflect on the picture I have tried to paint in words, and which Bellini paints in oil with his brush, I will close with a few moments of silence and then with the words of the Nunc Dimittis. May this be a prayer for each of us, and may it be a declaration of our faith and an expression of our inner song of praise:

“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.”

Amen.